OVER VALUED

THE OVERVALUED HOUSING MARKET IN TEXAS!

What Is Going On??

by MIKE HERNANDEZ, REALTOR

To say that the Texas real estate market has been out of control is almost an understatement! For years the market had been doing its thing, going between a buyers market, then a sellers market with property values gradually inching upward. Then the Pandemic hit, and of course there where many ways in which it changed our lives. One big change was in the the real estate world, where business as usual went straight out the window!

By now you probably know, if not from personal experience, by reading and seeing on TV that the Texas market has seen some tremendous price increases in home values and some major shortages in the available homes on the market.

Here’s some numbers from some of our biggest cities. These numbers are from the Texas Real Estate Research Center:

Dallas-Ft. Worth median price for a home is $391,000

Houston average price for a single family home is $426,061

Austin median price is now $521,000

San Antonio median price is $338,700

Dallas-Ft. Worth is now on the list of most over valued housing markets! According to Texas REALTORS the DFW housing market is selling homes for an average of 31.57% more than they’re worth.

Houston has seen an almost 15% jump in home prices, year to year since April 2021 to this past April. So the Houston real estate market performed well in April, but for the first time this year, sales of single-family homes failed to beat last year’s historic pace as record-high prices, rising interest rates and limited inventory weighed on homebuyers during the traditionally busy spring home buying season. Townhome, condo, and high-rise sales performed somewhat better.

Austin meanwhile is off the chart!! The median price of a home in Austin has soared to $521,000 and that’s a 22.6% increase from 2021 to 2022. According to a study from Florida Atlantic International University home buyers in Austin are paying nearly 51% more for homes.

The study also says that Boise, Idaho has buyers willing to pay a lot more for homes. Are you ready for this??? Homebuyers there are paying a whopping 81% more.. This is astonishing !!!

And mind you new home construction is booming in Austin but the demand is so high they just don’t last. The months of supply of new homes in Austin is now below one month.

San Antonio is still a hot market as well, but still considered as it has been for years, one of the most affordable places to live, compared to any of the big cities in Texas. According to the Multiple Listing Service report from the San Antonio Board of Realtors, April 2022 showed a slight cooling in home sales with 3,255 homes sold compared to 3,524 in April of last year. But the median price of a home is $338,700 and that’s a 23 percent increase from last year!

Now there are many ways to compare and show these housing numbers for all the cities I mentioned but I think you get the drift. The housing market is definitely HOT!So what do all these statistics mean to you and me? Well it means for one thing that first time buyers and folks with limited income are getting priced right out of owning a home! It means that if we continue to see a continued influx of people moving into the Lone Star state prices are likely to continue to go up. With tech companies springing up in Austin, San Antonio as well as Houston and DFW it’s no mystery that they all need a place to live and in many cases are bringing cash money that prices out the locals.

But let’s talk a little about what we are starting to see here and there in the Texas market. Homes sold in several of the major cities were slightly down this past one or two months. Not by much but still that’s a change from what’s become the new norm. Because of the increasing interest rates, the lack of homes available to buy and the prices, now some buyers are pausing before rushing into an offer to be able to compete against other buyers. Maybe it’s nothing, but I think maybe it’s the beginning of a shift. I’m thinking the Texas market will stay Hot!

We’re heading into the most active time of the year for home buyers and sellers and we’ll continue to see multiple offers on anything with a roof and a running toilet! However, with fewer and fewer homes available to buy and interest rates still going up slightly more this summer, I think we are indeed going to see a gradual, and I think gradual is the right word here, slowing of the housing market. Subtle at first, then more tangible by this coming fall.

Well, thanks for checking in. If I can help answer any Real Estate questions please reach out to me at: m.hernandez1@kw.com

Happy house hunting and as always God Bless! Mike Hernandez is a retired TV Meteorologist and local personality. He currently owns the “Mike Hernandez Realty Group,” and has clients, both buyers and sellers, all across South Texas.

Contact Information: Mike Hernandez (210)-870-0725 Weathergolf@yahoo.com