A. Lee Graham
Reporter
Dallas-Fort Worth ranks third among major Texas metropolitan markets for luxury homes sales, according to a newly released report for the Texas Association of Realtors.
The 2014 Texas Luxury Home Sale Report shows double-digit growth in such transactions in the state’s four most populous areas.
According to the report, released Monday Jan. 6, Dallas-Fort Worth saw a 22-percent jump in luxury home sales. Leading the list was Austin, at 55 percent; followed by Houston at 46 percent; and San Antonio trailing Dallas-Fort Worth at 18 percent.
Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and Houston saw an average 35 percent jump in luxury home sales between January and October 2013, the period evaluated in the report.
“The housing slump is behind us and as Texas’ economy and population continue to accelerate, we’re going to see increasing development and demand in larger, higher-priced homes with luxury amenities,” said Dan Hatfield, chairman of the Texas Association of Realtors, commenting in a news release.
Based on data from The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, the report examined 2013 year-to-date sales data of homes valued at $1 million or more in the aforementioned markets. Luxury home sales in that period equaled or exceeded those of single-family home sales statewide, with double-digit increases in all four markets, the report said.
“It’s common for luxury homes to have a significantly longer sell time and higher housing inventory than the average home simply because the pool of interested homebuyers is so much smaller,” said Jim Gaines, economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M.
But Gaines said the newly released data confirms strong demand, particularly in Austin, where homes of $1 million or more represent almost 10 percent of all active listings and are selling in less than six months.
In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, 809 luxury homes were sold between January and October 2013. Those comprised 1.1 percent of the total housing market and saw a 22 percent increase in sales compared to the same period in 2012.
That’s slightly more than the 19 percent year-over-year increase of the Dallas-Fort Worth housing market as a whole, according to the report.
The Texas Association of Realtors is a professional membership organization. Is stated mission is advocating on behalf of Texas Realtors and private property owners to keep homeownership affordable, protect private-property rights and promote public policies that benefit homeowners. More information is available at www.texasrealestate.com.
lgraham@bizpress.net