Dallas-Fort Worth’s housing market shows signs of cooling. What that means for homebuyers

It’s been an aggressive seller’s market nationwide and in Dallas-Fort Worth, but that’s finally showing signs of changing.

The inventory of homes in Fort Worth has increased after hovering at about one month during the pandemic. That means there are more houses on the market. According to the Texas Real Estate Research Center, six months of inventory is a balanced market.

“It’s definitely the most change we’ve seen in the other direction since the pandemic started,” said Shelby Kimball, a Realtor and former president of the Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors.

He has also seen more back-on-market listings, or houses for which a contract has fallen through. That can happen when parties can’t agree on terms for things like repairs or if a buyer’s financing doesn’t work out.

Those scenarios could indicate that buyers perceive they have more leverage and that folks are experiencing financial obstacles in purchasing a home.

“There’s definitely been a turn,” said Kimball. “It’s not going to be a sharp turn.”

Especially when it comes to “affordable” homes.

Homes priced at $300,000 and below make up such a small percentage of the market that those homes will remain very competitive.

The market for newly built homes is also cooling off, according to a survey from John Burns Real Estate Consulting.

Sales fell 31% in June compared to June 2021. Cancellation rates — when buyers terminate a contract for a new home — more than doubled, from 6.5% to 14.5%, in June.

The highest cancellation rate was seen in Texas. According to the survey, a quarter of home builders are reducing their prices.

But in a market like Dallas-Fort Worth, where job growth is high and inventory is still low, these indicators aren’t evident, said Mike Sander, DFW division president for homebuilder HistoryMarker.

The builder’s cancellation rate remains under 10%, and it hasn’t lowered base prices in any community.

“Locally, are we seeing a little bit of a pause? Yes. Are we seeing big discounts? No,” said Sander.

Experts credit rising mortgage rates with the cool down. Mortgage rates increased by more than 2.5 percentage points in the last year.

In Dallas-Fort Worth, builders are offering incentives for new home purchases.

David Weekly Homes is offering a $6,500 credit for people who purchase one of their homes in Dallas-Fort Worth between June 1 and Aug. 31 with a mortgage from Priority Home Mortgage.

“I know a lot of homebuilders have slowed their construction,” said Kimbell.

In a market like Fort Worth, that’s probably not a good thing.

“We still need houses,” Kimball said.