Texas Homeowners Struggle to Sell Their Houses

In an aerial view, apartments are seen undergoing construction downtown on March 19, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Texas properties are staying on the market longer than they used to as new inventory floods the state.

Texas homeowners are struggling to sell their properties as the state's market is flooded with new inventory and mortgage rates remain high, according to recent data from real estate websites.

There were a total of 223,009 properties listed for sale on Zillow in Texas as of early Thursday, including single- and multifamily homes, townhomes, condos, apartments and lots. Of these, 70,501 had been on the market for at least 30 days; 150,580 for at least 90 days; and 191,923 for at least six months.

Over 222,000 Texas properties listed for sale on Zillow have remained on the market for a staggering 36 months.

The reason why homeowners are struggling to sell their homes is likely linked to the addition of thousands of new homes to the market, as Texas is one of the states that has built the most new properties, along with Florida, in the past few years.

Redfin data show that there were 153,394 homes for sale in Texas in May, up 24.5 percent compared to a year earlier. The number of newly listed homes was 46,530 and up 11 percent year-on-year. The Lone Star State's market has an average supply of four months to meet buyers' demand—unchanged from last year. This means that it would theoretically take four months for every home currently on the market to sell. While this is good news for buyers, to really have plenty of options available when shopping for a home, inventory should be six months.

According to Redfin, while listing times are going down during homebuying season, properties are still staying on the market longer than they used to. The median number of days on the market for a property in the Lone Star State was 42 days in May, up six days year-over-year, according to the real estate brokerage.

Newsweek contacted Redfin and Zillow for comment by email on Wednesday morning.

At the national level the number of residential homes for sale—153,394 in May—has also increased by 24.5 percent year-on-year. Redfin recently reported that 61.9 percent of listings in the country have become stale—meaning they have been sitting idle on the market for at least 30 days without going under contract.

It's a big change from the booming years of the pandemic—and a sign that, at least in Texas, the market is changing in favor of buyers. Only 15.9 percent of homes in Texas sold above list price in May, down 5 percentage points compared to a year earlier. The number of listings that had a price reduction grew to 34.7 percent in May, up from 29 percent a year earlier.

"The surge in inventory, and associated decline in home prices that has started in some Texas metros, is great news for homebuyers across the state," Reventure CEO Nick Gerli previously told Newsweek. "It means that the state is starting to become a buyer's market. I wouldn't be surprised if things continue to get better for Texas buyers in 2024, given the still-high levels of building permits."

Data from Ramsey Solutions show that in 2023, Texas increased its inventory by 15.2 percent and on average, homes stayed on the market for 48 days in the third quarter of the year—up from 31 days within the same period a year earlier.

Despite the shift in inventory, supply remains historically low—a factor that has kept home prices relatively high. In Texas, the median sale price of a home was $356,800 in May, up 0.8 percent compared to a year earlier, according to Redfin. The average home value in the state was $306,756 in the same month, up 1 percent compared to a year earlier, according to Zillow.

Are you a Texas homeowner struggling to sell your home? Tell us about your experience by contacting [email protected].

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