DFW’s new home sales jumped last month, and so did new home prices.
The three-month moving average of DFW new home sales shows April sales listed in the Multiple Listing Services increased to 1,321 from 1,253 in March, according to the latest monthly report from Dallas-based HomesUSA.com.
North Texas new home prices continued to march toward the half-million-dollar milestone. The three-month moving average of new home sale prices in April was a record $470,756 compared to $461,418 in March – up over $58,600 since April 2021, an increase of over 14% year-over-year.
DFW homebuilders are seeing “unrelenting demand” for their product, said Ben Caballero, founder and CEO of HomesUSA.com.
“Builders are increasing production, but the Dallas-Fort Worth new homes market’s resilience is challenging their efforts to meet the demand,” Caballero said.
The home construction market in DFW and nationwide continues to play catch-up from more than a decade of underbuilding after the last housing downturn, Builders FirstSource President and CEO Dave Flitman said in an interview with the Dallas Business Journal.
Flitman, who leads the large, Dallas-based construction products supplier, said rising interest rates will temper demand for new homes — even in hot markets such as DFW — but the growing wave of millennials hitting their prime home buying will largely offset the impact of higher rates.
“We’re still very, very busy all over the country, especially here in markets like DFW, which continue to blow it out and grow,” Flitman said.
Limited inventory in DFW continues to impact the market as the three-month moving average for April shows active listings decreasing to 933 vs. 1,249 in March, Caballero said.
HomesUSA.com also reports three-month moving averages of sales show a slightly faster sales pace of DFW new homes last month. The average days on the market for a new home in North Texas was 50.5 days, down from 51.9 days in March.
Statewide prices, sales
Total new home sales in Texas were higher statewide and in all four of the major new home markets last month, based on available local MLS data collected by HomesUSA.
In Houston, April total sales were 1,775 vs. 1,635 in March, based on the three-month moving average. In Austin, April sales rose to 497 from 458 in March. In San Antonio, new home sales increased to 495 from 426 in March.
Average new home prices were also higher in Houston ($414,058 in April vs. $410,124 in March) and San Antonio ($370,165 vs. $367,139). However, the average new home price was lower in Austin ($556,764 vs. $559,337).
In another sign of market strength, builders are getting more than they’re asking for new homes in DFW. The three-month moving average of the sales-to-list price ratio in April rose to 100.47% from 100.22% in March in North Texas.
New home sales statewide and in Houston, Austin and San Antonio also hovered close to 100% of the asking price. Statewide, the three-month moving average of the sales-to-list price ratio in April was 99.77% vs. 99.57%.
In Houston, the ratio increased to 99.03% from 98.88% in March. The ratio in Austin climbed to 100.77% in April from 100.5% in March. San Antonio’s ratio in April was 99.53% vs. 99.36% in March.
A slowdown in new home sales ahead for DFW?
One less-than-rosy data point for builders was pending new home sales, which fell statewide and in all four of Texas’ major new home markets last month — potentially signaling a slowdown later this year or early next.
Statewide MLS data shows pending sales in April were 5,287 vs. 5,583 in March.
In DFW, pending new home sales, last month ticked down to 1,566 from 1,577 in March. Houston’s pending sales in April fell to 2,275 from 2,372 in March. Austin’s pending sales in April were 652 vs. 683 in March. In San Antonio, pending new home sales, last month totaled 795 compared to 951 in March.
Story by: By Bill Hethcock – Senior Reporter, Dallas Business Journal April 17, 2022
