September 13, 2018 — Austin
The number of homes sold in Texas—and the median price for those homes—continued to rise during the second quarter of 2018, according to the 2018-Q2 Texas Quarterly Housing Report released today by the Texas REALTORS®.
“We had a strong kickoff to the summer selling season this year, topping 100,000 homes sold during the second quarter,” said Kaki Lybbert, chairman of the Texas REALTORS®. “Despite the tight supply of homes on the market, growth in home sales volume and median home prices shows that the demand to own a home remains strong across the state.”
The Texas real estate market recorded 100,227 homes sold in the second quarter of 2018, a 2.8 percent increase compared to the second quarter of 2017. The median sales price increased 4.4 percent during the same time frame to $238,000. Of all homes sold, 30.2 percent were priced from $200,000 to $299,999—the highest share of sales among all price-class distributions. Homes priced from $100,000 to $199,999 represented the second-highest share of sales with 29.2 percent.
Jim Gaines, chief economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, commented, “Home sales activity remained strong for the second quarter of 2018. The demand for housing remains at an all-time high, but statewide we’re seeing a slower rate of increase in sales compared to previous quarters due to the lack of inventory of properties for sale.”
Active listings increased 0.3 percent from the second quarter last year to 110,330 listings in the second quarter of 2018. Homes for sale in Texas spent an average of 87 days on the market during the second quarter, one day less than the second quarter of 2017.
Months of housing inventory in Texas decreased 0.1 months from the second quarter of 2017 to 3.9 months of inventory. According to the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, a market balanced between supply and demand has between 6.0 and 6.5 months of inventory.
Chairman Lybbert concluded, “As home prices continue to increase, housing inventory statewide remains constrained and affordability continues to be a challenge for many homebuyers across the state. As the demand for Texas homes is projected to be strong through the rest of 2018, Texas REALTORS® will continue to advocate for policies to make homeownership attainable for more Texans.”