Texas luxury home sales still strong

​​AUSTIN – Luxury home sales in Texas were strong in the first eight months of 2016, according to the latest Texas Luxury Home Sales Report released yesterday by th​​e Texas Association of Realtors.

​The report examines housing market trends and statistics for homes priced $1 million or higher in the Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and Midland MSAs.

From January to August 2016, luxury home sales volume increased in all four major metro areas e​​​xcept Houston, which had a 7.9 percent year-over-year decline. The highest annual gains were in Corpus Christi and Midland, where sales jumped 60 percent and 166.7 percent, respectively.

Luxury home prices remained flat or declined across the state. The lone exception was Midland, where the median price increased 13.8 percent. Prices were highest in DFW​, with a median price of $1.4 million. Austin-Round Rock MSA had the highest price per sf ($345) among major metros.

"Several factors are driving Texas’ luxury home sales growth in 2016," said Real Estate Center Chief Economist Dr. Jim Gaines. "Consistent with the downturn of the oil and gas sector, homeowners are putting more expensive homes on the market. Other luxury home sales are from new home construction contracted two years ago, when the energy sector was healthier."