Real Estate Rumblings

Dallas housing market remains hot but experts say prepare for cooldown

Dallas single-family home prices are still up over last year, but that gap is starting to close. According to a new report from CoreLogic, home prices in the Dallas-Plano-Irving metropolitan were up 8.7 percent in May 2014 compared to the same period last year. On a month-over-month basis, home prices increased by 1 percent in May 2014.

Compare that to the 10.4 percent year-over-year increase in April, 11 percent in March, 11.3 percent in February and 12.2 percent in January, and you’ll start to see the trend. Dallas also dropped a spot among the top 10 housing markets to No. 8.

What’s happening in Dallas mirrors the national averages: a year-over-year increase of 8.8 percent and month-over-month increase of 1.4 percent. Across Texas, the numbers look similar: 8.9 percent gains over May 2013 and .9 percent gains since April 2014. However, Houston continues to buck the statewide and national trends, and its 13 percent increase in home prices over May of last year was enough to earn it a No. 3 spot nationally.

“May’s 8.8 percent year-over-year growth rate is down almost three percentage points from just three months ago,” says CoreLogic chief economist Mark Fleming. “The influences of modestly rising inventory and less-than-expected demand are causing price growth to moderate toward our forecasted expectations.”

A continued increase in prices across the country has positive and negative implications on the housing market, says Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “While the rapid rise in prices over the past two years has lifted many homeowners out of negative equity, it has also become a negative factor in buying decisions for prospective purchasers weighing affordability concerns.

As we move ahead, a moderation in home price increases over the next 12 months should help cool things down a bit and keep the housing recovery going.”

To determine the home price index (HPI), CoreLogic, a residential property information, analytics and services provider, looks at price, time between sales, property type, loan type and distressed sales. The CoreLogic HPI is a repeat-sales index that tracks increases and decreases in sales prices for the same single-family homes over time, which provides a more accurate “constant quality” view of pricing trends, as opposed to views of pricing trends based on analysis of all home sales.

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Rent report

Texas opens the door to more renters than any other state, report says

Renters, renting, rent, buying a house, homeowners

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

Texas remains attractive to renters thanks to factors such as affordability, job growth, and apartment availability.

Texas reigns as the country’s No. 1 magnet for renters. According to an Apartments.com analysis, Texas gained nearly 73,000 net new renters from 2023 to 2024.

That figure, pulled from U.S. Census Bureau data, takes into account people who moved to and away from Texas.

Apartments.com says Texas remains attractive to renters thanks to factors such as affordability, job growth, and apartment availability. Many of these renters arrive from high-cost states like California and New York.

Among the state’s four major metro areas:

Dallas-Fort Worth rent growth recently slipped into negative territory as a wave of new apartments hit the market. “With modern housing choices backed by a strong job market that supports income growth, it’s easy to see why renters are flocking to Dallas,” says Apartments.com.
Houston continues to stand out nationally for relative affordability and high apartment availability. “Though the city has seen growth in recent years, a steady supply of apartment communities has kept rents low,” according to Apartments.com.
San Antonio now has the highest vacancy rate among major U.S. apartment markets (15.7 percent).
Austin continues to see widespread financial incentives for new renters, with more than 60 percent of properties offering one to two months’ free rent.

“Taken together, the data suggests Texas is entering a new housing phase: Demand remains strong, but the state’s massive apartment buildout is beginning to give renters more leverage than they’ve had in years,” Apartments.com says.

According to Apartment List, these are the top sources, in descending order, of new renters for each of Texas’ four major metros:

Dallas — Houston, Austin, New York City.
Austin — Dallas, Houston, San Antonio.
Houston — Dallas, Austin, New York City.
San Antonio — Austin, Houston, Dallas.

“For renters looking to move out of California, Texas was the most popular destination, edging out neighboring Nevada and Arizona,” Apartment List says.