Dallas-Area Home Price Gains Slowed To a Trickle in May

Dallas-Area Home Price Gains Slowed To a Trickle in May

A new home price report shows that Dallas-area housing appreciation has slowed to a trickle.

Dallas-area home prices were up only 2.1% in May from a year ago, according to the latest estimates by CoreLogic. That's about half the long-term average annual price gains for North Texas real estate. And it's a big drop from the double-digit percentage home price increase the area experienced a couple of years ago. 

CoreLogic said that nationwide home prices rose 3.6% in May from the same month in 2018. The rate of home price appreciation around the country is likely to pick up during the months ahead because of increased buyer demand, CoreLogic chief economist Frank Nothaft said. "Interest rates on fixed-rate mortgages fell by nearly 1 percentage point between November 2018 and this May," Nothaft said in the report. "This has been a shot in the arm for home sales. "Sales gained momentum in May, and annual home-price growth accelerated for the first time since March 2018."

CoreLogic is predicting that nationwide home prices will grow 5.6% over the next year. The biggest annual home price gains in May were in Las Vegas, which was up 7.1%, according to CoreLogic. Looking at Texas' major markets, home prices were growing fastest in Fort Worth (5.1%) and Austin (4.6%). 

Dallas had the smallest year-over-year home price rise of any of the major Texas cities. Statewide prices were up 2.9% from May 2018 levels.

Despite the slowing of local price appreciation, D-FW area home prices remain at record levels. In May, the median price of single-family homes sold by local real estate agents in North Texas was $275,000 — an all-time high. North Texas is also one of the areas of the country that CoreLogic analysts considered "overvalued" for housing costs...

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