Dallas home prices headed higher

Property prices in the Dallas area rose a record 15.9% in the most recent nationwide comparison.

The local home price surge in April was higher than the nationwide increase of 14.6% year-over-year, according to Standard & Poor’s CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index.

Dallas house prices only rose nearly 3% between March and April, and housing costs in the area have continued to rise since then.

A shortage of homes for sale and record demand for housing have resulted in prices in North Texas and across the country rising at an unprecedented rate this year.

“House prices accelerated their rise in April 2021,” S & P’s Craig J. Lazzara said in the report. “The performance in April was really exceptional.

“Five cities – Charlotte, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, and Seattle – have joined the national network and posted their highest 12-month gains to date.”

Among the top 20 U.S. markets, Case-Shiller Tracks saw the largest annual increases in Phoenix (22.3%), San Diego (21.6%) and Seattle (20.2%).

“We previously indicated that the strength of the US housing market is being driven in part by the response to the COVID pandemic as potential urban apartment buyers move to suburban homes,” Lazzara said. “This surge in demand could simply represent an acceleration of the purchases that would have taken place in the next few years anyway.”

With housing costs rising in April, real estate prices in the Dallas area have nearly doubled over the past decade, according to the Case-Shiller Index.

And according to the latest local figures, there is no end in sight.

Average prices for single-family homes in North Texas sold by real estate agents rose 26% year over year in May, according to the latest data from the Texas Real Estate Research Center and North Texas Real Estate Information System.

“It is likely that the ongoing massive demand will keep the pressure on prices, which are expected to remain at double-digit growth rates for the remainder of 2021,” CoreLogic economist Selma Hepp said in an email. “And while the acceleration may be received with concern, mortgage rates remain 50% lower than they were in 2005, when house price growth last peaked, keeping the ratio of mortgage payments to monthly household income lower today.”

Despite the lower cost of financing, many potential homebuyers are being excluded from the Dallas area housing market.

“Despite soaring prices, the demand for home ownership remains very strong,” said Zillow economist Matthew Speakman. “Bidding wars for the relatively few available houses are still common, and houses are being contracted faster and faster.

“But a return to a balanced market is still a long way off, and there are few, if any, indications that the appreciation of home prices will ease anytime soon.”

Prices rose in all 20 major US markets.(Case-Shiller)

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