While home prices across the nation hit new records in March, increases in the Dallas-Fort Worth area were more modest than during the metroplex’s pandemic boom.
Home prices in the D-FW area increased 3.6% compared to March 2023 levels, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index.
That’s below the national average increase of 6.5% over the same period, according to preliminary data from a closely watched housing index. The pace of home price growth in North Texas is slowing, but it’s part of a trend that will continue into 2024.
U.S. home prices continue to rise, with the Case-Shiller National Home Price Index hitting new record highs in six of the past 12 months, S&P’s Brian Luke said in a report.
Of the 20 major metros tracked by Case-Shiller, San Diego saw the largest increase over the year with an 11.1% increase, followed by New York (9.2%), Cleveland (8.8%) and Los Angeles (8.8%).
Dallas (3.6%) had one of the lowest annual increases in the group. Only Denver (2.1%), Portland, Ore. (2.2%) and Minneapolis (3.3%) reported lower increases. From February to March, Dallas reported a 1.2% price increase, just below the national average. All 20 metro areas reported increases each month.
This comes after D-FW recorded some of the largest home price gains in the nation for much of 2021 and 2022, with prices increasing by more than 10% and sometimes more than 20% year-over-year. Annual price growth hit a record high of 31% in April 2022 before declining year-over-year from March to August 2023.
“The Northeast continues to be the top performer with an 8.3% annual increase, demonstrating robust growth relative to other metropolitan markets. In contrast, cities like Tampa, Phoenix and Dallas, which were top performers in 2020 and 2021, are now seeing a slower pace of growth,” Luke said. “Sunbelt markets have boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s the northern metropolitan areas that have seen the bigger growth in recent years.”
The Case-Shiller Index is a three-month moving average that compares the changes in sales prices of specific properties over time to provide a more accurate picture of market trends.
The index measures the change in the total value of existing single-family homes. Due to the report’s methodology, sales prices of new homes, condominiums, apartments and multi-family homes are not included in the sample.
Other data suggests D-FW’s growing housing supply may be a factor in slowing price growth.
The number of active listings in North Texas was up about 35% in March compared to a year ago, according to data from the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University, North Texas Real Estate Information Services and the Metro Texas Association of Realtors.
The number of active listings in the D-FW metro area was 24,128 last month, up nearly 46% from a year ago, according to a monthly report from Metrotex.
D-FW’s April housing inventory was at 3.2 months, approaching pre-COVID levels, with a balanced market having a six-month supply.
“An increase in existing and new homes for sale has helped keep Dallas home price growth in check this spring, giving potential buyers more options,” said Thelma Hepp, chief economist at CoreLogic. “That said, affordability remains a challenge given that home prices have risen more than 50% since the pandemic, along with rising insurance and taxes, which is dampening potential home sales.”
