Amarillo Area Housing Market Commentary
YTD September 30, 2024
Closed Sales
2,347 closed sales in 2024 compared with 2,381 closed sales in 2023, a -1.43% decrease from one year ago. The -1.43% decrease in closed sales in the Amarillo MSA compares to a -2.51% decrease statewide and a -4.20% decrease nationally.
Single-Family Home Prices
Both Average and Median single-family home prices reached new highs during the first nine months of 2024. Average single-family home prices are up 1.47% to $277,795. Median single-family home prices are up 3.75% to $249,000. However, 3rd Quarter sales prices were flat year-over-year.
Days on Market
During the first nine months of 2024 the average days on market was 101 and the median days on market was 69, compared to 80 and 53 days on market, respectively in 2023.
Sales Price to List Price Ratio
The sales price to list price ratio was flat at 97.23% compared to 97.28% a year ago. This metric along with Months of Inventory illustrates the continued overall bias of the market being in favor of Sellers, especially those homes priced below $500,000.
Months of Inventory
One of the most telling market metrics is total months of inventory which takes into consideration the current listing inventory and first nine months of sales activity. Texas A&M’s Real Estate Center’s definition of a buyer-seller balanced market is 6.5 months of available inventory. Overall, the total months of inventory as of September 30, 2024 in the Amarillo MSA is 4.01 months versus 2.97 months one year ago. However, there’s more to the story. For homes priced under $300,000, the total months of inventory stands at 3.05 months. For homes priced between $300,000 and $499,999, the total months of inventory stands at 4.47 months. For homes priced between $500,000 and $999,999, the total months of inventory stands at 9.78 months. For homes priced between $1,000,000 and $1,499,999 the total months of inventory stands at 29 months. The inventory of homes priced over $1,500,000 stands at 24 months.
Listing Inventory
There were 1,046 active single-family listings in the MLS as of September 30, 2024; up 260 listings from one year ago; an increase of 33%. 4,205 single family listings have come on the market through the first nine months of 2024 compared to 3,835 in the same time period in 2023, an increase of 9.65%.
Building Permits
431 new single-family homes were permitted by the city of Amarillo during the first nine months of 2024 compared with 338 in 2023, an increase of 27.50%. On average there is an equal number of homes under construction outside incorporated areas in Potter and Randall counties. Thus, 450-500 new homes started in the country during the first nine months of 2024.
Foreclosure Activity
Foreclosure activity is another indicator of the overall health of the local economy in general as well as the housing market, specifically. 98 properties have been foreclosed on YTD September 30, 2024. That’s up 48.48% from the same time-period one year ago and up 22.50% compared to the five-year moving average of foreclosure sales. However, the 98 foreclosures YTD 2024 is still well below the pre-COVID year of 2019 when there were 156 foreclosures through the first nine months of the year.
Unemployment and Job Creation
The Amarillo MSA unemployment rate stood at 3.40% compared to the statewide rate of 4.40% and national rate of 4.40% according to the August employment report from the Texas Workforce Commission. Likewise, other West Texas cities reported the following unemployment rates: Abilene – 3.80%, Lubbock – 3.70%, Midland – 2.80%, Odessa – 3.90%, San Angelo – 3.80%, and Wichita Falls – 4.30%. That same report shows 400 more people employed than one year ago in the Amarillo MSA.
Interest Rates
The conventional 30-year mortgage loan interest rate as of September 30, 2024 was 6.08%, down 1.23% from 7.31% one year ago according to FreddieMac’s Primary Mortgage Survey.
Sources:
Amarillo Association of Realtors’ Multiple Listing Service
Texas A&M Real Estate Center
City of Amarillo Building Safety Department
Texas Workforce Commission
Amarillo Foreclosure Report
Freddie Mac
City of Amarillo Environmental Health
*Amarillo MSA includes Armstrong, Carson, Oldham, Potter, and Randall Counties
*CB First Equity has reported on the Amarillo Area housing market since 1977. Those reports have been based on reported sales/listings provided by the Amarillo Association of Realtors’ Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The MLS has grown, territorially, over the years and technological advances have made it easier for data to be processed from virtually every corner of the Texas panhandle. We have always focused on the immediate Amarillo area, including Canyon, Claude, Bushland, and Panhandle. However, as the MLS has grown, it has become more difficult to filter out data from outside the immediate Amarillo, resulting in minor distortions in our reports.
Data now considered is specific to five counties that comprise the *Amarillo Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Armstrong, Carson, Oldham, Potter, and Randall counties. This mirrors current reporting at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.