Determining Affordability of Texas’ Real Estate Markets

Since the start of this year, the boom of the Texas real estate market has been all over the papers.  In fact, Texas has put up a better performance than any other state in the real estate industry. Home sales are high because the mortgage rates are low and the job market is also growing stronger. The creation of new jobs is probably the prime reason behind the increased demand of houses in the state. In fact, the demand is so high right now that the inventory is rapidly shrinking.

As is seen in all industries, when the inventory levels are reduced, the prices go up. The same can be said for the real estate industry, and so the asking prices of homes are rapidly rising as supply is becoming tighter. All the major cities in Texas are experiencing this for new home sales and re-sales, and it has now become a common trend in the market.

In the summer of this year, interest rates were increased by a few points. This did slightly reduce the number of home sales, but the effect is no longer prominent. The rates may have risen, but they are still extremely favorable if compared to the mortgage rates a few years back.

Stats show that the most affordable counties in Texas right now are Fort Worth, Dallas and Houston. The median price in all these three cities is around $140,000 to $200,000 respectively. The median income amount required for qualifying for loans in these cities is $46,000 to $60,000 respectively.

If an analysis of the market is made, Fort Worth is probably the most affordable city, but Houston is still the most preferable choice. This is because Houston leads the job market not just in Texas, but the entire country as well.

Industry experts predict that both median income and prices are going to rise in the next few months. They also believe that the growth in prices will probably beat the increase in income. Along with this, the mortgage rates will also be higher which will make the situation seem imbalanced.

There is no doubt that the entire nine months of 2013 have been really good for the real estate industry. However, if the above predictions are considered the same might not be eighteen months or two years from now.

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