Texas New Home Market Tightening

DALLAS, June 18, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- While total new home sales in Texas last month improved, the market looks to be tightening as pending sales fell sharply in May, according to a report released by HomesUSA.com, based on data from local Multiple Listing Services, including the Houston Association of REALTORS, North Texas Real Estate Information Systems, San Antonio Board of REALTORS and the Austin Board of REALTORS.

Total new home sales for Texas in May hit a record of 3,960 for the month versus a 12-month rolling average of 3,947 in April. It’s the fourth month in a row of higher new home sales in the state’s four biggest markets -- Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio.

However, pending new homes sales fell sharply in Texas last month, and were lower in all four of the state’s biggest new homes markets, HomesUSA.com reported. For Texas, pending new home sales for May based on a 12-month rolling average were 3,474; down from 3,738 pending sales in April.

“Texas’s new home market is strong today, it's tomorrow that builders may be worrying about as the new home market appears to be tightening,” said Texan Ben Caballero, owner of HomesUSA.com, and real estate’s first Guinness World Record holder for real estate sales. “Builders in Texas saw record new home sales and slightly higher home prices in May. But they did not experience any real improvement in the pace of new home sales homes, and the drop in pending new home sales looks like a dark cloud on an otherwise bright horizon,” he added.

Average Days on Market – New Homes in Texas
The HomeUSA.com New Home Sales Index showed the average Days on Market for new home sales pace statewide was 120.41 days in May and 120.36 days in April. In Dallas-Ft. Worth, the DOM increased slightly to 115.77 days in May versus 115.30 days in April. Houston DOM numbers were flat, registering 137.19 days in May and 137.04 days in April.

The new home sales pace in both Austin and San Antonio showed some improvement. The DOM in Austin dropped to 111.31 days in May from 111.45 days in April. In San Antonio, the DOM report shows the greatest improvement, dropping to 102.56 days in May from 103.32 days in April. (See Chart 1: Texas New Homes Days on Market)

Texas New Home Sales Data
New home sales hit a new record statewide in May. New home sales statewide posted a 12-month rolling average of 3,960 for May versus 3,947 for April. New home sales were higher in May in three of the state’s four biggest new home markets - Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston and San Antonio – all showed some improvement, while Austin’s new home sales were flat.

Dallas-Ft. Worth total sales in May were 1,371 versus 1,368 total sales in April. Houston total new home sales in May were 1,370 versus 1,364 total sales in April. San Antonio total new home sales in May were 532 versus 527 total sales in April. Austin total new home sales in May were flat at 689 with the same total sales in April. (See Chart 2: Texas New Home Sales)

Texas New Home Prices
New home prices were higher in three of the top four new home markets statewide. Statewide, the average new home price for May was also higher at $358,669 versus $357,894 for April. New home prices were up in Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston and San Antonio.

In Dallas-Ft. Worth, the average new home price for May was $375,695 versus $374,193 for April. In Houston, the average new home price for May was $360,739 versus $360,397 for April. Austin’s average new home price in May was $369,096 versus $367,420 in April. San Antonio was the anomaly, as the average new home price for May was $296,670, down from $297,237 for April. (See Chart 3: Texas New Home Prices)

Texas Pending Sales Data
For the sixth straight month, pending new home sales were lower in all four of the state’s biggest new home markets. Dallas-Ft. Worth posted pending new home sales in May of 1,224 versus 1,301 pending sales in April. Pending new home sales in Houston for May were 1,197 versus 1,293 pending sales in April.

Total pending sales for Austin in May were 595, down from 646 pending home sales in April. San Antonio pending new home sales in May were 458, down from 498 pending new home sales in April. (See Chart 4: Texas Pending New Home Sales)

Caballero is sharing this Texas new homes report well before the Commerce Department will release its national report for New Residential Home Sales for May on Tuesday, June 25 at 10:00 am Eastern. HomesUSA.com publishes new home sales information for Texas’ four largest new home markets monthly, gleaned from local Multiple Listing Services, including the Houston Association of REALTORS, North Texas Real Estate Information Systems, San Antonio Board of REALTORS and the Austin Board of REALTORS.

About the HomesUSA.com New Home Sales Index
The HomesUSA.com Index is a 12-month rolling average of the Days on Market (DOM) for new homes listed in the local Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) for the four largest Texas markets, including Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. Created by Ben Caballero, founder, and CEO of HomesUSA.com and the most productive real estate agent in the world, it is the first index to track the sale pace of new home sales specifically.

About Ben Caballero and HomesUSA.com®
Ben Caballero is a Guinness World Record holder¹, earning him the reputation as the world’s most productive real estate agent. Top-ranked in America by REAL Trends since 2013, as published in the Wall Street Journal, he is also the only agent to exceed $1 billion in residential sales transactions in a single year; a feat first achieved in 2015 and repeated each year until 2018 when he achieved more than $2 billion. An award-winning innovator, Caballero is the founder and CEO of HomesUSA.com, Inc., working with more than 60 home builders in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. He recently released a podcast series available on iTunes and Google Play. Learn more at HomesUSA.com |Twitter: @bcaballero - @HomesUSA | Facebook: /HomesUSAdotcom.