Dallas-Fort Worth Homeowners Hold on to Massive Equity Gains Amidst Stagnant Year-Over-Year Prices: Market Update

So, what’s the big news in real estate right now for homeowners, or for those looking to buy or sell in the Dallas-Fort Worth area?

Right now, average sales prices remain flat to down by a few percent across the region compared to this time last year. But the good news? If you look at the equity gained since the start of COVID in 2019, it is still out of this world.

For instance, the average sales price in Rockwall County was $318,000 in January 2019. Today, that same home would cost you $520,000 – a whopping 64% increase. In Hunt County, prices have increased from $180,000 on average in January 2019 to $338,000 today. In Kaufman County, prices have risen from $223,000 to $383,000. And in Dallas County, we’ve seen an increase from $294,000 in 2019 to $535,000 today, a massive 82% jump in average sales price.

So, if you’ve owned your home for a few years now, that’s tremendously good news for you. You have likely gained an incredible amount of equity that you still retain today – even as prices have been flat to down since this time last year. And the reason they are not down more, as they are in other areas of the country, is because the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is an area with high demand – shown by population growth figures these past two years.

Now, let’s break down the big numbers across the region to give you better insight into exactly what this housing market looks like right now in your area.

BREAKDOWN OF THE NUMBERS

Average Sales Price

For this breakdown, we are going to take new construction out of the equation and look at just resale values, since that is most applicable to you homeowners reading this. The average sales price across North Texas is basically flat on average throughout the area. In Rockwall County, it’s down 5.1% year over year. In Hunt County, prices are up 2.1% since this time last year. In Kaufman County, prices are up 7.2%. And in Dallas County, prices are down 4.9% compared to May 2022.

If you’re looking to sell right now, you still have a ton of equity in your home as I mentioned earlier. The main thing to know is that you have to price it right. If you try pricing over what the home was worth a year ago, it’s going to sit on the market. But if you price it correctly, there is still tremendous demand you are likely to see it sell fast with multiple offers – in effect, getting you an even better price for your home than you would have if you priced it too high.

Average Price Per Square Foot

Average price per square foot is also down to flat right now compared to this same time last year. In Rockwall County, it’s down 7.5%, at $188. In Hunt, it’s down .5% to $176. In Kaufman County, you’re looking at a drop of 4.3% to $176 per square foot. And in Dallas County, it’s down 5.2% to $239 per square foot.

Average Days on Market

Days on market has increased by about 150% since last year.

But, that average is now at about 30 days a home sits on the market, which is actually a more normalized days on market.

And, days on market has been coming down since it hit a peak around February to March.

For instance, in February, homes were sitting an average of 62 days on the market, compared to right now, it’s down to 32 days for Rockwall County. It’s still an increase of 142% since May 2022, but better than it was a couple of months ago.

In Hunt County, average days on market is 56. In Kaufman, it’s 43. And in Dallas, it’s 28 days.

Percent of Original List Price

This measurement has actually gone down about 7% across the region since 2022, but it has come up from February to March levels which were around 92-93% on average. Right now, most homeowners are getting closer to 96 or 97% of their asking price.

Number of Homes For Sale

The number of homes for sale is up about 30 to 40% across the region, but that’s compared to a time where the available number of homes was extremely anemic already. This is the big culprit of the market we are in today in Dallas-Fort Worth. There simply is not enough available inventory for the number of people here. In June 2019, there were 7,333 homes on the market in Dallas County. Today, there are 3,392 homes on the market.

Even with new construction added in to these numbers, D-FW is still down on amount of listings, significantly. Why? Because people love their 3 to 4% mortgage, which is what 75% of America has right now. Why would they make a change, unless necessary or prices correct further?

New Listings

Same story here, listings are actually down about 15% across the region compared to this time last year. In Rockwall County, there were 306 new listings last month. In Hunt County, 225 new listings. In Kaufman County, 467 new listings and in Dallas County, 2,717 new listings.

Pending & Closed Sales

Pending home sales and closed sales are currently flat, which is slightly better than last month’s outlook. So, transaction activity is looking better than it was last month, year over year, but transactions still remain down due to a lack of inventory. However, we were at levels closer to 25% down in transactions, which just tells us that people are truly starting to get used to the higher interest rate environment.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, prices are flat to down year over year. But the good news is that sellers have built up a ton of equity over the past few years. So, you’re still likely to get a really good return if you list your home today – but again, the important thing is price setting and to price the home for the market we’re in today.

Looking at the inventory levels right now, we are still in a seller’s market technically. However, it is trying to balance out across certain areas of the metroplex to a more balanced market.

We do not expect prices to correct in a big way (meaning, we do not expect homes to lose a tremendous amount of value anytime soon). This is because of the solid demand in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

So overall, real estate is starting to come out of the recessionary environment, but we expect that prices will continue to bounce back and forth throughout the rest of the year as everyone continues to settle in and get used to the new interest rate environment.