Housing-Insight-October-2022

Texas Housing Insight October 2022 Summary

by Real Estate ArticlesResourcesStats

Since the Federal Reserve announced the first 75-basis-point increase in June of this year, the housing market has retreated with both demand and supply slowing down. Home sales were down 7.4 percent over the previous month, and housing starts for apartments doubled in a year as investors adapted their strategies from selling single-family homes to renting out apartments. As the Fed continues its aggressive inflation policies, mortgage rates will not drop until inflation is curbed. Home prices have been depreciating, and Austin—the metro that inflated the most during 2021—saw the largest depreciation amid the market’s abrupt slowdown.

Supply1

Texas’ single-family construction permits dropped below 10,000 units for the first time in two years. Despite slowing housing activities, Texas remained most active at authorizing construction projects, surpassing No. 2 Florida by one additional permit for every nine permits. Construction permits fell in all major metros except Houston. Dallas (2,545 permits) contracted by more than 700 permits in the past month, falling to a three-year low, while demand in Houston (3,226) stayed steady. As usual, Austin (1,380) was building homes twice as fast as San Antonio (629). Contrary to the weakened single-family sector, permits for Texas’ multifamily sector grew robustly. The number of issuances both for 2-4 family homes and apartments doubled from the year before.

The lumber producer price index (PPI) fell four times in the past six months, and the input cost had slid 17.6 percent since the year started. Since June’s interest rate rise, the South’s total housing starts plummeted quickly. However, this measure of new-home construction jumped to its highest level since bottoming out in June to 808,000 units in October, as housing starts inched up 6.7 percent month over month (MOM). Growth was driven largely by multi-unit construction permits while single-family units continued to stall.

While new homebuilding projects are slowing, the state’s current supplies have been accumulating. Active listings grew 6.6 percent MOM to a seasonally adjusted rate of 89,800 units. Compared with March’s inventory of 41,800 units, the metric has doubled, and the state has nearly recovered to the pre-pandemic level. Accordingly, Texas’ months of inventory (MOI) ticked up to 2.7 MOI. San Antonio led the pack with three MOI, followed closely by Austin. Dallas remained the tightest with 2.3 MOI. This trend suggests a cooler housing market, considering the conspicuously low inventories in the past two years.

Demand

Total home sales diminished 7.4 percent MOM, settling at a seasonally adjusted rate of 27,900 closed listings (Table 1). Texas’ four Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) all mirrored the statewide trend, as sales in each metro shrank by double digits YOY. The rapid decline in housing sales has revealed how important low mortgage rates are to the latest housing frenzy. According to Texas Realtors’ Data Relevance Project, October sales were down 21 percent from a year earlier. At the current rate, year-end 2022 sales will likely fall short of 2021.

Amid this plunge in demand, the remaining buyers prefer new homes to existing homes. When sales were differentiated by the existing-home market and the new-construction market, the state’s cumulative sales volume plummeted 8.8 percent YTD in the former sector, while the same metric jumped 9.2 percent in the latter sector. The sales disparity was even more pronounced in Austin.

Closed listings for homes priced below $300K fell below 10,000 transactions for the first time in a decade, falling close to 50 percent compared with February 2020. This is partially due to the fallen overall demand but more because of the rapid appreciation brought by the housing frenzy. Due to the rapidly rising price, the market share for home sales in this price cohort fell from 84 percent to 39 percent in the past ten years.

Homes are sitting on the market longer as a result of slowing sales. Texas’ average days on market (DOM) balanced at 42 days. DOM ranged from 37 days in Dallas to 47 days in San Antonio. Despite the prolonged waiting time, compared with the five-year average of 59 days before 2020, the relatively short period suggests the housing market is still relatively tight compared with historic norms.

Additionally, in February 2020 DOM ranged from 55 days to 83 days respectively for homes in the median price cohort and in the higher-end tail. In September 2022, the DOM interval was 43 to 44 days. The truncated DOM interval both in terms of value and difference of the two price cohorts implies the housing market still has ample room to fully return to the normal level.

Prices

After a mild moderation in September, Texas’ median home price continued to decline. The state’s seasonally adjusted median price edged down to $338,000, decreasing 1.6 percent MOM. The four major metros posted mixed monthly changes (Table 2). Regardless of the recent depreciation, prices in these MSAs remained higher than their year-ago levels, with the lowest growth in Austin at 4.8 percent and highest in Dallas at 11.1 percent.

As the Federal Reserve imposed forceful monetary policies to curb inflation, the ten-year U.S. Treasury bond yield jumped to 3.98 percent2, while the two-year counterpart surged by a similar amount. The spread difference between the ten-year and two-year bond yields widened slightly while staying in negative territory, indicating persistent market uncertainties. The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation’s 30-year fixed-rate elevated further to a 20-year high at 6.9 percent. This rate surpassed all historical rates during 2007 and 2009.

Rapidly rising mortgage rates diminished purchasing power and sidelined many prospective buyers. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, mortgage applications for new-home purchases plummeted more than one fourth from year-ago levels, and the national median payment rose 3.7 percent to $2,012 in October. According to a Wall Street Journal analysis, some buyers have had to dodge the conventional way of borrowing from traditional lenders and instead borrow directly from family members or leverage either business or personal assets.

The Texas Repeat Sales Home Price Index, which accounts for compositional price effects, corroborated the trend of mixed responses in major metros, with Fort Worth falling 1 percent MOM and San Antonio rising 0.3 percent MOM. On the year-to-year levels, the annual appreciation ranged from 3.7 percent to 10.8 percent, with Austin growing the least and Dallas leading the pack.

Household Pulse Survey

The U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey indicates that despite rapidly rising mortgage rates, the share of Texas homeowners behind on their mortgage payments stayed at 4 percent as in September (Table 3), on par with the national level. This implies that while the outlook on the overall housing market dimmed, homeowners’ financial health remained healthy. Texas owners especially bolstered their housing status, as the owned free/clear homes rose 4 percentage points above the national average. Fewer Texas homeowners reported the possibility of foreclosure on average as the proportion of delinquent individuals at risk of foreclosure dropped to 4 percent (Table 4). These numbers suggested many prospective homebuyers, who were initially not confident about their financial stability, may have opted out of buying a house during this period.

_________________

1 All measurements are calculated using seasonally adjusted data, and percentage changes are calculated month over month, unless stated otherwise.

2 Bond and mortgage interest rates are nonseasonally adjusted. Loan-to-value ratios, debt-to-income ratios, and the credit score component are also nonseasonally adjusted.

Source – Joshua Roberson, Weiling Yan, and John Shaunfield (December 7, 2022)

https://www.recenter.tamu.edu/articles/technical-report/Texas-Housing-Insight

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October 2022 DFW Area Real Estate Stats

by Real Estate ArticlesResourcesStats

October 2022 Stats are IN!

In Collin and Denton counties, all arrows are pointing up in the areas of new listings and active listings with active listing seeing an increase of over 100% in both counties compared to last year. It will come as no surprise that the average days on market has also increased in these counties over last year’s market. What we are all seeing in the news is reflected in the number of sales in October which has declined between 25 and 30%.

In Dallas and Tarrant counties, we are seeing similar trends, however, new listings are down by about 10% in both counties. Active listings are down 39% in Dallas County and up 82% in Tarrant County. Average sales prices are up 16.7% in Dallas and 14.2% in Tarrant. Again, the number of sales is down by approximately 30% in both of these counties.

Our stats infographics include a year over year comparison and area highlights for single family homes broken down by county. We encourage you to share these infographics and video with your sphere.

For more stats information, pdfs and graphics of our stats including detailed information by county, visit the Resources section on our website at DFW Area Real Estate Statistics | Republic Title of Texas.

For the full report from the Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center, click here. For NTREIS County reports click here.

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September 2022 DFW Area Real Estate Stats

by Real Estate ArticlesResourcesStats

September 2022 Stats are IN!

In Collin County, all arrows point up with regard to new and active listings, average sales price, average price per square foot and days on market. The number of sales is down about 26% from 2021. In Dallas County, new listings are down 5.5% from this time last year, along with the number of sales down almost 23% from 2021. The number of active listings is up 22.5% from last year, along with increases in days on market (up 27%), averages sales price (up 9%) from the prior year and prices per square foot (up 16%). Denton County sees the biggest increase in active listings up over 100% from last year, along with increases in new listings, average sales price, average price per square foot and days on market. Not surprisingly, we see much of the same statistics in Rockwall and Tarrant Counties.

The good news is that buyers have more options than they did in 2021. However, even with the increased inventory, there is still only an average of 2.5 month supply in all counties (according to NTREIS TRENDS report) which still makes it very much a sellers’ market in North Texas (with people still moving here)! Happy Selling!

Our stats infographics include a year over year comparison and area highlights for single family homes broken down by county. We encourage you to share these infographics and video with your sphere.

For more stats information, pdfs and graphics of our stats including detailed information by county, visit the Resources section on our website at DFW Area Real Estate Statistics | Republic Title of Texas.

For the full report from the Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center, click here. For NTREIS County reports click here.

Screenshot 2022-10-19 162614

Republic Title Frisco Named a 2022 Faces of Frisco Business

by Inside Republic TitleReal Estate ArticlesResources

We are excited to announce that the Republic Title Frisco office was recently named a 2022 Faces of Frisco business!

Republic Title is proud to be the leading title insurance company in Frisco and is committed to providing customers with exceptional service when handling the transfer of title and protecting their financial investment in a property. Buying or selling a home is the largest transaction most of us will make in our lives and Republic Title is the smart option for protecting your property rights.

Founded in 1991, Republic Title is proud to have our corporate headquarters in Collin County. With over 230 collective years of title insurance experience in the Frisco office, we have been named a “Best Place to Work” by the Dallas Business Journal and a “Top Workplace” by the Dallas Morning News for eight years in a row. Republic Title was also named “Best Title Company” in Frisco/Plano by Living Magazine.

At Republic Title, the mission is to add value to every customer we serve trough Proven Experience, Dedicated Service, and Lasting Relationships. Count on the experienced team at Republic Title to be your trusted partner when buying or selling a home, refinancing an existing mortgage, or obtaining a construction loan.

To view the October issue of Frisco Style and see all 2022 Faces of Frisco business, click here.

 

Housing-Insight-August-2022

Texas Housing Insight August 2022 Summary

by Real Estate ArticlesResourcesStats

The pandemic-induced housing frenzy is easing as the Fed’s aggressive monetary policies directly affect the housing market. Mortgage interest rates rose from 2.84 to 5.22 percent in the past year. Amid these robust rate increases, Texas’ housing market quickly dialed back sales while supplies have gradually accumulated. Despite the slowdown, inventory levels remain below historical levels, and prices are still high. While prices have dipped some in recent months, they still remain considerably high compared with before the pandemic. As of August, Texas’ median price remains 11.4 percent elevated from a year earlier.

Supply1

Interest rates continued to increase following more aggressive Federal Reserve intervention. Despite mounting interest rate pressure, Texas’ single-family construction permits recovered 12,500 permits in August, rising 9.3 percent month over month (MOM). Permits rebounded in three of the state’s four largest metros (San Antonio being the exception). Houston (3,700) and Dallas (3,693) had the most permits, while Austin (1,609) and San Antonio (681) followed third and fourth in the state. Meanwhile, Texas’ single-family construction values continued to fall by double digits, tumbling to a two-year low. All major metros reported double-digit negative year-to-date (YTD) growth.

Permits for Texas’ multifamily sector corrected. After July’s abnormally high request of 12,500 construction permits, 9,000 permits were issued in August.

Total overall housing starts in the Southern Census Bureau Region also recovered some in August with 885,000 new starts. However, single-family housing starts, which account for the biggest share of the overall count, remained 100,000 units short of the year-ago average with 530,000. August’s boost could be partially explained by declining input costs such as lumber. The lumber producer price index (PPI) decreased for the third time in a row in August.

In the existing-home market, the state’s current supply has accumulated throughout the summer. Active listings rose more than 30,000 units since May. This loosening up of housing availability indicates a break-through considering the distinctly low inventories of the past two years. Texas’ housing supply, which had been below two months of inventory (MOI) from November 2020 to June 2022, ticked up to 2.4 months. San Antonio led with 2.7 months, and Dallas remained the tightest with two months (Table 1). The Texas Real Estate Research Center considers six to 6.5 months of inventory a balanced market.

Demand

As a result of higher mortgage rates, housing demand has fallen, and homes are sitting on the market longer. Sales improved slightly in August (5 percent MOM) from July’s steep decline, reaching a seasonally adjusted rate of 29,300 sales. Overall home sales have been in freefall since around April. At the current rate, 2022 sales will likely fall short of 2021. According to the Center’s Data Relevance Program, the sales level was down 16.3 percent from a year earlier.

Sales in all major metros remained low as mortgage pressures rattled buyers. Austin and Houston’s closed listings were most affected with a 20 percent year-over-year (YOY) reduction, while DFW and San Antonio pulled back more than 10 percent. Existing-home sales, which make up 80 percent of Texas’ housing market, inched down for the seventh straight month. Texas’ marginal recovery in August was concentrated in the remaining 20 percent of the housing market, where Dallas’ new-construction market had double-digit growth.

Texas’ average days on market (DOM) was 38 days, up from 29 days in March. However, compared with the five-year average of 57 days between 2014 and the early 2020s, the relatively short time suggests a persistent imbalance between sellers’ and buyers’ bargaining-power. Amid slowing sales, Austin’s market reacted most aggressively, doubling the listing time in the past five months, while DFW reacted most moderately.

When days on market are differentiated based on the home market, the existing homes’ DOMs are conspicuously lower than new homes’. This could possibly be due to differing price points as new homes tend to be more expensive than the average existing-home listing. Categorized by price cohorts, homes priced between $300K and $500K had the shortest listing time, taken off list in 34 days.

Prices

The downward trend for Texas’ median home price continued in August. The state’s seasonally adjusted median price was $342,000, falling more than $10,000 in three months. Prices dropped in all metros except San Antonio, which advanced $2,000 this month (Table 2). Dallas and Houston, Texas’ two largest MSA areas, reported modest declines of $2,000, while Austin took the biggest hit of $11,000. Although housing prices are recently under correction, they remain much elevated from year-ago prices, accelerating 11.4 percent YOY. Even for Austin, the price in this much-affected market was up 5.5 percent YOY.

The Federal Reserve is expected to impose more forceful monetary policies throughout the latter half of this year and likely into the upcoming year to combat inflation. While the ten-year U.S. Treasury bond yield persisted at 2.9 percent2, the two-year counterpart continued to march upward. The spread between the ten-year and the two-year bond yields dipped further in the negative territory, indicating the market’s economic uncertainties about the near future. The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation’s 30-year fixed-rate refrained from June’s high of 5.52 percent and slipped 30 basis points in the past two months. The last time the mortgage rate was over 5 percent was 2009. For more information on the effect of mortgage interest rates on purchase affordability, see “How Higher Interest Rates Affect Homebuying.” 

The Texas Repeat Sales Home Price Index, which accounts for compositional price effects, corroborated the trend of depreciation. The index’s monthly decline was the second in a row. Annual appreciation slowed to 12.1 percent YOY in August compared with 20.4 percent YOY growth in January. While Dallas’ home price index remained above the state average, Austin’s YOY rate fell to a single digit, behind Houston’s yearly growth and down to the slowest appreciating metro.

Household Pulse Survey

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, in spite of rising mortgage rates, the share of Texas homeowners current on their mortgage payments improved 60 basis points in August, and the percentage of people who were behind shrunk to 4 percent (Table 3). This implies that while the overall economy continues to decline, homeowner financial health has so far remained robust. Houston owners’ bolstered ability to pay their mortgage resulted in an increase in the state’s average owned free/clear homes ratio. On the other hand, when asked about future payments, fewer Texas homeowners were confident that they would not face foreclosure. The proportion of delinquent individuals at risk of foreclosure shot up 80 basis points to 8 percent (Table 4).

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1 All measurements are calculated using seasonally adjusted data, and percentage changes are calculated month over month, unless stated otherwise.

2 Bond and mortgage interest rates are nonseasonally adjusted. 

Source – Joshua Roberson, Weiling Yan, and John Shaunfield (September 29, 2022)

https://www.recenter.tamu.edu/articles/technical-report/Texas-Housing-Insight

Housing-Insight-July-2022

Texas Housing Insight July 2022 Summary

by Real Estate ArticlesResources

Aggressive central bank policy continues to drag down the housing market, stalling the previously hot streak of housing sales. The housing sector continues to show signs of easing as housing inventories recover and home prices depreciate. Amid a statewide retreat in construction permits, the elevated demand for construction suggests many prospective homebuyers might be putting off their big-item purchases. Sales of homes below $300,000, an attractive market for first-time buyers and younger households, diminished more than sales of higher-priced homes.

Supply1

Texas’ single-family construction permits marked the largest monthly decrease since April 2020, sliding 16.1 percent month over month (MOM). Permits for building construction and renovation fell in all four major metros, but contractions were most significant in Houston and San Antonio, falling at 19.9 percent and 12.7 percent MOM, respectively. Amid the drop, DFW (3,626 permits) surpassed Houston (3,471 permits) as the metropolitan area with the most construction permits. The last time DFW surpassed Houston on the national permit list was one-and-a-half years ago. On the other hand, permits between Austin (1,626) and San Antonio (781) continued the 1:2 ratio. While the single-family sector shrank to 11,900 permits, Texas’ multifamily sector rose to an historic high with 12,500. The growth was heavily concentrated on permits for apartment buildings, doubling the year-ago level.

Lumber producer price index (PPI) balanced at the year-ago value, and the July value was four-fifths of March’s record-high metric. Despite the recent lumber price deduction, material prices are still soaring compared with historical prices. Additionally, rampant mortgage rate increases suppressed the South’s total housing starts to a rate of 710,000 units. Single-family housing starts, which account for the biggest share of homebuilding, plunged to 511,000 units. Correspondingly, single-family private construction values tumbled to a two-year low, withdrawing 13.2 percent MOM. All major metros reported double-digit negative year-to-date (YTD) growths.

While homebuilding is expected to continue decelerating, the state’s current supply is starting to accumulate. Active listings rose more than 17,000 units since May. This loosening up of housing availability indicates a break-through after the abnormally low inventories of the past two years. As a result, Texas’ housing supply, which has been below two months of inventory (MOI), recovered to 2.2 MOI. The Texas Real Estate Research Center considers six to 6.5 months of inventory a balanced market. San Antonio led the pack with 2.5 MOI, and Dallas remained the tightest with 1.9 MOI (Table 1).

Demand

Record home prices and rapidly rising mortgage rates continued to discourage buyers. While summer is normally peak season, July’s total housing sales sank according to the Texas Real Estate Research Center’s Data Relevance Program. The state’s sales volume lost over 3,000 deals, falling to a seasonally adjusted rate of 28,121 closed sales. Sales in all major metros declined under falling demand. Austin and Houston’s closed sales took the biggest hits, each dipping almost 16 percent MOM, while DFW and San Antonio each shrank close to 8 percent. While every prospective homebuyer has to confront financial challenges, affordability most adversely impacted first-time buyers, resulting in a significant shrinkage in sales of homes below $300,000.

Texas’ average days on market (DOM) remained low at 34 days, suggesting a persistent imbalance between sellers and buyers’ bargaining power. Homes sold quickest in Austin and Dallas, leaving the market in 22 days, while Houston and San Antonio’s DOM hovered around 30 days. When DOM is differentiated based on the home market, the DOM for existing homes is conspicuously lower than that of new homes. Existing homes are still in a tight housing market. 

Categorized by price cohorts, homes priced in the $300K and $400K cohorts sold fastest, typically in 28 days. Meanwhile, homes priced at more than $750K had interestingly shorter listing periods than those priced at less than $300K.

Prices

In July, the Texas’ median home price fell $5,000 to $344,000. Prices dropped in all metros (Table 2). Austin ($510,000) and DFW ($406,000) fell $7,000 and $8,000 in a month, respectively. Meanwhile, Houston ($338,000) dropped $3,000, and San Antonio ($328,000) dropped $4,000. Amid the statewide downturn, Austin prices had the steepest decline, falling $33,000 in three months. Housing prices are under correction, but they remain much elevated from a year ago, accelerating 13.2 percent year over year (YOY).

The Federal Reserve is expected to impose more forceful monetary policies in the second half of the year to combat inflation. The ten-year U.S. Treasury bond yield retreated to 2.9 percent2, while the two-year counterpart continued to march upward. The spread between the ten-year and the two-year bond yields entered the negative territory for the first time since 2008, indicating the market’s economic uncertainties about the near future. The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation’s 30-year fixed-rate, which for years hovered around 3 percent, elevated to 5.52 percent. The last time the mortgage rate was this high was 2008. For more information on the effect of mortgage interest rates on purchase affordability, see “How Higher Interest Rates Affect Homebuying.”

The Texas Repeat Sales Home Price Index, which accounts for compositional price effects, corroborated the trend of slowing price growth, as the index shrank from increasing 20.4 percent YOY in January to increasing 14.9 percent YOY. Falling prices pulled the state YOY growth down by 55 basis points in the last seven months. Austin fell from the fastest appreciating metro to second, behind San Antonio’s yearly growths.

Household Pulse Survey

Homeowners who just closed a deal were likely to start off in good financial standing. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, in spite of rising mortgage rates, the share of Texas homeowners caught up on mortgage payments improved 60 basis points YOY in July, and the share of people who were behind shrank to 4 percent (Table 3). Houston owners’ bolstered ability to pay their mortgage increased the owned free/clear homes ratio to the state average. On the other hand, when asked about the future payments, fewer Texas homeowners were confident they would not face foreclosure. The proportion of delinquent individuals at risk of foreclosure shot up 80 basis points to 8 percent (Table 4).

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1 All measurements are calculated using seasonally adjusted data, and percentage changes are calculated month over month, unless stated otherwise.

2 Bond and mortgage interest rates are nonseasonally adjusted. Loan-to-value ratios, debt-to-income ratios, and the credit score component are also nonseasonally adjusted.

Source – Joshua Roberson and Weiling Yan (September 14, 2022)

https://www.recenter.tamu.edu/articles/technical-report/Texas-Housing-Insight

Avoid-Common-Closing-Delays

Avoid Common Closing Delays

by Real Estate ArticlesResourcesTitle Information

Remember – Prior planning prevents inconvenience.  Awareness of the following items will help to ensure a smooth closing.

LOAN REQUIREMENTS
Be sure that you return all lender requested documents and complete lender required tasks so they are able process your loan and get you through underwriting as soon as possible, in order to keep your closing date as scheduled. Failing to turn in documents in a timely manner can slow down the closing process.

TAX INFORMATION
If any delinquent taxes are found in your name during the title process, you will need to pay them prior to closing, and you must furnish an original tax receipt, otherwise you will not be able to close until payment of these taxes can be confirmed.

POWER OF ATTORNEYS
If either party intends to use a Power of Attorney at closing; i.e., will not be there to sign:

  • The title company must approve the Power of Attorney prior to closing.
  • The original Power of Attorney must be delivered to the title company prior to closing, as the original must be recorded with the County Clerk ahead of all other closing documents.
  • The title company must be able to contact you via telephone on the day of closing to be certain you are alive and well and have not revoked the Power of Attorney.

COMMON NAMES
If you have a common surname, please complete a Confidential Information Statement and return it to the title company prior to closing.

MARITAL STATUS
     A.  Texas is a community property state. If you purchased your property when you were single and you have married, the title company will require that your spouse join in signing the deed at closing, due to Texas Homestead Laws.

     B.  If you are divorced and your divorce proceeding was handled in a county other than the county you are in, please have a certified copy of the Divorce Decree delivered to the title company prior to closing.

OUT OF TOWN MAIL-OUTS
If any documents must be mailed out of town:

  • All documents must be signed exactly as requested.
  • All documents must have proper notarization.  Any documents mailed out of the country must be notarized in English.

REVIEW IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS
There a few important documents that the Buyer and their REALTOR® will need to review prior to closing. They include the Survey, Title Commitment, HOA documents (if applicable) and the Closing Disclosure. When the title company sends these documents, review them in a timely manner and alert your REALTOR® and/or the title company to any errors or discrepancies.

Print Version

Republic-Title-Mobile-900x506

Republic Title Mobile

by Real Estate ArticlesResourcesTitle Information

If you haven’t downloaded our app, Republic Title Mobile, now is the time! Join other real estate agents using Republic Title Mobile and see why we have a 5 star rating in the Apple Store!

Republic Title Mobile is a mobile app that provides easy access for real estate professionals, buyers, and sellers to closing cost calculators, educational videos and articles on title insurance and the real estate industry, and more information on our services to serve your real estate needs.

Our convenient calculator allows users to quickly calculate closing fees associated with your transaction. Calculators include:

  • Title Quote
  • Closing Disclosure Quote
  • Loan Estimate Quote
  • Seller Net Sheet
  • Sell To Net
  • Seller’s Multiple Offers
  • Buyer Estimate
  • Monthly Affordability
  • Rent vs Buy

Other Helpful Real Estate Resources Include:

  • Contact Information for Republic Title’s 13 North Texas Locations
  • Insightful News on the Title Insurance and Real Estate Industries
  • Educational Videos and Monthly Real Estate Stats

Republic Title Mobile can be found in the Apple App Store or in the Google Play Store.

If you have any questions, please reach out to one of our Business Development Representatives.

Renting-to-buying

Is This The Year You Switch From Renting To Buying?

by Real Estate ArticlesResources

With rents on the rise this could be the perfect time for you to buy; but here’s what you need to consider first:

ADVANTAGES OF BUYING…

  • By maintaining regular mortgage payments, your credit score will increase over time.
  • If you itemize deductions, you could lower your federal tax liability by taking the mortgage interest deduction.
  • When you buy a house, you will know that the mortgage rate for the 5 to 30 years is going to be the same every month. Rent may continue to increase each year.
  • With each payment, you will build equity and increase the amount of total home ownership.
  • There may be down payment programs available in your area that can help you purchase your first home.

YOU SHOULD CONSIDER BUYING IF…

  • You want to build wealth.  Investing into real estate is the fastest way to add zeros to the end of your net worth.
  • You want to settle down, build community and know you will be in the same city or town for at least 2 years.
  • You want to invest your income into property that will hopefully provide you with a payoff should you decide to sell in the future.

YOU SHOULD KEEP RENTING IF…

  • You need flexibility and don’t want to commit to staying in the same location for the foreseeable future.
  • You have limited income or are unsure about your current job.  Renting allows you the flexibility to downsize 

If you are thinking about buying a home, reach out to your local Realtor to get started.

*Print version

 

Housing-Insight-June-2022

Texas Housing Insight June 2022 Summary

by Real Estate ArticlesResourcesStats

Texas’ housing market continues to cool as sales volume declines and housing inventories rise. While the pace of new listings begins to overcome housing sales, home prices are still elevated due to the tremendous housing pressures realized after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though home prices are still high, price growth is now retreating, providing a respite for potential buyers.

Supply*

According to Zonda, supply-side activities at the earliest stage of the construction cycle flattened at first quarter levels as inventory losses in Austin’s vacant developed lots (VDLs) offset gains in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. The number of new VDLs in Austin shrank 24 percent from last year’s quarterly average. Lot development in the $300k-$500k price cohort composed half of Austin’s total VDL investment, but it saw a double-digit reduction quarter over quarter (QOQ) while the same investment cohorts in other metros advanced.

Starting in May, Texas’ single-family construction permits retreated below 15,000 per month, declining 5.2 percent QOQ. Building permits fell significantly in Austin and Houston. Despite the drop, Houston and DFW remained the top two metropolitan areas on the national permit list. Each had a seasonally adjusted rate of over 4,000 permits for new-structure building or existing-structure renovation. In Central Texas, Austin issued 1,800 permits, while San Antonio issued 900. Meanwhile, Texas’ multifamily sector surged to 9,900 construction permits in June, the highest level since 2015. Permits for two-to-four units and five-or-more units expanded at 39.8 percent and 26.3 percent QOQ, respectively.

Lumber price trended downward, declining 19.6 percent in a month. As the lumber price reduction lowered the framing cost by nearly one fifth, total Texas housing starts increased 6.2 percent QOQ. Zonda data revealed roughly 38,800 homes broke ground in the major metros over 2Q2022. Amid the construction expansion, all metros saw an uptick except Houston, where housing starts contracted 1.5 percent. Dallas had the most housing starts and luxury home construction projects. For every six houses built in the median price cohort of $400k-$499k, one house priced over $1 million was built. While housing starts inched up, single-family private construction values tumbled to a six-month low, corroborating the lowered construction costs. All major metros except San Antonio reported negative quarterly growths. 

While Texas’ overall housing supply remains historically low, inventory throughout the state is currently on the rise. Texas’ months of inventory (MOI) has gradually increased over the past few months, doubling from one month in February to two months in June. At the metropolitan level, inventories grew most robustly in Austin. Austin’s MOI surpassed DFW’s and Houston’s for the first time since 2019. By price cohort, inventories jumped for homes priced between $300,000 and $500,000.

Prices

The Texas median home price may have reached a peak as the June value leveled out at a seasonally adjusted rate of $349,000, which is $3,000 below May and the first drop in home prices since December 2020. While home price growth may be slowing, current prices remain significantly higher than before the pandemic. Except for San Antonio, each of the big four metros had a slight dip in median home prices for June. Austin had the largest seasonally adjusted single-month dip in June at 3.7 percent, while DFW fell 0.8 percent.

The Texas Repeat Sales Home Price Index, which accounts for compositional price effects, corroborated substantial home-price appreciation as the index inched up 17.1 percent year over year (YOY). The falling prices pulled down YOY statewide growth by 3 percent in the last six months. Austin fell from the fastest appreciating metro to third place behind Dallas and Fort Worth.

The Texas Housing Affordability Index (THAI) reflects the relationship between the median family income in a locale and the computed amount required to purchase a median-priced home. A higher THAI indicates relatively greater affordability. Measured by the THAI metric for first-time homebuyers, Houston was the most affordable metro, followed by San Antonio, Fort Worth, Dallas, and Austin, respectively. Despite the marginal median price decline, Austin remained the most unaffordable metro in the state.

Demand

Record home prices and rapidly rising mortgage rates continued to discourage buyers and cool the market. In June, over 37,000 homes were sold throughout the state, 9.4 percent below June 2021 sales. According to seasonally adjusted sale estimates, the slowdown actually began in January of this year, but June had the biggest single-month dip. Even though June sales were down from last year, they’re almost identical to June 2019 sales, which was the last record-setting year before COVID. The drop in home sales coincides with the rapid increase in mortgage rates that began in January but picked up steam in recent months.

Because of softening housing demand, Texas’ average days on market (DOM) has begun to creep up. Seasonally adjusted DOM increased to 34 days, up from 28 days in March. Normally, home sales accelerate in the summer and DOM decreases. That has not happened this summer. Homes sold the fastest in Austin and Dallas, leaving the market in 21 days. Houston’s and San Antonio’s DOMs remained around a month. The DOM for new homes was notably higher than the DOM for existing homes, especially in the Houston area, where new homes on average lasted 60 days on the market while existing homes lasted 23 days. 

Homes priced in the $300k and the $400k cohorts were fastest at getting sold, typically leaving the market in 27 days. On the other hand, homes under $300k had a conspicuously longer market duration.

Household Pulse Survey

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, homeowners are benefiting from last year’s low-interest loans and rising wages. The share of homeowners behind on mortgage payments shrank 1 percent YOY at both the national and state levels (Table 1). Owners’ improved ability to pay their mortgage was notable in Dallas and Houston, as owned free/clear homes in each metro had a 4 percent increase YOY. Furthermore, fewer Texas homeowners who struggled to keep up with mortgage payments faced the possibility of foreclosure. The proportion of delinquent individuals at risk of foreclosure plummeted 70 basis points to 2 percent (Table 2). The share who were “not very likely” to leave their homes in the next two months rose 17 percentage points to 61 percent in Dallas.

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* All measurements are calculated using seasonally adjusted data, and percentage changes are calculated month over month, unless stated otherwise.

Source – Joshua Roberson, Weiling Yan, and Rajendra Patidar (August 17, 2022)

https://www.recenter.tamu.edu/articles/technical-report/Texas-Housing-Insight