San Antonio housing market accelerates, but lifts foot a little

SAN ANTONIO – The housing market in San Antonio is still hot
and a seller’s market.

The volume of homes sold in the city and surrounding areas
surged in January while the cost to buy a home continued to rise, building
off of last year’s record results.

San Antonio residential sales surged 6.6 percent last month
from January 2015, with 1,534 homes sold, according to data from the San Antonio
Board of Realtors.

The median price of a home rose 5.3 percent year-over-year—from
$176,700 to $186,100 last month.

Local housing remains a seller’s market, with low inventory
and high demand, experts said. 

Housing supply stayed tight at three and a half
months after reaching a record low last year. A supply of six months is
considered to be balanced between supply and demand.

San Antonio’s healthy economy and growing population, along
with low interest rates, drove the sales and price increases.

“We might not set a new record, but we’ll still be in pretty
good shape,” said Jim Gaines, chief e​​​conomist at the Real Estate Center at
Texas A&M University. “It’s like taking your foot off the accelerator a
little bit.”

Inventory will become less tight this year as home builders
increase the pace of construction to meet demand, ending up at 4.5 or five
months, Gaines predicted.

A record high of 27,154 homes were sold in the local area
last year, beating the previous record set in 2006 before the housing crisis.
The median home price broke $200,000 for the first time in May, peaking at
$202,500.

Homes stayed on the market an average of 63 days
during the month, 15 percent less time than January 2015.