That breeze you feel coming in off Lake Ray Hubbard is the sigh of relief from recent home buyers and sellers. It is no doubt that 2015 will be remembered as one of the hottest real estate markets in North Texas.
Single-family residential properties are continuing to sell at record levels. In Garland alone there were 214 houses sold in June which was the highest total for a month over the last five years. In Rowlett, sales are still brisk in the first week of September and are up 37.7 percent over a year ago.
Now that we are in the last quarter of the year, here’s what you need to know about how the remainder of the year is likely to unfold:
Demand is still rising, but . . .
Supply and demand is one of the factors contributing to rising home prices. The short supply of residential properties and condos in the Garland, Rowlett, and Rockwall areas has created a competitive environment for the purchase of those properties. It’s simple: low supply creates high demand.
Throughout the metroplex, inventory for single-family residential properties and condos is near all-time lows. According to NTREIS, the average metroplex area has only 2.4 months of single-family residential supply. For Garland, Rowlett, and Wylie it’s much lower at 1.9, 1.7, and 1.7 months respectively. Rockwall is at 2.8 month supply, well below the high of 9.3 months back in May of 2011. In my opinion there does not appear to be any signs of this changing in the near future.
The takeaway here is if you are considering selling it’s time to sell. If you are buying make sure you are well-prepared in advance and have all your ducks in a row.
There aren’t enough homes for sale
The biggest story of 2015 by far is the lack of home inventory. This even eclipses historic low mortgage interest rates! Home supply has been on a steady decline since mid-2011. Current residential home supply levels are continuing to decline. In Garland, there are 313 single-family residential properties for sale per NTREIS. This is a -22.5 percent decline. Rowlett has declined -18.2 percent and Rockwall at a -3.7 percent. This is a primary factor that is driving higher home prices. Again, it comes back to supply and demand. Less supply, higher demand.
Have your offer ready
The result of the factors I’ve mentioned above is that homes are moving like hotcakes. The average days on market for residential homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area is only 12 to 20 days, per NTREIS. Garland is at 13 days, Rowlett at 12, Rockwall at 14, and Wylie at only seven days.
My takeaway, if you are buying, is to employ a highly skilled real estate agent, know your bottom line and have your financing approved before you begin your home search. Be ready to present your offer and make sure your real estate professional is very savvy in negotiating.
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