Texas New Home Sales Drop as Prices Rise

HomesUSA.com Reports Sales Pace Level, but Pending Sales Continue to Fall


DALLAS, Aug. 19, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Texas’s new home market appears to be cooling as total new home sales have declined statewide for the second straight month despite lower mortgage rates, according to a report released by HomesUSA.com.

Mortgage rates averaged below 4.00% in July, according to Freddie Mac, but the 12-month rolling average of new home sales statewide in July dropped to 3,710 from 3,985 in June. The new home sales data reported by HomesUSA.com comes from the Houston Association of REALTORS, North Texas Real Estate Information Systems, San Antonio Board of REALTORS and the Austin Board of REALTORS Multiple Listing Services

The average number of Days on Market for new homes statewide was flat, meaning the pace of new home sales remained the same. According to the HomesUSA.com New Home Sales Index, statewide, the Days on Market were 120.28 days in July versus 119.73 days in June. Builders benefited from higher home prices statewide as the average new home price increased more than $700 in July.

"While the new home sales market appears to be tightening, the Texas new home sales market remains the envy of the nation," says Ben Caballero, owner of HomesUSA.com. “Houston and Dallas-Ft. Worth continue to shine, selling more than 1200 new homes every month for the last 12 months. Our homebuilding market is incredibly resilient," he added. Caballero is the nation's top-ranked real estate agent and real estate's first Guinness World Record holder for home sales.

“The Texas new homes market isn’t as red hot as it was,” Caballero admits, as pending new home sales continue to decline in Texas. Last month, pending new home sales were again lower in all four of the state’s biggest new homes markets, HomesUSA.com reported. For Texas, pending new home sales in July based on a 12-month rolling average dropped to 3,245 from 3,547 pending new home sales in June.

Exclusive Data: Average Days on Market – New Homes in Texas
The HomesUSA.com New Home Sales Index showed the pace of new home sales remained level last month. In Dallas-Ft. Worth, the DOM was flat at 115.56 days in July versus 115.51 days in June. San Antonio was the exception. Its new home sales pace improved as its DOM numbers dropped to 100.60 days in July from 102.06 days in June.

The new home sales pace in both Austin and Houston showed some decline. The DOM in Austin increased to 112.69 days in July from 111.05 days in June. Houston’s sales pace also slowed, with its DOM climbing to 136.29 days in July from 135.77 days in June. (See Chart 1: Texas New Homes Days on Market)

Texas New Home Sales Data
Total new home sales were down in all four of the state’s largest markets. Statewide, the new home sales in the four markets included in the Index showed a 12-month rolling average of 3,710 in July versus 3,985 in June.

Houston total new home sales in July were 1,297 versus 1,388 total sales in June. Austin total new home sales in July were 653, down from 700 total sales in June. Dallas-Ft. Worth total new home sales in July were 1,270 versus 1,364 total sales in June. San Antonio total new home sales in July were 491 versus 534 total sales in June. (See Chart 2: Texas New Home Sales)

Texas New Home Prices
New home prices were higher in three of the state’s largest new home markets, including Dallas-Ft. Worth, Austin and San Antonio. The average new home price in Texas for July was also higher at $357,859 versus $357,130 for June.

In Dallas-Ft. Worth, the average new home price for July was $375,694 versus $373,960 for June. In San Antonio, the average new home price for July was $299,151 versus $297,387 for June. Austin’s average new home price in July was $372,365 versus $367,041 in June. The one exception was the state’s biggest new home sales market in Houston, where the average new home price fell from $358,810 in June to $357,118 in July. (See Chart 3: Texas New Home Prices)

Texas Pending New Homes Sales Data
Pending new home sales were lower in all four of the state's top new home markets. Dallas-Ft. Worth posted a 12-month rolling average for pending new home sales in July of 1,120 versus 1,225 pending sales in June. Total pending sales for Austin in July were 570, down from 622 pending home sales in June. San Antonio pending new home sales in July were 432, down from 471 pending new home sales in June. Pending new home sales in Houston for July were 1,223 versus 1,229 pending sales in June. (See Chart 4: Texas Pending New Home Sales)

Caballero is sharing this Texas new homes report in advance of the release by the Commerce Department of its national New Residential Home Sales report for July set for the end of this week on Friday, August 23, at 10:00 am Eastern. HomesUSA.com publishes new home sales information for Texas’ four largest new home markets monthly, gleaned from local Multiple Listing Services, including the Houston Association of REALTORS, North Texas Real Estate Information Systems, San Antonio Board of REALTORS and the Austin Board of REALTORS.

About the HomesUSA.com New Home Sales Index
The HomesUSA.com 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 Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. Created by Ben Caballero, founder and CEO of HomesUSA.com and the most productive real estate agent in the world, it is the first index to track the sale pace of new home sales specifically.

About Ben Caballero and HomesUSA.com®
Ben Caballero is a Guinness World Record holder1, earning him the reputation as the world’s most productive real estate agent. Top-ranked in America by REAL Trends since 2013, as advertised in the Wall Street Journal, he is also the only agent to exceed $1 billion in residential sales transactions in a single year; a feat first achieved in 2015 and repeated each year until 2018 when he achieved more than $2 billion. An award-winning innovator, Caballero is the founder and CEO of HomesUSA.com, Inc., working with more than 60 home builders in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. He recently released a podcast series available on iTunes and Google Play. Learn more at HomesUSA.com |Twitter: @bcaballero - @HomesUSA | Facebook: /HomesUSAdotcom.

1 “Most annual home sale transactions through MLS by an individual sell side real estate agent - current.” – Guinness World Records – awarded 2018

Note for journalists: You may contact Ben Caballero directly on his cell at (214) 616-9222 or by email at ben@homesusa.com.

Media Contact:
Kevin Hawkins
(206) 866-1220
kevin@wavgroup.com

Image: Ben Caballero
https://www.homesusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/L-38017_bcaballero_photo.jpg

Individual Chart images:

Chart 1: Texas New Homes Tracking - Days on Market – Through July 2019:
https://homesusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Chart-1-Texas-Days-on-Market.jpg

Chart 2: Texas New Home Sales – Through July 2019:
https://homesusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Chart-2-Texas-New-Home-Sales.jpg

Chart 3: Texas New Home Sales Prices – Through July 2019:
https://homesusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Chart-3-Texas-New-Home-Prices.jpg

Chart 4: Texas Pending New Home Sales – Through July 2019:
https://homesusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Chart-4-Texas-Pending-New-Home-Sales.jpg

Chart-1 Texas Days on Market Chart 2 Texas New Homes Sales Chart 3 - Texas New Home Prices Chart 4 - Texas Pending New Home Sales Ben Caballero - Texas Real Estate Broker