A key indicator of future home sales was also lower, one report found.
DALLAS — This article was originally published by our content partners at the Dallas Business Journal. You can read the original article here.
New home sales in the Dallas-Fort Worth area were basically flat last month and prices were lower, HomesUSA.com found.
The three-month average of new home sales in November in DFW was 1,872, compared with 1,870 for October, according to the latest report from the Dallas-based company.
The three-month average new home price was $481,505, down $4,500 from October. Despite the drop, DFW continued to have the highest average new home price in the state, after surpassing the Austin metro earlier in the year.
But year over year, DFW new home sales were up more than 16% compared with November 2023, said Ben Caballero, founder and CEO of HomesUSA.com.
“Declining mortgage rates helped, and more mortgage rate improvements would go a long way to improve new home sales next year,” Caballero said in the Texas New Home Sales Report, released Dec. 23.
The average rate of a 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.78% in mid-November 2024 compared with 7.44% in mid-November 2023, according to Freddie Mac.
Statewide pictured
The average prices of new homes dropped in the four major markets in Texas last month. In Houston, the average new home price in November was $390,486, compared with $397,646 in October. In Austin, the average price in November was $476,803, versus $480,178 in October. San Antonio’s average new home price in November was $337,718 versus $339,296 in October.
Year over year, the average new home price was down nearly 1% in Dallas-Fort Worth last month. Prices have fallen 5% in Austin, 2% in Houston and 7% in San Antonio in the same period.
While DFW had the highest new home prices of the state’s major metro areas, the Houston area continues to lead in the number of newly built homes sold. DFW led all Texas metros in sales of newly built homes for much of 2023 but has been No. 2 to Houston every month in 2024, according to the HomesUSA.com data.
In Houston, the three-month average of new home sales in November rose to 2,014 from 1,951 in October. The November total in the Bayou City area was 142 homes more than the number sold in the DFW area.
In San Antonio, new home sales in November were also higher at 1,065 versus 1,049 in October, according to the three-month average. Austin was the anomaly, as new home sales last month were lower at 841 compared with 856 in October.
The HomesUSA.com report uses multiple listing service data from the Realtor associations of North Texas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio.
November is typically one of the slower months of the year for new home sales.
“November’s Dallas-Fort Worth sales numbers show that the seasonal downturn has been mild,” Caballero said.
The new home sales pace in DFW was faster in November as the three-month average of days on the market was 116.4 days versus 121.3 days in October.
Pending new home sales last month, a key indicator of future sales, were lower in DFW at 2,190 compared with 2,249 in October. However, pending sales of new homes in DFW are 15% higher year-over-year.
The HomesUSA.com monthly report covers closed sales recorded in MLS by the 10th day of the following month.
The permits picture
As the year draws near a close, the number of building permits issued through November for single-family homes is mostly higher compared with 2023 levels in many of the fast-growing suburbs north of Dallas, according to survey data compiled by Addison-based Tomlin Investments.
Year-to-date building permits rose in McKinney, Frisco, Anna, Celina, Sherman, Little Elm and Van Alstyne.
The cities of McKinney and Frisco were both up 25% through the first 11 months of the year. A total of 2,106 permits have been issued in McKinney compared with 1,679 in the same period last year. Frisco’s total has hit 1,207 so far this year, up from 968 in the first 11 months of 2023.
The slab-pouring stage in Little Elm is hot, too, with 1,127 single-family homes receiving permits through November this year, versus 968 in the same period o 2023 — a 46% increase in the Denton County city.
Celina’s permits were up 20%, to 2,713 through Nov. 30 compared with 2,261 in the same month last year.
Princeton’s permits were up 11% through November to 1,750, despite a 120-day moratorium on new housing construction that was enacted in September due to the strain development is putting on infrastructure in the Collin County city.
Permits were up 33% to 1,193 in Anna, 133% to 614 in Sherman and 124% to 457 in Van Alstyne.
There are, however, exceptions to the home construction surge in the northern suburbs. Prosper’s permits through November fell 15% compared with the initial 11 months of 2023, to 717. Melissa fell 40% to 550 so far this year. And Denton is down 20% to 814 through Nov. 30.