Existing home sales fell 31% in Dallas and Fort Worth; time in the market doubles

DALLAS – Editor’s Note: This story first appeared in the Dallas Business Journal here.

Selling homes in Dallas and Fort Worth is taking almost twice as long as it did 12 months ago, and the number of sales continues to plummet.

According to the latest Re/Max report, the average DFW home lasted 56 days on the market in January, up from 29 days in January 2022. National Housing Report.

Home sales in North Texas continue the fall that began last fall and are down 31% from the previous year. The number of home sales in January was 4,580 compared to 6,605 in January 2022. Home sales were also down sharply from a month earlier, with 6,608 homes sold in DFW in December 2022.

House prices appear to be stabilizing and have risen “only” 4.2% year-over-year – the smallest annual increase in 12 months. The median sale price was $375,000 in January versus $360,000 in January 2022.

On a monthly basis, the price fell 2.6% from $385,000 in December. DFW prices peaked in May, according to Re/Max data.

Over the past 12 months, more and more homes in Dallas and Fort Worth have been selling below list price as the market continues to adjust, according to Todd Luong, agent for Re/Max DFW Associates.

“In the past 12 months, our market has actually experienced a 4 percent drop in the near-list price ratio, one of the biggest declines in the country,” Luong said. “It’s no surprise that we’ve had a more pronounced drop than other parts of the country, especially since our home prices have outpaced other cities in the US for so long.”

According to the Re/Max report, DFW ranks fourth in the US for the largest decline in the ratio of closing prices to the list price. The close-to-list price ratio in January was 97%. This compares to 101% a year ago, meaning that at the time the average home in DFW was selling for more than the asking price.

“You have to remember that the near-list price ratio in Dallas and Fort Worth was pretty high a year ago,” Luong said. “After peaking in May 2022, house prices are approaching what they were a year ago.”

Luong added that he and other agents are seeing more properties receive multiple offers since the start of the year. “I didn’t see it at all during the last quarter of 2022.“ He said.

The Re/Max analysis primarily includes existing data on home sales—houses that are owned and occupied before they hit the market.

Another new analysis from Dallas-based HomesUSA.com shows that new homes in DFW, like existing homes, are taking longer to sell.

The average time on the market for new homes in DFW increased to 95 days in January from 83 days in December and 53 days on the market a year ago, according to HomesUSA.com. New home sales report.

But unlike existing homes, builders can rejoice in the fact that new home sales rose from the previous month in January, albeit marginally.

The three-month moving average showed 1,505 homes sold in January, compared to 1,458 in December. However, many of the new home deals are fueled by discounts, lower mortgage rates and other incentives offered by developers and their affiliates.

A third new study by Zillow suggests that further developments in the DFW housing market will be highly dependent on mortgage rates.

Monthly mortgage costs for a typical home for sale in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, with a 20% down payment, are $1,752, up 45.8% year-on-year and up from $919 in January 2020.

A “typical” home in DFW was valued at $359,743 in January, according to the Zillow Home Value Index, up 4.5% year-on-year but down 0.7% from the previous month.

Zillow’s analysis also showed that the number of homes on the market was down 35% compared to January 2020 in DFW.