As North Texas builders aggressively sell as many of the homes on the ground as they can existing-home sales rose 2 percent in September from a year ago. At the same time, builders have battled slower sales by reducing the number of new homes they put on the market, bringing the supply closer in line with demand. Builders started 5,551 homes in the third quarter, down 34.5 percent from the third quarter of 2007. The inventory of new, unsold homes on the market is now at 17,602, down 27 percent from a year ago.
In September, the median home price in North Texas was $147,000 — 2 percent less than a year ago. As the availability of houses comes down to meet the actual demand we will begin to see prices rise again, along with sales.