Texas is known as the lone star state, as it has always been a fiercely independent place. The size of the state is enormous, and it remains proud of its frontier heritage and attitudes. The economy in Texas has always been a robust one, which has managed to buck national trends towards recession or depression on several occasions. With such a healthy economy and job market, it is little wonder that Texas also enjoys a vibrant housing market.
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The size of the market is impressive in itself, the 2002 US census data showed that Texas had a total of 8,502,060 housing units. The construction of new homes has been flourishing since that time, and the market today is larger still. The home ownership rate in Texas was listed in the 2000 census as 63.8%, which was less than the national average that same year of 66.2%. The lower home ownership rate in Texas is peculiar, given the lower median value of housing units in the state. The 2000 census listed the median value of an owner occupied housing unit in Texas as $82,500. That same year the national average for median home value was up at $119,600. Normally having a lower median home value inspires an above average home ownership rate in a state, in Texas however, this is not the case.
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The housing boom in Texas may be all bark and no bite. While Texas Realtors and brokers appear to be experiencing a housing boom, market numbers tell a different story.
For example, sales of single family houses in Dallas in March totaled 3,841, which is a 14 percent drop compared with the 4,441 homes sold in the same month last year, according to the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.
Other numbers show the trend is nothing new, 15,995 single family houses were sold across the state in March 2002, an 8 percent drop compared with the 17,473 homes sold in March 2001.
The North Texas Real Estate Information Systems showed a total of 30,315 single family homes, condominiums and town homes for sale in North Texas in March of 2002. That’s a 20 percent increase compared with March 2001, but it was an increase that could be deceiving. Homes for sale on the market and actual purchased homes are two different things, and the housing boom looks to be a phenomenon based on houses-on-market, not homes sold.
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