Housing market impacted by high interest rates, lack of new construction

Randy White has been in the real estate business for most of his life and he says the past few years have been unlike any in his 45-year career selling.

The owner of Randy White Real Estate Services in Southlake said the market is starting to return to normal, though prices aren’t there yet for those still looking for a house.

“The bidding wars, the low rates that were below three[%], the shortage of inventory—it was so hard to find our buyers homes,” White said. “We still have a listing shortage. There’s still not enough homes to supply the buyers’ demand. But, there is a lot more homes than there were.”

White said in the past, a house would go on the market and have 20 offers or more in less than seven hours. Collin County Association of Realtors says the average house for sale will stay on the market for at least 11 days longer or more compared to a year ago. The average days on the market combined between Grapevine, Southlake and Colleyville is 17 days, according to the association.

“It’s very healthy from a seller standpoint,” White said. “Still a challenge from the buyer’s standpoint in regards to inventory and choice, but it’s a lot better than it was [last year].”

White said a lot of people are not selling due to the change in interest rates. During the past few years, going from 2.8% in 2021 to about 6%-7%, as of June 20.

Realtors are also facing a shortage in new homes to offer to buyers, White said. In terms of new construction, there are fewer than 100 new homes built since Oct. 1, 2022, according to data from all three cities.

“We are still 100,000 units behind in new construction, which would take four years to supply the demand if sales were static,” said David Stoltzman, a Realtor for Randy White Real Estate Services.