D-FW Homebuyers Scrambled in September to Take Advantage of Low Mortgage Rates
North Texas preowned home sales jumped 9% in September from a year ago.
Super-low home mortgage rates gave Dallas-Fort Worth's housing market a shot in the arm in September. Sales of single-family homes by real estate agents rose 9% from 2018.
The 8,998 houses sold in North Texas were the largest volume for September in three years, according to data from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University and the North Texas Real Estate Information Systems. Falling home mortgage rates in the last few months have reduced the finance costs on a home to their lowest level in several years. The average interest rate on a 30-year home loan is now almost a full percentage point below where it was at this time in 2018. Consumers have responded to the cheap mortgage costs by jumping into the market at a time of year when housing demand typically cools.
"Buyers are taking advantage of the low mortgage costs," said Ted Wilson of Dallas housing analyst Residential Strategies Inc. With increases in homes purchased in the last three months, North Texas home sales by real estate agents are running about 2% ahead of where they were at this time last year. The jump in sales also caused prices to inflate in September. The median price of houses sold through real estate agents' multiple listing services last month was $265,000 — up 6% year-over-year. That rate of increase is more than double what the area had seen earlier in 2019.
While home costs in North Texas are at record levels, they are lower than many urban areas. "Housing prices have gone up here in Texas, but relatively we look really good," said Dr. James Gaines, chief economist for the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. "D-FW is the fourth largest metro area in the country, and it's the most affordable of the top 10."
Higher home sales held down the growth of inventory of houses on the market. At the end of September, there were 26,131 single-family homes listed with real estate agents in the more than two dozen North Texas counties included in the survey, only 1% more than a year ago. The number of pending home sales in the area suggests that October will be another big month for the local housing sector. More than 9,300 homes were under contract but not yet closed — 12% more than in September 2018.
Strong performance in the preowned home market mirrors the third-quarter spike in new housing sales for the D-FW area. Builders sold about 9% more homes in the just-completed quarter and increased their starts by almost 5%. D-FW new home sales in the third quarter were at the highest level since 2006, according to Residential Strategies...
