New home inventory in area at 20-year low

Dallas-Fort Worth new-home supply at 20-year low

By STEVE BROWN

REAL ESTATE EDITOR

• Published: October 9, 2013 8:30 PMUpdated: October 9, 2013 10:24 PM

There were 2,423 completed, empty new houses in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in the third quarter. An analyst said about 5,000 would be expected.Louis DeLuca / Staff Photographer

The number of finished new homes available in North Texas has dropped to a 20-year low.

There were only 2,423 completed, empty new houses in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in the third quarter, according to a new report by Metrostudy Inc.

“Based on the job growth and population growth for the region, we would expect to see closer to 5,000 finished vacant homes,” Metrostudy’s David Brown said.

Continued strong home sales and a constrained supply of houses have reduced the number of properties in inventory, according to the housing analysts’ third-quarter report.

Builders in the D-FW area are still recovering from the recession, which cut home production by more than 70 percent.

“It is likely homebuilders will start 22,000 homes in 2013, which is the most new-home starts since 2007,” Brown said.

Metrostudy said D-FW area starts were up 19 percent in the third quarter from a year ago.

Currently there is only a 1½-month supply of finished new houses on the market.

Third-quarter new-home sales rose by 22 percent in the quarter with 5,334 houses purchased, Metrostudy found.

The new-home supply in North Texas is even smaller than the inventory of pre-owned houses.

In September, there was about a three-month supply of pre-owned single-family homes listed for sale with local real estate agents.

And total home listings in North Texas were 14 percent lower than in September 2012.

Housing analysts are predicting that home sales will slow and listings will rise due to higher mortgage rates and seasonal factors that usually slow the housing market during the winter months.