BEAUMONT, Texas — New numbers show Southeast Texas housing prices are rapidly rising.
Ann Scoggin at Coldwell Banker said the growing economy in Southeast Texas is playing a big role in boosting the housing market.
"We have $54 billion of projects here and it's really unbelievable what's going on in our industry," said Scoggin.
Compared to the second quarter of 2018, Scoggin said Beaumont home prices have increased 22 percent, while Hardin County prices increased 27 percent.
Scoggin says right now, inventory is low because people are buying what's available.
"I think it's getting better towards the end of the year, but during holiday time we always slow down a bit," said Scoggin.
According to Texas Realtors, compared to the second quarter last year, Beaumont-Port Arthur home sales increased 6.3 percent.
Scoggin said with the way things are going, she expects great third quarter numbers as well.
From a Texas REALTORS news release:
July 23, 2019 – AUSTIN, Texas – Texas home sales remained strong during the second quarter of 2019, while monthly housing inventory increased, according to the 2019-Q2 Texas Quarterly Housing Report released today by Texas Realtors.
“The Texas housing market experienced a strong kickoff to the summer selling season with more than 100,000 homes sold during the second quarter,” said Tray Bates, chairman of Texas Realtors. “While specific conditions vary by market, the statewide trend has good news for sellers and buyers. Sellers are selling for a slightly higher median price, and buyers have access to more properties for sale statewide.”
During the second quarter of this year, 101,896 homes were sold in Texas, an increase of 1% compared to the second quarter of 2018. Statewide, the median price increased 2.9% to $245,000. Of all the homes sold within the second quarter, 32.7% were priced from $200,000 to $299,999, the highest share of sales among all price-class distributions. Homes priced from $100,000 to $199,999 represented the second-highest share of sales with 26.7%.
Jim Gaines, Ph.D., chief economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, commented, “While the Texas housing market remained strong in Q2, our markets began slowing down in terms of transaction volume coupled with tight housing inventory. Statewide, we’re seeing more of a separation in sales activity between large cities compared to medium and smaller cities due in part to increased population and job growth concentrated in the major markets. However, we anticipate home sales growth to remain strong in the third quarter of 2019 as a result of the projected lower interest rates and the continuation of the summer selling season.”
Active listings increased 7.5% from the second quarter in 2018 to 116,950 listings. Texas homes spent an average of 55 days on the market during the same time frame, one day more than the second quarter of 2018.
Housing inventory in Texas also grew to 4.1 months of inventory, an increase of 0.3 months from 2018-Q2. According to the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, a market balanced between supply and demand has between 6.0 and 6.5 months of inventory.
Chairman Bates concluded, “Homebuyers and sellers across the state face different market conditions depending on where they reside. Factors such as the number of homes for sale and fluctuating home prices affect each real estate market and even each neighborhood differently. Working with a Texas Realtor will ensure that you’re provided the most accurate information and insights to inform your decision about buying or selling a home.”