Contents Putting a Face on Real Estate since 1995™
MAY 2019 • VOLUME 23 • ISSUE 12
> BUILDER/REALTOR CRAWFISH BOIL
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Report shows Texas home buyer/seller statistics By Riki Markowitz
A
t the end of April, Texas REALTORS released its annual Texas Homebuyers and Sellers Report. Statistics and trends were provided by the National Association of REALTORS’ 2018 Texas Profile of Homebuyers and Sellers, which analyzed data about Texas residents who purchased or sold a home between July 2017 and June 2018. While most of the findings from the Texas REALTORS’ report was more or less in-line with the previous year, there are a few standout stats that have made some local experts say, “hmm.” Take student debt. When it comes to states with the highest debt, Texas is actually pretty middle of the road, according to the 2016 Institute for College Access & Success report. Just over half of individuals with student loan debt across the state are looking at owing roughly $26,500. But the amount of debt owed by Texans who have purchased a home is more like $39,800 — which is nearly 100 percent higher than the same population from the previous year (they only owed $20k). By contrast, U.S. student loan debt among homebuyers also increased in the 2019 report over the pre-
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vious year, but it was a 40-point increase. While even that is considered a significant escalation, it’s still extraordinary that the median amount of student debt for Texas’ homebuyers was more than $11,000 higher than U.S. homebuyers with student loan debt. There are a couple questions one can ask about this statistic. For instance, does it mean that buyers with a lot of student loan debt are also high earners and have more education? Tray Bates, Texas REALTORS 2019 chairman, says it’s possible, but not necessarily so. What is safe to assume is that this population is at the beginning of their career and still on the lower end of their income capacity. Bates’ takeaway is that because this population has cash flow and income challenges, many are putting off buying a new home until later in life. Another striking difference was that in Texas, 29 percent of homebuyers purchased a new home and only 14 percent of U.S. buyers did the same. “Texas is seeing the greatest increase in new home construction in years,” says Bates. “This is data coming from other reports, but what
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Who Are Texas Home Buyers?
According to the
Texas Association of REALTORS® 2019 Texas Homebuyers and Sellers Report
Texas Homebuyer Median Age
47 32%
$101,700 Median Household
Income
18%
First-Time Homebuyers
Homebuyer or Spouse is
29%
Active Duty Military or Veteran
New Home over Resale
Purchased a
we’re seeing is that Houston is number two in the country for new home permits, followed by Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio. It’s great that our metro areas are finally starting to get new home construction after the 2008 recession when a lot of homebuilders went out of business.” The nearly 100 percent difference in Texas new homebuyers versus those buying resale has a few different driving motivations. A majority of homebuyers are “avoiding renovations or problems with plumbing or electricity,” and want “amenities of new home construction communities,” according to the Texas REALTORS survey. They’re also driven by the “ability to choose and customize design features.” Texans who purchased a previously owned home agreed that they were in the market for “better overall value,” as well as a house with “more charm and character.” Five
percent of new homebuyers in the state claimed they found a lack of inventory of previous owned homes (which is true), of those who purchased a previously owned home, though, 8 percent said new home inventory was lacking. As far as Texas sellers are concerned, the median age was 56 years and their median household income was just under $110k. For U.S. sellers, the median age was 55 years and their median income was $98.8k. Texas also has a smaller percentage of first-time home sellers (26 percent versus 32 percent nationwide). The median selling price over purchase was $70k in Texas and just $55.5k in the U.S. — which are numbers that are not too surprising to Central Texas REALTORS. In Texas, a home REPORT: Continued on page 28