september ‘24 Market Update

Recently released September home sales data for the state of Texas indicates more of the same 3 major recent trends: 1) Seasonality and slowing down of sales, in general 2) Months of inventory of homes continue to climb, with San Antonio being the highest at 5.2 months, and 3) Average Price of homes continue declining.

Oddly enough, the September 2024 sales volume levels are marginally less than last September 2023, for all 4 major markets (Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio). It may feel like the sky is falling from a sales standpoint, but it’s actually at similarly low sales volumes as the previous year and not deteriorating much, thus far.

We had a brief reprieve on 30-year mortgage rates dipping down to an average of 6.18% in September, but that trend recently reversed, which is not helpful for the housing market. Last month, we were hoping and somewhat anticipating, the continuing declines in rates, so this recent turnaround applies more pressure on the market. The overall market remains sluggish, but relatively balanced, and the buyer’s remain in control of negotiations in most Texas markets, as the sold price relative to the list price of homes is running about 94.1%, indicating buyers are typically negotiating a 6% reduction in sales price.

Source of data: Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center