real estate report

Texas new home sales slowed in September, while prices rise in DFW

3821 Wilkie Way, Fort Worth home for sale

Average new home prices across Dallas-Fort Worth increased in September.

Estately.com

A new analysis of the statewide real estate market has revealed new home sales in Texas have slowed since September, despite a drop in average prices, and inventory is on the rise.

The September edition of the New Home Sales Report by Dallas-based platform HomesUSA.com examined MLS data across Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio to determine the status of the overall real estate market.

The report found that the three-month average number of new home sales fell across all four major metros in September. Dallas-Fort Worth experienced a decline by 14 homes for sale.

“The September three-month moving average of new home sales in Dallas-Ft. Worth was 1,848 versus 1,862 in August,” the report said.

San Antonio saw the most dramatic decline in sales with 1,067 new homes sold in September, versus 1,100 in August. Houston’s total new home sales fell by 27 units to 1,943 in September. Austin saw the smallest decline, down just seven sales from August to 864 in September.

Home prices increased in DFW
Three-month average prices for new homes across Texas have fallen from $432,749 in August to $429,898 in September, the report found. In a year-over-year comparison from September 2023, new home prices have plummeted almost $29,000.

New home prices fell across three out of four major Texas metros; Dallas-Fort Worth was the unlucky region where home prices actually increased. DFW's three-month average new home prices rose to $492,129 in September, showing a $2,367 jump from August's average prices.

Here’s how home prices changed across the three remaining metros from August to September:

Austin: Decreased from $494,920 to $483,408
San Antonio: Decreased from $340,755 to $338,620
Houston: Decreased from $402,741 to $397,318

How long on the market
The trends also show the three-month average Days on Market (DOM) – also known as the average time homes sit on the market before being sold – across all four real estate markets came out to 97.76 days in September. New homes are remaining on the market slightly longer than they were in August, when the three-month average DOM was 97.05 days.

Specifically in Dallas-Fort Worth, new homes sat on the market for 122 days before selling in September, in a slight uptick from August’s DOM of 121.14 days.

New home inventory
New home inventory (the number of active listings on the market) in Texas is also on the rise. The three-month average inventory in September came out to 32,337 new listings, versus 31,893 in August. Active new home listings rose in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin, but decreased in San Antonio.

“Dallas-Ft. Worth's active listings in September increased to 7,939 versus 7,686 in August,” the report said.

There were 12,994 active listings in Houston, 6,019 active listings in Austin, and 5,384 in San Antonio in September.

HomesUSA.com founder Ben Caballero cited fluctuating mortgage rates as one of the main reasons why Texas’ real estate market is “showing mixed signals.”

“...But the silver lining is that sales compared to the same time last year are up 12 percent,” said Caballero.

The monthly Texas New Home Sales Report combined the four largest new home markets – Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio – to determine its overall statewide data, which comprise the vast majority of new home sales in Texas.

texas real estate report housing market dallas fort worth austin houston san antonio

Elite address

One Texas community makes list of the richest small towns in America

Photo courtesy of Compass

Bunker Hill Village is a coveted address in the Houston area.

An upscale community in Texas is among the top 10 richest towns in America, according to a new 2024 report. The community is Bunker Hill Village in Houston, and it's home to the richest residents in Texas. Sorry, Colonial Hills.

The analysis, by loan provider TitleMax, lists the 50 richest small towns — one from each state — using median household income data from the U.S. Census Bureau. In Bunker Hill Village, the median household income is about $250,000, the report says.

Of course, "small town" is a bit of a misnomer for Bunker Hill Village. Situated 13 miles west of downtown Houston, Bunker Hill joins five other communities – Hunters Creek, HiIlshire, Hedwig, Piney Point, and Spring Valley – to make up Houston's iconic Memorial Villages. In 2023, Bunker Hill was ranked the third-most expensive Houston neighborhood, with homes on the market for upwards of $2.7 million.

Notably, the area is home to Houston's only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house.

"We are very proud of our quiet, wooded environment, and as a community, we work hard to preserve it for future generations," the city's website says.

The study found that more than half (56.5 percent) of the 1,250-home community make over $200,000 a year, while the enclave's median household income amounts to $247,188.

To put that into perspective, TitleMax revealed that the national median household income is $67,521. The Census Bureau's 2023 American Community Survey estimates the median income of a household in Texas came out to $75,780 in 2023.

Bunker Hill joins the likes of Houston's Bellaire and West University Place as some of the most affluent suburbs in America. The North Texas suburb of Southlake also made it on that list.

The No. 1 slot went to Monte Sereno, a suburb of San Jose, California with a median household income of more than $250,000, according to the report.

"While many people consider cities to be the epicenters of the rich, many retreat to small towns that offer safety, beauty, and privacy," the report's author wrote.

These are the top 10 wealthiest small towns in America, with their median household incomes:

No. 1 – Monte Sereno, California ($250,000-plus)
No. 2 – Cherry Hills Village, Colorado ($250,000-plus)
No. 3 – Mission Hills, Kansas ($250,000-plus)
No. 4 – Short Hills, New Jersey ($250,000-plus)
No. 5 – Scarsdale, New York ($250,000-plus)
No. 6 – Belle Meade, Tennessee ($250,000-plus)
No. 7 – Glencoe, Illinois ($248,851)
No. 8 – Bunker Hill Village, Texas ($247,188)
No. 9 – Clyde Hill, Washington ($238,958)
No. 10 – Chevy Chase Village, Maryland ($238,333)

The full report can be found on titlemax.com.

reports real estate houston