Texas home sales, prices reach all-time high in 2015

AUSTIN – Texas home sales and home prices reached all-time highs last year, according to the 2015-Q4 Texas Quarterly Housing Report released by the Texas Association of Realtors (TAR). 

According to the report, 70,150 homes were sold in the state in the fourth quarter, a 0.3 percent increase from the same quarter 2014. Throughout 2015, home sales rose 4.1 percent from 2014 to 309,090 sales. This is the first time that annual Texas home sales have topped 300,000.

Statewide home prices continued to climb steadily throughout the fourth quarter. The median home price for Texas homes was $195,000, a 5.5 percent increase from the same time the previous year.

Housing inventory also rose, ending the fourth quarter at 3.4 months compared with 3.1 months in the same quarter the previous year. The
Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University estimates that a monthly housing
inventory between 6.0 and 6.5 months is a level at which the supply and demand
for homes is balanced. 

“Falling
oil prices and drilling activity are just beginning to significantly impact the
Texas real estate market," said Real Estate Center Chief Economist Dr. Jim Gaines. "The full effects have yet to be seen. However, the
decline of the energy sector could add much-needed housing stock to the market,
filling labor shortages in the homebuilding industry and helping the Texas
housing market move toward a more balanced market for buyers and sellers.”

Active listings statewide rose 12.8% year-over-year to 86,976 active listings in the fourth quarter. Texas homes also continued to spend less time on the market—an average of 60 days, down four days from the same quarter the previous year.