Fewer D-FW Homes Fetch More Than List Price
A few years ago, homebuyers got into bidding wars for North Texas houses, and it wasn’t uncommon for properties to sell for more than the asking price. Not so much anymore, since the frenetic pace of the Dallas-Fort Worth home market has cooled a bit. The only segment of the market with a lot of buyer competition is at the lower end, where first-timers and investors are still vying for deals.
Less than 18% of homes sold in the D-FW area last year went for more than asking price, according to a new study by Zillow Inc.
That’s slightly less than the one in five properties that traded at more than asking price nationwide. The share of U.S. homes selling for more than list price was the lowest in three years.
“The housing market took a breather in 2019, after years of red-hot sellers’ markets,” Zillow economist Jeff Tucker said in the report. “Many sellers were caught off-guard by the changing conditions and ended up accepting offers at or below list prices that were dreamed up during the height of the frenzy. “But the cloudy outlook for sellers began to clear late in the year after inventory buildups in several cities were whittled back down to record lows, suggesting a hot spring sellers’ market is around the corner,” he said. “Sellers hoping to cash in and upgrade should proceed with care, however, as the same tight conditions that may drive up their sale price will be facing them on the other side when they look to buy their next home.”
In some markets, buyers are still paying dearly to put a roof over their heads. Last year in San Francisco, almost half of homes sold above list. In San Jose, 38.8% of houses traded for more than asking price, and that figure was 34.7% of sales in Boston.
The 17.7% of D-FW homes that sold in 2019 above list price was down from almost a quarter of total sales in 2018 that fetched more than the asking price. Even fewer Houston houses — only 13.6% of sales — went for above list price. In San Antonio, 17.8% of properties sold above that mark. Austin had the highest share of higher-than-list-price home sales at 21.5%, according to Zillow.
Looking around the country, the markets with the fewest above asking price home buys included Miami (8.9%) and Las Vegas (12.6%).
North Texas home price growth has slowed significantly in the last couple of years, taking the pressure off homebuyers to rush to make a deal.
The median sales price of homes sold in the area rose only 3% last year...
