Dallas-area starter home drought is hammering first time buyers

First-time home buyers won't catch a break from the Dallas-area's hot home market this spring.

That's because there are only about 1,000 starter homes listed for sale with local real estate agents, according to a new report by Trulia.

Less than 8% of local homes on the market have a median price of less than $150,000 — the prime cost range for starter houses, Trulia analysts say.

Nationwide, about 21% of houses up for grabs are priced for starter buyers — one of the lowest market shares since Trulia started tracking the data in 2012.

"This spring home-buying season first-time home buyers may feel as if their American dream might be a nightmare," Trulia senior chief economist Cheryl Young said in the new report. "Starter homes have become scarcer, pricier, smaller, older and more likely in need of some TLC than they were six years ago when Trulia began monitoring housing prices and inventory."

Dallas

Making it even tougher for first-time buyers, the costs of starter homes have risen much quicker than the overall market, according to Trulia.

Overall preowned home prices were up about 10% in North Texas last year compared with 2016.

But the median list price of the lowest cost starter homes in the area shot up by almost 23%, Trulia found. Median prices for starter houses in the Dallas area have almost doubled in the last five years, the real estate analysts found.

Median list prices of the most expensive "premium" houses in the Dallas area actually fell by 2.3% in 2017.

"We find that across the board homes are the least affordable than they have ever been since we started tracking inventory and prices in 2012," Young said. "Starter homes, however, have borne the brunt of the rise in home prices and decreases in inventory."

Almost 70% of the homes up for sale in the Dallas area in the first quarter were premium properties with a median list price $460,990, Trulia found.

Based on the price of homes in the area and median incomes, Trulia estimates that starter homebuyers must use 35.6% of their income to purchase a property.

Tribune Content Agency
Housing inventory First time home buyers Purchase Housing markets Home prices Real estate Texas
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