Dec 2017 – HomesUSA.com New Home Sales Index
Dallas, Texas – December 22, 2017 – There’s good news for Texas new home builders and buyers as sales remain strong and prices continue to come down, but the pace of home sales are mixed in Texas markets in November, according to the HomesUSA.com® New Homes Sales Index and other data released today. The Index is a 12-month rolling average of the Days on Market (DOM) for new homes listed in the local Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) for the four largest Texas markets, including Houston, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Austin and San Antonio.
The pace of new home sales quickened slightly in Dallas-Ft. Worth and Houston, according to the HomesUSA.com Index for November, as the DOM averages were down for the month, but in Austin and San Antonio, the sale pace slowed a bit, as the DOM averages were up in November.
In Dallas-Fort Worth – which has become the largest new home market in Texas in terms of number of average monthly sales – the DOM decreased from 122.26 days in October to 121.19 days in November. In Houston, the average t for new homes decreased from 134.74 days in October to 134.00 days in November. Austin increased from 111.43 days in October to 112.06 days in November, while San Antonio’s new home sales pace also slowed slightly, as the DOM increased from 106.05 days in October to 106.94 days in November.
Ben Caballero, owner of HomesUSA.com and the number one real estate agent in the U.S., notes the Texas data he released today is in strong alignment with the Commerce Department’s announcement today on New Home Sales for November, which reported new home sales were up more than 17% nationally from October. He does note that we are likely seeing some signs of the impact of Hurricane Harvey in some of Houston’s housing numbers.
“As we head into the holidays, we are starting to see some seasonal impact on new home sales, as well as Hurricane Harvey’s impact in Houston,” said Caballero. “For builders and buyers, it remains a very happy year as new home sales have hit a record pace. Buyers are continuing benefit from lower new home prices,” he added.
New Home Prices Improve Again
The biggest holiday gift for buyers: lower new home prices overall in Texas in November, dropping from an average of $350,516 in October to $348,795 in November, according to data compiled by HomeUSA.com.
In Houston, the average new home sales price dropped from $361,904 in October to $361,140 in November. In Dallas-Ft. Worth, the average price dropped from $349.906 in October to $346,050 in November. In Austin, the average price dropped from $378,318 in October to $377,294 in November. And in San Antonio, the average price in November is $290,768, down from $290,822 in October.
New Home Sales Up in All Four Major Markets
In all four of the Texas major housing markets, new home sales continue to show record strength. The rolling 12-month average of home sales in these markets increased from 3,422 in October to 3,451 in November. That’s according to data compiled by HomesUSA.com® from local MLS and trade associations, including the Houston Association of REALTORS®, North Texas Real Estate Information Systems, San Antonio Board of REALTORS® and the Austin Board of REALTORS®.
According to HomesUSA.com®, based on a 12-month rolling average, Dallas-Ft. Worth posted sales of 1,272 in November, up from 1,246 in October. Houston posted new homes sales of 1,164 for November, but that’s down from 1,170 sales in October. “That slight decline is very likely to be from the impact of Hurricane Harvey,” said Caballero.
Austin posted sales of 567 for November, up from 560 in October. San Antonio posted a slight increase in sales with 447 in November, up from 446 in October.
Understanding the new “Days on Market” Index
Caballero notes the average Days on Market for New Homes “is about 65 days higher for new homes than for existing or ‘pre-owned’ homes.”
Why? “There’s a huge difference between selling a new home and a pre-owned or existing home,” Caballero explained. “New homes are often listed for sale during the early stages of construction. This early market exposure allows buyers the opportunity to customize the home. Plus, by placing more inventory on the market, as it is being built, expands the inventory of available homes, and that’s especially helpful for buyers and agents in a tight housing market.”
Caballero adds, “So there really is no apples-to-apples comparison for the Days on Market for new homes under construction with existing homes.”
The HomesUSA.com® New Home Sales Index is a first of its kind index to track new home sales. Created by Caballero, who was named “Most Innovative Real Estate Agent” by real estate news firm Inman News, the index is an analysis by HomesUSA.com of sales of homes listed in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio local Multiple Listing Services (MLS).
1Prior month DOM numbers are subject to adjustment
Please note that the monthly data is based on information reported to the MLS that may be incomplete or subject to further revision by the MLS. While licensed real estate professionals are required to report closed sales to their local MLS in Texas within 72 hours of a closed sale, not all sales, unfortunately, are reported promptly and some are reported more than 30 days later. This late reporting causes the prior month’s reported index number to change to include newly reported sales. Only the prior month index number is impacted and that number, once adjusted, is the final and correct index number.
