While housing prices in North Texas have stopped soaring higher, homeownership is still unaffordable for the majority of Dallas-Fort Worth residents.
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But conditions in many markets — including the DFW area — are starting to change.
"We are seeing a housing market in flux across the United States, with a mix of tailwinds and headwinds that are pricing many people out of the housing market, but also are creating potentially better conditions for buyers," Todd Teta, chief product officer with Attom Data Solutions, said in the report. "Continually rising home prices in many areas do remain a financial stretch — or simply unaffordable — for a majority of households."
"However, quarterly wage gains have been outpacing prices increases for more than a year and mortgage rates are falling, which have helped make homes a bit more affordable now, than they've been in a year," he said. "Affordability may improve because of the simple fact that homes are out of reach for so many home seekers, suggesting that prices need to moderate up in order to attract buyers."
Wages are now rising faster than home prices in Dallas, Collin and Denton counties, Attom Data researchers found.
But after years of rising prices, homes in those areas are still out of the reach of most wage earners.
Average residents would have to pay the largest percentage of their incomes to buy a midpriced house in Denton County (45.3%) and Collin County (39.3%).
Tarrant County housing prices are still rising faster than the rate of overall wage increases, according to Attom Data Solutions.
North Texas home prices are now about 50% higher than they were before the Great Recession. The DFW area has had one of the biggest percentage run-ups in residential values since the economic downturn.
But there are growing signs that the boom in DFW housing values has peaked.
Attom Data Solutions found that median home prices in the first quarter of 2019 were down slightly from a year ago in Dallas, Collin and Denton counties.
Prices were up in Tarrant County by 4.3% from first quarter 2019.
Attom Data Solutions looked at housing costs and wages in 473 U.S. counties for its report.
The researchers found that 35% of the counties saw an increase in affordability from a year ago, including Dallas County.
Tarrant County was among the 232 of 473 Attom Data analyzed where home prices are still rising faster than incomes.
