real estate report

New home sales dropped statewide in September, prices drop in Houston

3217 Del Monte Drive, Houston home for sale

Average new home prices across Houston increased in September.

Photo courtesy of HAR.com

A new analysis of the statewide real estate market has revealed new home sales in Texas have slowed since September, despite a drop in average prices, and inventory is on the rise.

The September edition of the New Home Sales Report by Dallas-based platform HomesUSA.com examined MLS data across Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio to determine the status of the overall real estate market.

The report found that the three-month average number of new home sales fell across all four major metros in September. Houston experienced a decline by 27 homes.

"In Houston, total new home sales dropped to 1,943 versus 1,970 in August," the report said.

Elsewhere in Texas, San Antonio saw the most dramatic decline in sales with 1,067 new homes sold in September, versus 1,100 in August. Dallas-Fort Worths' total new home sales fell by 14 homes to 1,848 in September. Austin saw the smallest decline, down just seven sales from August to 864 in September.

Home prices decreased in Houston
Three-month average prices for new homes across Texas have fallen from $432,749 in August to $429,898 in September, the report found. In a year-over-year comparison from September 2023, new home prices have plummeted almost $29,000.

Average new home prices fell in Houston, San Antonio, and Austin in September, but increased in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Here’s how home prices changed across all four major metros from August to September:

Dallas-Fort Worth: Increased from $489,762 to $492,129
Austin: Decreased from $494,920 to $483,408
San Antonio: Decreased from $340,755 to $338,620
Houston: Decreased from $402,741 to $397,318

How long on the market
The trends also show the three-month average Days on Market (DOM) — also known as the average time homes sit on the market before being sold — across all four real estate markets came out to 97.76 days in September. New homes are remaining on the market slightly longer than they were in August, when the three-month average DOM was 97.05 days.

Specifically in Houston, new homes sat on the market for 87.76 days before selling in September, in a very slight decrease from August’s DOM of 88.12 days.

New home inventory
New home inventory (the number of active listings on the market) in Texas is also on the rise. The three-month average inventory in September came out to 32,337 new listings, versus 31,893 in August. Active new home listings rose in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin, but decreased in San Antonio.

"Active listings in Houston last month also increased to 12,994 versus 12,812 in August," the report said.

There were 7,939 active listings in Dallas-Fort Worth, 6,019 active listings in Austin, and 5,384 in San Antonio in September.

HomesUSA.com founder Ben Caballero cited fluctuating mortgage rates as one of the main reasons why Texas’ real estate market is “showing mixed signals.”

“...But the silver lining is that sales compared to the same time last year are up 12 percent,” said Caballero.

The monthly Texas New Home Sales Report combined the four largest new home markets – Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio – to determine its overall statewide data, which comprise the vast majority of new home sales in Texas.

texas real estate report housing market dallas fort worth austin houston san antonio

No Cap

Houston ranked No. 3 destination for Gen Zers on the move for 2023

Photo by Alexander Londoño on Unsplash

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As Gen Z enters adulthood, many are flocking to the nation's biggest cultural hubs like New York City, Los Angeles, and now Houston, which had the third-highest inflow of Gen Zers in 2023.

H-Town's new reputation as a Gen Z hotspot was unveiled in a recent report by American home improvement brand This Old House, which analyzed migration trends across multiple generations using 2023 U.S. Census Bureau data.

Houston saw an influx of 22,868 Gen Z residents last year to become the generations third most popular city. That's up from ranking as the No. 11 most popular city in 2022. Houston gained fewer than 7,600 new Gen Z residents during that time in comparison to 2023's migration trend.

Houston started gaining traction as an up-and-coming destination for Gen Zers last year, when the "experience-hungry generation" was on the hunt for an affordable place to live with vast opportunities for entertainment, education, or employment.

Real estate marketplace Zillow seems to agree on a statewide scale, declaring Texas as the No. 1 destination for Gen Zers on the move in 2024.

While Houston saw big gains in its Gen Z population last year, many other big cities saw a mass exodus.

"El Paso, Texas, has lost the most residents from this generation, with a drop of 5,607, a sharp turn from 2022 when the city saw an increase," the report said. "Other cities, including Plano, Texas; Memphis, Tennessee; McKinney, Texas; and Wichita, Kansas, are seeing similar declines."

The report also surprisingly revealed that Houston is also one of the top destinations for millennials and Gen X, whereas both New York City and Los Angeles lost more residents among those two generations in comparison.

Houston ranked as the No. 1 city for Gen Xers and No. 4 for millennials based on their respective migration trends in 2023. Houston gained 6,312 new Gen X residents last year – the most nationwide – and the fourth-highest amount of millennials (5,301 new residents).

"Gen X, baby boomers, and the Silent Generation are also moving away from major cities, particularly New York City and Washington, D.C.," the report said. "They’re heading to some of the same cities as Gen Z, including Houston and Jacksonville, Florida."

The top 10 cities that gained the most Gen Z residents in 2023 are:

No. 1 – New York City, New York
No. 2 – Los Angeles, California
No. 3 – Houston, Texas
No. 4 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
No. 5 – Chicago, Illinois
No. 6 – San Diego, California
No. 7 – Seattle, Washington
No. 8 – Charlotte, North Carolina
No. 9 – Dallas, Texas
No. 10 – Minneapolis, Minnesota