S.A. home sales up 6 percent
The median price of houses also rose 4 percent in July
Home sales and prices in the San Antonio area rose in July as inventory stayed tight, making it difficult for buyers to find a home.
The median price of a home in the region increased 4 percent to $239,500 last month, the San Antonio Board of Realtors reported. Sales rose 6 percent from July 2018, with house hunters snapping up 3,397 homes.
“We always expect the summer months to show an increase in sales figures, and this year is no different,” Grant Lopez, chairman of SABOR’s board, said in a statement. “Though the average price has increased, it is still well below the average for the state and for other major metro areas in Texas, which is great news for buyers in the San Antonio area.”
The median price last month in Bexar County was $226,000, compared with $390,500 in Travis County, $250,000 in Dallas County and $235,950 in Harris County.
Just over 61 percent of the San Antonio homes sold last month were priced between $200,000 and $500,000. About 32 percent cost less than $200,000, a price range generally considered affordable or entry-level, while 6.6 percent cost more than $500,000.
The local inventory of homes for sale would take buyers 3.9 months to purchase. Six months’
worth of inventory usually is considered a balance between buyers and sellers.
The supply could loosen up: builders started work on 3,498 new homes in the second quarter, a 6.8 percent increase over the same stretch last year, the analytics firm Metrostudy said. That’s a 12-year high.
But because of municipal fees and high land, labor and constructions costs, few of those homes will be considered affordable.
“The market’s been well supplied, except in the affordable price ranges,” Jack Inselmann, Metrostudy’s regional director, said in a recent interview.
Home sales across Texas also increased, rising 8 percent, SABOR noted. The median sales price statewide rose 4.2 percent to $250,000.
Despite a possible recession looming, mortgage demand reached a three-year high last week, according to Freddie Mac, the mortgage giant.
The national average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.6 percent, compared with 4.53 percent during the same period last year. Mortgage rates have plunged recently, contributing to more refinancing, the organization said.
Mortgage applications for new home purchases rose 31.2 percent in July, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported.
The uptick “was driven by the ongoing decline in mortgage rates, combined with steady housing demand and a still-healthy job market,” said Joel Kan, the group’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting.