Unimaginable only a few months ago, Fort Worth home-sellers have begun reducing prices to unload their homes as demand continues to decline.
The reductions have been as slight as $1,000 but roughly 49 percent of active listings have had price cuts, indicating that higher interest rates and rising inventory are impacting the market, according to Shannon Ashkinos, president of the Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors and vice-president Connections and Career Success with JPAR® Real Estate.
“We’re still in a very strong seller’s market but what we are seeing is a correction of sellers’ expectations,” Ashkinos said. “With interest rates rising, sellers are coming to realize that they can’t overprice their homes like they were able to in the past two years.”
Frenzied bidding wars and outrageous offers above asking price have subsided as higher interest rates have priced some prospective buyers out of the market.
In turn, that has led to an increase in inventory, she said.
The median price for a home sold in Fort Worth continued to moderate in July, dropping to $355,000 from June’s median price of $363,000. Nevertheless, the July median sale price was 17.9 percent higher than the July 2021 median sale price of $302,750, according to data from the Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors, the Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University and Texas Realtors.
Inventory inched up from 1.6 months in June to 1.9 months in July. Both months indicate an improvement over July 2021 inventory of 1.3 months but still lag well below the 6.5 months that is considered a balanced inventory, according to the Texas A&M Real Estate Center.
Active listings in Fort Worth during July were up 40 percent over a year ago and up 70 percent in Johnson and Parker counties.
August is showing signs of “seasonal slowing,” which is typical as buyers with children prefer to be settled before the school year begins and as the holidays approach, Ashkinos said.
“It is taking just a bit longer for houses to sell, but make no mistake, houses are selling,” she said. “There are less multiple offer situations and more options to choose from, so buyers who were worn out before are now slowly beginning to get back in the market.”
During July, 1,023 homes sold in Fort Worth, down 21.3 percent from 1,332 in July 2021.
Interest rates on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 5.22 percent during the week of Aug. 11, up slightly from just below 5 percent the previous week, according to Freddie Mac.
Somewhat similar sales patterns were recorded across Tarrant County and in Parker and Johnson counties, according to the data.
The median sale price in Tarrant County dropped from $380,000 in June to $375,000 in July but prices increased 19.1 percent from the July 2021 median sale price of $315,000. Inventory across the county was 1.9 months, compared to 1.3 months a year ago.
In Johnson County, the median price fell from $381,250 in June to $350,000 in July, which was 19.2 percent higher than the July 2021 median of $289,900. However, inventory rose to 2.6 months in July, up from 1.5 months a year ago.
Meanwhile, Parker County’s median sale price of $476,500 in July jumped from $450,000 in June. The median July selling price was up $17.7 percent over the July 2021 median of $387,519. Inventory rose to 3.1 months compared to 2 months in July 2021.