There aren’t enough flame emojis on the Internet to describe the Fort Worth housing market. In August 2022, the median home in Tarrant County sold for $365,000, a 17.7% jump year-over-year. Yowza. 🔥
Prices show few signs of cooling off — particularly with our larger-than-average home size. But for those hoping to dip their toes in the home-buying waters soon, it helps to know what trends to expect. Put on your floaties, and let’s hear what a local expert predicts.
Steady there, city dwellers
Margaret McDurmott Coulborn, of The Coulborn Group - Williams Trew, said that urban living “has remained stable” throughout 2022. Neighborhoods inside the 820 Loop continue to be popular despite a rise in people working from home who might be willing to move further from the urban core.
While median home prices for single-family homes in Tanglewood are well above $1 million, Coulborn said places like Arlington Heights and Fairmount are more in the low $500,000 range. This could prompt bidding wars to heat up all over again.
Don’t give up on FTW
While the national real estate market can be volatile, Texas generally stays above water. Coulborn has seen an influx of residents in North Texas due to growing job opportunities and a rising economy. “People are still moving due to different life phases,” she said. First-time home buyers, expanding and relocating families, empty nesters, and retirees are still on the hunt for a new home.
Worth it to wait?
Coulborn has seen a rise in interest rates in 2022 due to the Federal Reserve’s efforts to slow inflation, but she expects to see rates settle at the beginning of 2023 for “prolonged periods of higher interest rates.”
In fact, Coulborn predicts that North Texas prices will continue to appreciate at a stable rate as the area continues to develop with residential and corporate headquarters expanding in DFW. Basically, get on that dream home now.
What about renting?
According to Coulborn, Fort Worth rental homes are scarce and people looking to rent typically end up in an apartment complex. Even apartment leasing has declined recently.
A 2021 study by RentHop listed Fort Worth as the 15th least affordable metro market for single renters in the US, but a deeper analysis revealed that Cowtown still has a lower cost of living than most of the US. It can be more affordable to buy a home in Tarrant County than to rent, and it can be “tough to find a good rental home right now,” Coulborn observed.
Eyeing places west
Coulborn mentioned the River District, an emerging neighborhood along the West Fork of the Trinity River, as a potential hot spot in 2023, citing the neighborhood’s significant residential and commercial development.
Another trend to watch in 2023: Sellers are marketing seller credits on their listings to incentivize buyers and combat higher interest rates. These seller concessions offset the buyer’s closing costs.
The supply + demand problem
She also noted that there are more homes on the market overall compared to 2021. “More importantly, the homes stay on the market longer,” Coulborn said. The number of “days on market” for the current housing supply is leveraging back to a more normal cadence.
Due to the Federal Reserve’s departure from purchasing mortgage-backed securities, the state of Texas isn’t actively working to increase housing supply and affordability, Coulborn said. However, Fort Worth Housing Solutions is helping connect residents with affordable housing options.
