October Newsletter

OCTOBER NEWSLETTER

It's fall!  What do you love about this time of year?  I love the cooler temps, sweaters, hats & boots, warm fires with hot cocoa, fall leaves that crunch as we walk upon them and the beautiful colors when the leaves turn from green to shades of yellow, orange, red and brown.   But wait, that is not what is happening right now in North Texas!  We are experiencing the cooler temps (usually brought on by a cold front that drops the temps 30 to 40 degrees within a 24-hour time frame) but what about the fall color and leaves crunching under my feet?  We are currently experiencing unusual amounts of rain in the DFW area and 36 counties have been added to the Disaster Declaration in Texas due to the flooding that has occurred. So although there are some signs of fall as I break out my sweaters and boots for football games, there are very few signs of fall color outside.  In fact, as I look out my window everything is green!  Like spring.  We have recently experienced a reprieve from the rain and hopefully, the fall colors will soon appear.  What about our housing markets?   Everything is slowing down which is typical of the fall season, median and average prices are still climbing but there are a few signs that are different.  Inventory and Days on the Market are increasing, the number of sales is declining and we are seeing some softening at the upper ends of the market.  Here are the numbers from September: 

SEPTEMBER 2018

Denton County
$300,000 | +3.4%

Collin County
$327,950 | +4.1%

Dallas County
$240,000 | +7.6%

Tarrant County
$230,000 | +7.0%

All four counties are still showing price increases from the same time last year.  The percentage of increases are in smaller increments than the previous years. 

SEPTEMBER 2018

Denton County
$347,768 | +5.9%

Collin County
$365,375 | +4.5%

Dallas County
$339,412 | +9.1%

Tarrant County
$276,798 | +4.0%

All four counties are still showing price increases from the same time last year for both the median and average sales price.   The pace has slowed as the percentage of increases are in smaller increments than the previous years.

SEPTEMBER 2018

Denton County
1,108 | -14.5%

Collin County

1,168 | -9.5%

Dallas County
1,820 | -15.9% 

Tarrant County
2,162 | -9.8%

The number of sales in all four counties is down.  When markets slow, the number of sales begin to decrease making it necessary for sellers to begin to lower the sale prices to meet the demands of buyers. 

SEPTEMBER 2018

Denton County
3.2 | +18.5%

Collin County
3.6 | +16.1%

Dallas County
2.9 | +7.4%

Tarrant County
2.4 | +9.1%

Inventory is increasing in all four counties.  All have between 2.4 and 3.6 months of inventory.  This is still not a balanced market as inventories around 4 to 6 months is a more balanced market. 

SEPTEMBER 2018

Denton County
27 | +35.0%

Collin County
30 | +25.0%

Dallas County
18 | +28.6%

Tarrant County
18 | +20.0%

The number of days on the market has increased in all four counties by more than 20 %.  As properties stay on the market longer, inventories increase and prices will begin to decline.  

Mortgage interest rates are increasing which will keep some buyers out of the market.  Interest rates have been at record lows for a long down.  You can see in this chart of how interest rates have changed since last year. 

SEPTEMBER 2018

Denton County
$1,540,024 | +33.2%

Collin County
$1,305,054 | -10.5%

Dallas County
$1,579,763 | -0.7%

Tarrant County
$1,345,741 | -17.3%

Here is a look at the upper end of the market and you can see that three of the four counties are showing price declines.  Typically the upper end of the market will soften first when a market is slowing. 

MORTGAGE INTEREST RATES:

Mortgage interest rates are increasing which will keep some buyers out of the market.  Interest rates have been at record lows for a long down.  You can see in this chart how interest rates have changed since last year. 

TAKEAWAY- Markets are softening but the prices are still increasing.  There is still strong demand in the market.  We are still seeing population growth and builders are building in many parts of North Texas to meet the demands of the lower inventory.  Some of the things impacting the markets are increases in mortgage interest rates and continued increases in inventory from new construction. 

Get Our Latest Updates- Subscribe to our Newsletter