For the fifth consecutive year, the Texas housing market broke records in terms of the number of homes sold and median prices, according to the 2019 Texas Real Estate Year in Review report issued by Texas Realtors.
"There is no doubt that the Texas housing market continues to shine," said Cindi Bulla, 2020 chairman of the statewide association. "However, two of every three homes being sold are closing for more than $200,000, which puts home ownership out of reach for many Texans.
"This continued challenge is a top priority of Texas Realtors, as affordability needs to be addressed before it becomes a crisis,"she said.
Home sales across the state increased 4% in 2019, with 357,238 homes sold. That is a slightly smaller increase than the 4.4% gain in 2018.
The 10-county association reported real estate agents and brokers sold 3,408 homes in 2019. That was up 5.5% from 3,230 homes sold in 2018, and up nearly 18 percent from the 2,739 homes sold in 2017.
Statewide, median home price statewide increased 3.2% from the prior year, to $240,000. Price class distribution showed that the largest percentage of homes sold across the state (33.1%) were in the $200,000-$299,000 price range.
The average price of a home sold during 2019 was $186,928, up 4.2% from the 2018 average of $179,467. In 2017, the average was $167,423.
Jim Gaines, chief economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, suggested 2020 would be another strong year for real estate both in Texas and nationally.
"The national housing market is predicted to be one of the strongest parts of the economy this year, and in Texas we're expecting another record-breaking year as home construction picks up and interest rates remain low," he said.
Housing inventory across the state decreased 0.1 months to 3.1 months of inventory in 2019. According to the Real Estate Center, a market balanced between supply and demand has between 6.0 and 6.5 months of inventory.
Homes spent an average of 59 days on the market, one day more than 2018. Active listings statewide increased 5.8% from 2018 to 2019.
Bulla said association members also are working to address challenges seen in the market.
"Texas Realtors are partnering with cities, counties, state legislators and private entities to address supply solutions and identify home ownership opportunities for Texas consumers in price ranges affordable to our primary labor force," she said.
Data for the Texas Real Estate Year in Review Report is provided by the Data Relevance Project, a partnership among local Realtor associations and their Muiltiple Listing Services, and Texas Realtors. The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University provides analysis.
The report provides annual real estate sales data from a statewide perspective and for 25 metropolitan statistical areas in Texas.
