August 2021 Housing Report

The hot housing market in Fort Worth might be starting to cool off a bit, but the recovery in inventory is going to be slow. Housing inventory levels for August were still historically low at 1.2 months, and buyers are still having to move quickly to buy a home.

The median home price in Fort Worth is up to $306,000, a 23.5 percent increase from August of 2020. Prices continued to climb in Fort Worth and Johnson County, but decreased slightly in Tarrant and Parker Counties, showing another sign of the market easing.

“Inventory levels bottomed out earlier in the year and are slowly recovering,” said Elizabeth McCoy, 2021 President of the Greater Fort Worth Association of REALTORS®. “That being said, we are still seeing the homes that do come on the market sell very quickly as evidenced by a very low number of average days on the market.”

Listings were on the market for an average of 18 days in Fort Worth last month, and active listings were down 27.8 percent compared to last year. By comparison, U.S. housing inventory was down 25.8 percent year-over-year in August. That did mark an improvement over last month when inventories were down 33.5 percent annually.

Although there’s some improvement in the landscape for homebuyers, with only 1.2 months of inventory, the grim reality is that it’s still very challenging to find a home. The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University cites that 6.5 months of inventory represents a market in which supply and demand for homes is balanced. Patience is key for those on the hunt, as well as having finances in order for when the right home comes along.

“Low mortgage rates have motivated home buyers to endure this year’s challenging market and now some buyers are starting to see their persistence pay off,” said Danielle Hale, realtor.com®’s chief economist. “This month, new sellers added more affordable entry-level homes to the market compared to last year, while others began adjusting listing prices to better compete with an uptick in inventory.”

August 2021 Fort Worth Statistics At-A-Glance

1,336 - Homes sold in August 2021, 1.1 percent more than August 2020
$306,000 - Median price in August 2021, 23.5 percent more than August 2020
1.2 - Monthly housing inventory in August 2021, 0.6 months less than in August 2020
18 - Average number of days homes spent on the market in August 2021, 23 days less than August 2020
33 - Average number of days to close in August 2021

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