DALLAS, Texas, March 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Texas home builders struggle to keep up with the extraordinary new home demand continued last month, HomesUSA.com reported today. The pace of new home sales continues at a high level in February as the average number of Days on Market for new homes in Texas dropped from more than 106 days to fewer than 90 days within the last year, according to the HomesUSA.com News Home Sales Index.
"The pressure for Texas builders to build more new homes continues to mount," said Ben Caballero, owner of HomesUSA.com and current Guinness World Record titleholder. Ben, who has personally sold more new homes than any other real estate agent, added, "demand is so high homes are selling before builders can break ground."
Caballero notes the new monthly HomesUSA.com report includes 3-month moving averages for all essential market data, including Days on Market, sales volume, sales prices, a sales-to-list price ratio, pending sales, and active listings. The 3-month indices track market seasonality while the 12-month moving average removes the seasonality and tracks the longer trend.
The HomesUSA.com report is based on data from the North Texas Real Estate Information Systems, Houston Association of REALTORS, Austin Board of REALTORS Multiple Listing Services and San Antonio Board of REALTORS.
The 12-month DOM moving average dropped statewide in February to 89.16 versus 92.09 days in January. The statewide DOM for new homes in February of last year was 106.30 days.
Based on a February’s 12-month moving average, Texas monthly new home sales dropped slightly to 4,544 sales from 4,571 sales in January. According to the HomesUSA.com report, this was the first monthly drop in total new home sales statewide since May 2020. Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston and Austin MLSs all reported lower monthly sales. San Antonio was the exception, reporting marginally higher new home sales in February.
Caballero pointed out that while the 12-month moving average of pending sales registered a slight increase in February with 5,746 versus 5,731 in January, February’s statewide active listings for sale fell to 20,641 versus 21,339 in January.
New home sales activity is also putting pressure on prices. Statewide, the 12-month moving average new home price rose in February to $361,320 versus $360,573 in January. The average price of new homes was higher in all but one of Texas’ major new home markets. Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, and Austin all posted higher average prices, with San Antonio’s average new home price slipping slightly.
Caballero is sharing the HomesUSA.com New Homes Report in advance of the release by the Commerce Department of its nationwide New Residential Sales report for February set for Wednesday, March 23, at 10:00 am Eastern.
Days on Market – New Homes in Texas (Exclusive Data)
The HomesUSA.com New Home Sales Index showed the 12 month moving average of Days on Market dropped in all four major markets: Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. The DOM for Dallas-Ft. Worth was 84.03 days in February versus 86.94 days in January. In Houston, the DOM was 101.27 days in February versus 104.14 days in January. Austin's DOM was 77.75 days in February versus 81.84 days in January. In San Antonio, the DOM was 85.86 days in February versus 87.93 days in January. (See Chart 1: Texas New Homes Days on Market)
Texas New Home Sales Data
Total new home sales for last month were slightly lower throughout Texas in three of the four major new home markets, according to the 12-month moving averages. In Dallas-Ft. Worth, February sales totaled 1,583 versus 1,598 in January. Houston posted February sales totaling 1,549 versus 1,552 in January, while Austin’s February sales were down, totaling 741 versus 758 in January. San Antonio was the lone exception, with February sales totaled to 672 versus 664 in January. (See Chart 2: Texas New Home Sales)
Texas New Home Prices
The average price of new homes was a bit higher statewide three of the four major new home markets. Dallas-Ft. Worth reported its average price for new homes was $377,899 in February versus $375,716 in January. In Houston, the average new home price was $350,031 in February versus $349,562 in January. Austin's average price was $405,906 in February versus $403,807 in January. San Antonio was the exception, where the average price dropped slightly to $299,845 in February from $300,636 in January. (See Chart 3: Texas New Home Prices)
Texas Sales-to-List Price Ratio
New home sales continue to sell closer to their asking price. February’s 12-month moving average of the sales-to-list price ratio was 98.363 percent versus 98.299 percent in January. In Dallas-Ft. Worth, it was 98.306 percent in February versus 98.217 percent in January. In Houston, it was 98.054 percent in February versus 97.993 percent in January. The Austin ratio was 99.098 percent in February versus 98.997 percent in January, and San Antonio's ratio was 98.410 percent last month versus 98.419 percent in January. (See Chart 4: Texas Sales-to-List Price Ratio)
Texas Pending New Homes Sales Data
Thanks to new home sale activity in Houston and San Antonio, the 12-month moving average for pending new home sales increased slightly last month. Austin was down slightly and Dallas/Fort Worth was flat. Dallas-Ft. Worth pending sales were unchanged with 1,993 for both January and February. In Houston, February's pending sales were up 1,927 versus 1,891 in January. In San Antonio, pending sales were 892 last month versus 884 in January. Notably Austin was the exception, reporting 931 in February versus 964 in January. (See Chart 5: Texas Pending New Home Sales)
Texas Active Listings for New Homes
As demand continues to outpace supply, builders’ inventory decreased. This is reflected in the 12-month moving average for new home listings in February. Dallas-Ft. Worth reported 6,334 last month versus 6,501 in January, and in Houston, last month’s active listings were 8,011 versus 8,168 in January. In Austin, it was 2,927 in February versus 3,132 in January. San Antonio reported 3,370 active new home listings last month versus 3,538 in January. (See Chart 6: Texas Pending New Home Sales)
About the HomesUSA.com New Home Sales Index
The HomesUSA.com Index is a 12-month moving 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, it is the first Days on Market index to track Texas's new home market.
About Ben Caballero and HomesUSA.com®
Ben Caballero, founder and CEO of HomesUSA.com, holds the current Guinness World Record title for “Most annual home sale transactions through MLS by an individual sell side real estate agent.” Ranked by REAL Trends as America’s top real estate agent for home sales since 2013, Ben is the most productive real estate agent in U.S. history. He is 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 through 2018, when he achieved more than $2 billion. An award-winning innovator and technology pioneer, Ben works with more than 60 home builders in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. His podcast series is available on iTunes and Google Podcasts. An infographic illustrating Ben’s sales production is here. Learn more at HomesUSA.com |Twitter: @bcaballero - @HomesUSA | Facebook: /HomesUSAdotcom.
Note for journalists: You may contact Ben Caballero directly on his cell at (214) 616-9222 or by email at ben@homesusa.com.
"REALTOR® is a federally registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics."
Media Contact:
Kevin Hawkins
(206) 866-1220
kevin@wavgroup.com
Image: Ben Caballero
https://www.homesusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Ben-Caballero-Portrait-Grey-4288x2848.jpg
Individual Chart images:
Chart 1: Texas New Homes Tracking - Days on Market – February 2021: https://homesusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Chart-1-Texas-Days-on-Market.jpg
Chart 2: Texas New Home Sales – February 2021: https://homesusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Chart-2-Texas-New-Home-Sales.jpg
Chart 3: Texas New Home Sales Prices – February 2021: https://homesusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Chart-3-Texas-New-Home-Sales-Prices.jpg
Chart 4: Texas Sales-to-List-Price Ratio – February 2021: https://homesusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Chart-4-Texas-Sales-to-List-Price-Ratio.jpg
Chart 5: Texas Pending New Home Sales – February 2021: https://homesusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Chart-5-Texas-Pending-New-Home-Sales.jpg
Chart 6: Texas Active Listings for New Homes – February 2021: https://homesusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Chart-6-Texas-Active-Listings.jpg
Chart 7: Texas 3-Month Rolling Averages – New Homes – February 2021: https://homesusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Chart-7-3MonthChart-DataOnly.jpg