Today, the Texas Association of REALTORS®
released the 2013-Q1 edition of the Texas Quarterly Housing Report,
showing surging demand for Texas homes at the start of the year as well
as rising prices and shrinking inventory. Fueled by Texas’s population
and job growth, the report bodes well for the summer selling season.
Shad Bogany, chairman of the Texas Association
of REALTORS®, commented: “2012 was a strong year for Texas real estate
and, based on these first-quarter results, 2013 looks to be even
stronger. We’ve heard a lot about the growth of Texas and now we’re
starting to really see the impact on our real estate market.”
As featured in the report, 53,937 single-family
homes were sold in Texas in the first quarter of 2013, which is 17.53%
more than the same quarter of the prior year. Of the 48 markets included
in the report, 40 markets featured increases in sales, indicating the
surge is broad-based throughout the state.
The median price for Texas homes in 2013-Q1 was
$158,000, which is 7.04% more than the first quarter of 2012. In the
same timeframe, the average price was $204,718 – that’s 6.87% more than
2012-Q1. The median price for Texas homes has steadily increased,
exceeding or matching the price of the prior year every quarter since
the Texas Quarterly Housing Report began in 2009.
“Historically, the median price for Texas homes
has increased about four percent each year and we usually see the
biggest jump in price between the first and second quarters,” said Jim
Gaines, Ph.D., economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M
University. “So, with price increases already in the range of seven
percent in the first quarter, we could see Texas homes increase in value
significantly this year.”
However, Gaines also offered a strong caution,
“We’ll only realize our potential for increased sales volume if more
sellers enter the market and start listing their properties, increasing
the inventory of homes for sale.”
In first quarter 2013, the market featured 4.2
months of inventory, which is 1.7 months less than the prior year. That
is significantly less than the 6.5 months of inventory cited by the Real
Estate Center as a market in which the supply of homes is balanced with
demand.
Gaines explained, “There is clearly demand for
Texas homes and rising prices are encouraging more homeowners to
consider listing their properties. However, if a homeowner wants to move
up, they must be able to find a property to move to, so more supply is
needed to capture the growth potential in the market.”
Gaines continued, “In the coming months, I
expect we’ll start to hear national news reports about increasing sales
in other markets, possibly exceeding those in Texas. That’s because
other markets boomed in the mid-2000s and busted in the late 2000s,
meaning they need dramatic increases in sales volume and price to
recover. I call that an ‘echo boom’ and it’s more indicative of market
fluctuations than fundamentals. That never happened in Texas, so the
increases you’re seeing in our state are indicative of true increases in
demand, driven by population growth. Assuming we continue to add jobs
as we have recently, that will make our increases more sustainable.”
The Texas Association of REALTORS® has been
working to help the state absorb that growth, advocating for homeowners
at the Texas Capitol during the current legislative session. Texas
REALTORS® have advanced ideas on improving infrastructure for
transportation and water in the state as well as consumer-protection
provisions in the property-tax loan industry, mortgage lending, and the
property-appraisal process. The 83rd Texas Legislature regular session
ends May 31.
Chairman Bogany concluded, “The word is out that
Texas is a great place to live and these results are further evidence
of that. Now, Texas REALTORS® are on a mission to ensure that remains
the case and help our state provide for the needs of its homeowners
today and far into the future.”
The Texas Quarterly Housing Report is issued
four times per year by the Texas Association of REALTORS® with multiple
listing service data compiled and analyzed by the Real Estate Center at
Texas A&M University.
About the Texas Quarterly Housing Report
Data for the Texas Quarterly Housing Report
is analyzed by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University using
statistics compiled from 48 multiple listing services in markets
throughout Texas. The report includes data for single-family home sales
over the course of one quarter and is scheduled for release by the Texas
Association of REALTORS® on the following dates each year (or the next
business day): Feb. 1, May 1, Aug. 1, and Nov. 1. This report is issued
to the media, local REALTOR® organizations, and published on the Texas
Association of REALTORS®’ consumer Web site,
TexasRealEstate.com.
About the Texas Association of REALTORS®
With approximately 80,000 members, the Texas
Association of REALTORS® is a professional membership organization that
represents all aspects of real estate in Texas. We advocate on behalf of
Texas REALTORS® and private-property owners to keep homeownership
affordable, protect private-property rights, and promote public policies
that benefit homeowners. Visit
TexasRealEstate.com to learn more.
