Housing Inventory Issues
DFW: Dallas-Fort Worth continues to lead the country in apartment sales. For the period ending June 30, more than 30,000 apartment units changed hands, says a new report by data analytics companies RealPage and MSCI. Those apartment sales in North Texas accounted for about 10% of all apartment transactions across the country. Houston came in second, with half of the number of units sold as in DFW. Those sales made up more than half of the area’s $8 billion in commercial property purchases this year. Apartment sales are down across the country, dropping to their lowest level in more than 10 years. Apartment sales were down more than 60% in the first half of the year, compared to the same period last year, due to higher borrowing costs and other factors. DFW also leads the country in apartment construction, with more than 70,000 units in the development pipeline this year.
DFW: Tough to find a home to buy in North Texas? Not a surprise. Bank of America Institute says that the area was among the top three regions in the country with housing inventory issues. Joining DFW were San Antonio and Orlando, Florida—areas whose existing housing supply strain was further impacted by migration. The North Texas population rose about 0.5% from April to June, compared to the second quarter of 2022. The Bank of America Institute analysis was developed by using various sources, including U.S. Census data, and measured total housing units and population growth and migration.
DFW: Another rental community is coming to Frisco. A subsidiary of Core Spaces, a builder of multifamily rental communities and student housing across the country, will construct more than 90 townhomes in a development called Oxenfree at Stonebriar beginning early next year. Frisco city leaders earlier this year gave approval for the construction of townhomes on the site at Warren Parkway and Ohio Drive near the Dallas North Tollway and State Highway 121. The development, which will have a pool and amenity center, will be near the Stonebriar shopping center. It will occupy 14 acres already surrounded by mixed developments that include dining, retail, single-family and multifamily residential spaces. Core Spaces has one other development under construction in the area with additional projects in mind for the region. Yardi Matrix and RentCafe ranked North Texas as the top market for single-family home rental developments last year.
DFW: North Texas continues to see fluctuations in home prices. The National Association of Realtors says that at the end of June, median home sales prices in DFW were down about 4.5% compared to the same period last year. That price was $389,000, compared to the national average price of $402,600. Limited inventory and higher mortgage rates are among the many factors attributed to lower home sales during the period. Even so, real estate agents across the region say that appropriately priced homes in sought-after cities and neighborhoods continue to demand competition and top dollar. A silver lining for Dallas-Fort Worth? Austin’s home prices were down more than 19%; San Francisco, down 11%; and Las Vegas, down more than 7%.
CALIFORNIA: Kris Kristofferson hopes his next big hit will be “A Ranch Has Sold.” The star of the 1976 remake of “A Star is Born” is ready to move on from his massive oceanfront ranch property in Northern California. Located about three hours north of San Francisco near the community of Elk, the property encompasses 550 acres with sweeping views of land and sea. He’s asking $17.2 million. Kristofferson bought the former dairy farm property more than 40 years ago in the area popular with artists and musicians. It has several structures dating back to the late 1800s and includes a mile of ocean frontage, several barns, and a 1,900-square-foot, four-bedroom ranch house. It has more than 300 acres of open pasture that Kristofferson and his wife Lisa currently lease for grazing and another 250 acres of forestland. Kristofferson and his wife also own property in Hawaii.