Dec 4, 2024

Total RECall

Catch up on the latest happenings around the Center.

Bryan Pope

January 2025

MOST POPULAR TITLES THIS MONTH

LATEST RESEARCH

Cover for "Commercial Roundup: Premium Office Buildings Shake Off COVID Slump" with a background of an out-of-focus office space with cubicles and staff.

Texas’ office markets are undergoing a dramatic reshuffle as post-COVID workplace policies reshape tenant demand. How are local job trends, new construction, and shifting preferences transforming markets in the state’s major metros, and what could it mean for the future of office real estate? (Read more here.)

Cover for "New Texas Assignment Law: What Buyers and Sellers Need to Know", with a small metal house and key on a keychain.

Texas assignment law now includes notification requirements. Kerri Lewis offers a primer on assignments and the new requirements. (Read more here.)

MONTHLY & QUARTERLY REPORTS

Cover of the "Texas Housing Insight, October 2024" with the following bullet points: Sales dipped in August and increased in October by 8.8%. Texas' median home price didn't change in October, remaining at $335,000. The state's average days on market fell to 61 days in October, a two-day drop.

Home sales typically cool off by October, but this year is a little different with sales in both September and October higher than they were during the summer. The rate of new listings is still on the rise resulting in rising inventory levels. (Read more here.)

Cover for "Housing Report for Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands" with Economic News and a Housing Update along with line graphs and a chart supporting the report.

Monthly and quarterly housing reports are available for all Texas MSAs. Housing statistics in these reports are based on listing data from over 50 MLS (Multiple Listing Service) systems in Texas. The dataset includes listings for new and existing single-family, condominium, and townhouse properties sold through MLS systems. (Download them here.)

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NEW TO THE BLOG

Cover for "Texas' New Home Market Still on Top" with a wooden framework of a rooftop.

The Lone Star State’s new home market remains competitive, but is it losing its edge? (Read more here.)

A cover of "Take Me Home, Country Roads" blog from the "From Trails to Tech: Tracking Economic Change in Texas' Smaller Metros" blog series. The background image is a close up of a Texas map.

Gary Maler invites you to enjoy the gentle rhythms of Kenney, Bellville, Industry, New Ulm, Fayetteville, and La Grange. Travel with him there in this blog post. (Read more here.)

Cover of "Recent Developments in Texas Property Taxes (with an Emphasis on Counties)." The background has a dark brown leather wallet with cash surrounding a small wooden cutout of a house.

In his recent blog post about recent Texas property tax developments, TRERC’s Lynn Krebs focuses on rates and levies imposed by counties as a group. (Read more here.)

Cover of "Unwrapping 2024's Holiday Spending Spree" with a digitally designed tree with red and white peppermint styled ornaments and a blue, green, and yellow gift box each with a red bow.

With the 2024 holiday season wrapped up, it’s time to take a closer look at the numbers and understand what drove this year’s better-than-expected consumer spending. (Read more here.)

A cover of "How the Cottage Food Industry is Stirring Up Success for Rural Texans" blog from the "From Trails to Tech: Tracking Economic Change in Texas' Smaller Metros" blog series. The background image is a close up of a Texas map.

You know that jar of salsa you picked up at the farmer’s market last week? It’s just a small part of Texas’ burgeoning cottage food industry that’s helping economies in rural areas. (Read more here.)

Cover of "89th Texas Legislature: Bills to Keep an Eye On" with the background of the inside of the Texas Capital dome.

The 89th Texas Legislature convened in Austin on January 14. As of Tuesday, 2,485 bills have been filed. Here are a few that may be of particular interest to you. (Read more here.)

Cover of "Cross-Country Relocation: How Age and Income Impact Migration Outcomes". The background consists of a Texas-shaped image with various colorful graphically designed faces.

What financial expectations do people have when they move to Texas from another state? Do those expectations pay off? If so, for whom? Here’s what the numbers say. (Read more here.)

MONTHLY DATA UPDATES

Review new data on the upgraded TRERC website.

Housing data. Housing statistics based on listing data from more than 50 Texas MLSs. Statistics for each geography based on listings of properties physically located within the mapped area presented with the statistics.

Latest building permit data. Building permit data for single-, two-to-four, and five-or-more family units for states, MSAs, and Texas counties.

CONFERENCES AND COURSES

Texas landowners wear many hats, and we don’t just mean Stetsons. Come to our 34th Outlook for Texas Land Markets conference and learn about the issues that will impact you in 2025. Register today!

DAILY NEWS FEED

NewsTalk Texas is published each work day featuring the state’s top real estate news. Read the latest from your neck of the Lone Star State.

E-NEWSLETTER

RECON is the Center’s free weekly e-newsletter. See what deals are going down in your real estate market. Sent to your inbox every Tuesday. Click here to subscribe.

NEWSMAKERS

D-FW saw largest home sales jump in recent years. But things aren’t ‘all sunny and cheery’

According to ReMax’s latest National Housing report, nearly 6,800 homes were sold in Dallas-Fort Worth last month. That’s a year-over-year increase of 15.6% — the largest such increase in 2024.Data released by the Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center, the MetroTex Association of Realtors and the North Texas Real Estate Information Systems shows similar trends. Dallas Morning News, Jan. 2, 2025

Texas could see increase in people moving to state as housing market shifts

“Texas is experiencing significant population growth, averaging 1,300 new residents daily due to natural increase and migration. The state has added over one million new jobs since the pandemic, particularly in high-paid sectors like professional services and IT, leading to strong housing demand expected to continue into 2025.” — TRERC Research Director Daniel Oney, Newsweek, Jan. 4, 2025

Housing affordability crisis looms over Texas legislative session

Big cities like Dallas and their surrounding suburbs have been some of the most affected, with the median closing price in D-FW coming in just shy of $400,000 in 2024, according to the latest Texas A&M University Texas Real Estate Research Center housing report. Candy’s Dirt, Jan. 14, 2025

Houston officials increase funding assistance for Harvey Homebuyer Assistance Program

In 2017, the average price of homes in Houston were roughly $296,400, according to Texas A&M University Texas Real Estate Research Center. C ommunity Impact, Jan. 15, 2025

Million-dollar home sales surge in DFW, across Texas

The Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University provided data analysis for the study. WFAA-ABC, Jan. 16, 2025

Small farms in East Texas tackle growing challenges

Texas’ agricultural economy is struggling with drought, inflation and global supply chain disruptions. In November, nearly 49% of the state faced drought, with 13% in extreme conditions, according to the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University. Tyler Morning Telegraph, Jan. 20, 2025

The harsh reality: Average cost of living in Texas, Jan. 2025

The 3Q2024 [Texas Land Market Latest Developments] report from the Texas Real Estate Research Center showed that the price of land in Texas increased 2.36% year over year to $4,737 per acre. Coleman Today, Jan. 20, 2025

Would splitting Keller ISD into 2 school districts hurt home values? It’s complicated.

In 2019, the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M studied whether better schools result in higher home prices. “While that’s generally true,” the study’s authors wrote, “the factors behind it are complex.” The Texas A&M study is nearly six years old, and home prices in North Texas have, for the most part, steadily risen since 2019. Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Jan. 24, 2025

Rural landowners learn about market trends at Washington Co. wildlife society program

Dr. [Lynn] Krebs said the median land tract size in acreage has been declining in Texas since 2000 for many factors, such as land getting broken up through subdividing and other natural reasons like deaths in the family and passing down land to multiple children. Meanwhile, rural land prices have shot up drastically since COVID. KWHI, Jan. 25, 2025

Austin rent prices finally drop

“Austin is still a little bit more expensive [than Dallas], but basically they’ve pulled even with each other, is what we would argue,” Oney says. KTRH, Jan. 29, 2025