Home Sales Rise While Listings Decline in 3rd Quarter of 2020

There were 119,642 homes sold in Texas in the third quarter of 2020, a 18.4% year-over-year increase. The same period saw active listings decline 32.4% and housing inventory drop to 2.3 months, according to the 2020-Q3 Texas Quarterly Housing Report released last week by Texas REALTORS®.

“The Texas real estate market’s resiliency, especially in the middle of a pandemic crisis, is nothing short of incredible, though our housing supply is still critically low,” said Cindi Bulla, chairman of Texas REALTORS®. “We are hard at work looking for the supply solutions necessary to keep our market healthy and make the American dream of homeownership attainable to every Texan.”

There were 71,569 active listings in the third quarter. The 2.3-month inventory figure for the third quarter was 1.3 months less than the same period last year.  A balanced housing market has between 6 to 6.5 months of inventory, according to the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

The statewide median housing price climbed 8.6% to $266,000. Just over 34% of all home sold in the third quarter were priced between $200,000 and $299,999.

“The Texas housing market experienced a strong push-through of demand from the second quarter into the third quarter,” said Jim Gaines, Ph.D., chief economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. “Active listings saw a sharp drop with many sellers hesitating to list their property in the middle of a pandemic. However, as the economy and employment numbers continue to recover, we anticipate end-of-year sales figures will be higher than 2019.”

Find statistics for your local market in the full report. Members of Texas REALTORS® can also access this data and tailored reports through MarketViewer, an exclusive tool for members.

Source: Texas REALTORS®