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

Golf News

Tiger Woods has plans for mega-golf community at Kelly Ranch in Aledo

Bluejack National

Tiger Woods' Bluejack National in Montgomery

Fort Worth is teed up to get a new golf-centric community from the sport's biggest name: Golf celebrity Tiger Woods is planning to bring a luxury golf course concept called Bluejack Ranch to Kelly Ranch, the gated community under development in Aledo.

Woods' ambitious plan includes an 18-hole golf course as part of a 914-acre community and entertainment park, featuring a working dude ranch with horses, longhorns, and miniature donkeys.

Kelly Ranch is the master-planned community currently being developed by Ryan Voorhees of Kelly Ranch Estates LLC. They previously forged a deal with Escalante Golf, a Fort Worth-based golf club operator to open a course, but that partnership was severed in January.

Woods divulged the plan for Bluejack Ranch in a letter posted on the facility's website, stating that he and his partners would create a development similar to Bluejack National, which they opened outside Houston in 2016. Located in Montgomery, it was brought to life by developers Andy and Kristin Mitchell of Lantern Asset Management, Woods, and former PGA Tour player and Fort Worth resident J.J. Henry.

In addition to an 18-hole course, plans for Aledo include a 10-hole lighted short course, wellness spa, fitness center, tennis, pickleball, swimming pools, gourmet dining, and a social hub called The Fort.

It would also include a gated community of homes, cabins, and villas ranging in size from 3,200 to 3,500 square feet; plus smaller spa retreats and clubhouse casitas ranging from 1,140 to 2,100 square feet. These will surely be pricey: In 2021, a home at Bluejack National in Houston started at $1 million. In 2020, resort memberships cost $105,000 to join with annual dues of $15,000.

They are also planning an entertainment studio, courtesy of Andy’s Lantern Entertainment company, with room for podcasting, film, and TV productions.

Bluejack Ranch will be its own separate gated community adjacent to Kelly Ranch, says Kelly Ranch director of sales Draze Lawliss. Kelly Ranch will consist of three communities — Rio Vista, Sierra Vista, and La Dorada — which cumulatively will add approximately 2,000 single family residences set across 1,500 acres, with anticipated prices ranging from $500,000 to $2 million+.

"Yesterday’s exciting announcement about Bluejack Ranch, featuring a golf course designed by Tiger Woods, has put Aledo and West Fort Worth on the map for incredible growth opportunities," Lawliss says. "This development is set to ignite substantial economic growth in the area, as Aledo’s future expands beyond just residential communities to include thriving commercial, entertainment, and retail sectors."

"West Fort Worth is primed to benefit as well, with new restaurants, grocery stores, and businesses expected to spring up, adding new life to South Aledo along Highway 377," he says.

Woods has been developing a variety of golf concepts, ranging from miniature golf facilities like PopStroke in The Colony, to a practice course in Jupiter, Florida.

“It’s extremely motivating for me to contribute to the golfing legacy of Fort Worth, and I’m excited to see what we’ll build together,” said Woods in the letter.