Fort Worth home prices fall to lowest level since 2021. Is a rebound in store?

Fort Worth home prices dipped to their lowest levels in almost three years in January, a symptom of flagging demand some experts expect to wane as the market and climate warms in the coming months.

The Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors’ January 2024 housing report, published this week in conjunction with Texas A&M and Texas Realtors, found that median housing prices in the city slipped 1.6% year-over-year to $315,000, the cheapest since the fall of 2021. Home prices across Tarrant County remained flat at $335,000.

Spiking mortgage rates have cooled years of feverish demand for homes across the county. Recent jumps in 30-year fixed-rate loans have further rankled the market.

“The homes that are available are staying on the market a little longer than usual,” the report noted.

Earlier this month, mortgage financier Fannie Mae gauged unusually high optimism nationwide among prospective homebuyers about the downwards trajectory of mortgage rates. Paradoxically, only 17% of the Fannie Mae survey respondents felt it was “a good time to buy a home.”

The latest price slump follows several months of year-over-year declines. The median price of a home in Fort Worth sold for 3.9% less in November than the year prior. December prices tumbled by 4.3% between 2022 and 2023. Texas A&M’s Texas Real Estate Research Center charted declining home prices across Fort Worth and Arlington over the past three economic quarters.

The Fort Worth Realtors report suspects sunnier weather will brighten consumer moods.

“Some of the slower sales can be attributed to the weather in January, but as spring arrives, days on the market will likely fall,” the report forecast.

Some experts warn that stubbornly high inflation, and the costly mortgage rates it props up, could continue to dampen the appetites of would-be buyers and sellers. The National Association of Realtors’ chief economist, Lawrence Yun, is more optimistic.

“Many delayed home sellers may be willing to give up 3-to-4 percent rates as life circumstances have changed, thereby boosting inventory,” he commented in the report. “Home sales will no doubt rise this year.”