A new analysis of the statewide real estate market has revealed new home sales in Texas have slowed since September, despite a drop in average prices. Plus, inventory is on the rise.
The September edition of the New Home Sales Report by Dallas-based platform HomesUSA.com examined MLS data across Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio to determine the status of the overall real estate market.
The report found that the three-month average number of new home sales fell across all four major metros in September. San Antonio saw the most dramatic decline in sales with 1,067 new homes sold in September, versus 1,100 in August.
Elsewhere in Texas, Austin saw the smallest decline in home sales, down by just seven sales to 864 in September. Houston’s total new home sales fell by 27 to 1,943 in September. In Dallas-Fort Worth, new home sales dropped from 1,862 in August to 1,848 in September.
New home prices are dropping in San Antonio
Three-month average prices for new homes across Texas have fallen from $432,749 in August to $429,898 in September, the report found. In a year-over-year comparison from September 2023, new home prices have plummeted almost $29,000.
Average new home prices fell in San Antonio, Austin, and Houston in September, but increased in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Here’s how home prices changed across all four major metros from August to September:
- Dallas-Fort Worth: Increased from $489,762 to $492,129
- Austin: Decreased from $494,920 to $483,408
- San Antonio: Decreased from $340,755 to $338,620
- Houston: Decreased from $402,741 to $397,318
How long on the market
The trends also show the three-month average Days on Market (DOM) — the average time homes sit on the market before being sold — across all four real estate markets came out to 97.76 days in September. New homes are remaining on the market slightly longer than they were in August, when the three-month average DOM was 97.05 days.
Specifically in San Antonio, the report said new homes sat on the market for 80.87 days before selling in September, in a slight uptick from August’s DOM of 79.71 days.
New home inventory
New home inventory (the number of active listings on the market) in Texas is also on the rise. The three-month average inventory in September came out to 32,337 new listings, versus 31,893 in August. Active new home listings rose in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin, but decreased in San Antonio.
"San Antonio was the outlier, as active listings last month decreased to 5,384 versus 5,512 in August," the report said.
There were 12,994 active listings in Houston, 7,939 active listings across Dallas-Fort Worth, and 6,019 in Austin in September.
HomesUSA.com founder Ben Caballero cited fluctuating mortgage rates as one of the main reasons why Texas’ real estate market is “showing mixed signals.”
“...But the silver lining is that sales compared to the same time last year are up 12 percent,” said Caballero.
The monthly Texas New Home Sales Report combined the four largest new home markets — Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio — to determine its overall statewide data, which makes up the vast majority of new home sales in Texas.
