In terms of home sales, the Lone Star State had quite a ride during 2015! A new report from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M reveals that last year, Texas saw 270,990 single-family home sales. This marks a 3.4 percent increase from the 2014 home sales figures. Another positive development on the housing front came from Zillow. The real estate analysis firm noted that the state’s median home value is now $151,000. This reflects an 8.5 percent jump from 2014’s median home value. There’s more good news: Zillow predicts Texas home values are expected to rise by around 4.4 perfect through 2016. Solid home values are certainly a positive indicator that investing in a home here is a smart move!
Of course these trends confirm what we’ve always known: you just can’t mess with Texas!
Currently, the Lone Star State boasts three of the top five fastest growing cities in the nation: Austin, Houston and San Antonio. This is not surprising, considering the state’s attractive quality of life factors such as low cost of living, positive job growth and its low unemployment rate. In addition to its great weather, unique cowboy culture, Native American history and impressive natural beauty, home buyers are also attracted to the state’s excellent cultural, educational, medical and recreational choices.
The Texas Association of Realtors noted in its 2015 Texas Annual Housing Report that, “The Texas real estate market has been firing on all cylinders in 2015. People are relocating to Texas from far and wide, homes in all price classes are in high demand, and the number of available properties is slowly rising.” The association’s chairman, Scott Kesner, stated that in the third quarter of 2015, the state’s housing inventory achieved a two-year high, which was 4.0 months.
The 2015 Texas Homebuyers and Sellers Report provided proof that Texas is one of the leading states in the nation for home sales. It was noted that last year, the median income in the Lone Star State rose by 5.9 percent in the y-o-y analysis. According to that report the state experienced, “more than double the growth rate of incomes nationally during the same time frame.” The positive developments on the housing market front are easy to understand. Again, a healthy economy and strong job growth are attracting scores of new residents.
The 2015 Texas Relocation Report revealed that, “Texas was the No. 2 state for gains in out-of-state residents, with more than 538,000 Americans relocating to Texas.” The 2015 Texas International Homebuyers Report showed that international home buyers put more than $8.32 billion into the Texas economy over a 12-month period. Kesner observed, “Texas’s diversified economy and our state’s enduring real estate demand shows that Texas remains to be a great place to live, work, and do business.”
The luxury home market and small lands sales came out on top as two of the driving segments within the Texas real estate market. Data from the 2015 Texas Luxury Home Sales Report, confirmed that homes with $1+ million dollar price tags made gains between nine and twenty-six percent compared to 2014. The small land sales sector throughout the state saw double-digit growth. There were 5,282 small land sales statewide. This reflects an impressive increase of 20.69 percent in the y-o-y view.
Activity in the condominium and townhome markets was also impressive. The 2015 Texas Condominium Mid-Year Sales Report revealed that, “existing condos spent less time on the market than new condos, as rising land and development costs may make new condominiums less affordable for some buyers.”
Chairman Kesner affirms Zillow’s predictions for 2016 and expects the Texas real estate market will set more records in 2016. He did mention that the two main areas of focus throughout the state should be on affordability and availability.
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