Real Estate

Affordable homes in Dallas? Good luck with that…

Starter homes are disappearing

According to a recent report from online real estate listing service Trulia, America is experiencing a housing shortage. But, as it turns out, some metros are worse than others.

Nationwide, the number of starter homes on the market dropped by 43.6%, with its share of total housing inventory dipping from 30.2% to 27.7%.

So what does that mean to those trying to afford a new home?

Well, first time homebuyers today will need to shell out 5.6% more of their income — based on the median income of start-up buyers — towards a home purchase than in 2012.

According to CultureMap:

Trulia took all the available homes on the market in the first quarter of 2016 and split them into three sections based on price: starter homes, trade-up homes, and premium homes. In Dallas, Trulia says a starter home now has a median list price of $98,750, a trade-up can most likely be yours for $199,250, and a premium home costs $476,950.

Locally, the inventory for starter homes is down 70% from the first quarter of 2012. That's the 12th worst among the 100 markets studied. Even more troubling, inventory is down 74% in the trade-up category — which means Dallas has seen the third most dramatic shrinkage there.

So why are there less homes in the DFW housing market? It’s all due to the changing demographics and the booming job market.

Many house hunters face purchasing difficulty due to lack of inventory in Dallas, the Trulia report found.

And it's looking to only get worse.

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3d rendering of a row of luxury townhouses along a street

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