Since many on this site may be buying or selling a home at any given time, own investment properties, or commercial real estate I'm posting this weekly update to stay current.
The data is well researched from multiple sources concerning the real estate & mortgage market.
Thus, it is fact based and only analyzing the data/trends without regard to government policy.
As I stated previously let's keep the thread informational for those that might be in the market and leave policy discussions in "The Corral".
Current Rates -
30 Year Conventional - Mid 6's
15 Year Conventional - Mid 5's
30 Year Jumbo - Low 6's
30 Year FHA - Low 6's
30 Year VA - Low 6's
Fixer Upper vs Renovated Home -
Homebuyers who purchased a remodeled home in 2024 paid more than $13,000 over the expected sales price, according to a new report from Zillow. It looked at homes listed on Zillow.com between June 2023 and May 2024.
The real estate listings site researched more than 2 million homes listed for sale in 2024. Properties that included the word “remodeled” in the listing received a higher sales price premium than the other 358 listing keywords analyzed.
Today’s buyers, it seems, would rather make a down payment on a house that’s in move-in condition, according to the study. And they are willing to pay up to 3.7% more than expected for a home that’s been renovated.
Amanda Pendleton, Zillow’s home-trends expert, said that although fixer-uppers initially are less costly, “buyers who are already stretching their budget to afford a home in today’s market may not be willing or able to spend more on renovations or repairs,” she said in a statement.
“A remodeled home may come with a higher price tag, but buyers can spread that additional cost over the course of a 30-year mortgage versus paying cash up front to make similar upgrades themselves,” Pendleton said.
Now, it appears that homebuyers are more interested in homes that are already renovated rather than ones they’d need to renovate themselves.
That’s a shift from the last several years when fixer-uppers were all the rage.
Properties that needed some TLC got the upper hand in the mid-2010s, when millennials, fueled by escalating home values and the DIY movement and all the home-renovation shows on TV, snapped them up. They often hoped to earn a quick profit either by flipping them or earning huge gains in equity.
If you are looking for a bargain, a fixer-upper is a solid target, if you can find one. According to Zillow, “fixer-uppers” sell for 7.3% less than a similar home, the largest discount in three years.
However, inflation has ramped up renovation costs so much that it may be cheaper in the long run to pay more for a remodeled property.
Editor's Note -
While the article mentions that renovated homes sell better because the renovations that have been done can be financed into their mortgage at purchase is true.
They make the case that when buying a "Fixer-Upper" the buyer's will be out of pocket to do the remocel. And that is one way to do it - buy the home and pay out of pocket for your upgrades.
What they fail to mention is that both Fannie-Mae/Freddie-Mac and FHA offer "Renovation Loans" where you can buy the home and finance your upgrades into the mortgage that you use to purchase the home.
So if you find that ideal "Fixer-Upper" you don't necessarily have to come out of pocket to renovate it to your liking.
One final note here - do not trust the prices you hear/watch on the shows on HGTV - they are mostly FOS and way underprice the cost of a renovation.
Texas February Housing Stats -
What is the housing market like right now?
In February 2025, home prices in Texas were down 0.35% compared to last year, selling for a median price of $339,400. On average, the number of homes sold was down 7.5% year over year and there were 21,632 homes sold in February this year, down 23,499 homes sold in February last year. The median days on the market was 75 days, up 12 year over year.
Are there enough homes for sale to meet buyer demand?
In February 2025, there were 148,117 homes for sale in Texas, up 13.4% year over year. The number of newly listed homes was 36,723 and down 2.4% year over year. The average months of supply is 5 months, up 0 year over year.
In February 2025, 11.6% of homes in Texas sold above list price, down 1.1 points year over year. There were only 29.4% of homes that had price drops, up from 25.0% of homes in February last year. There was a 96.9% sale-to-list price, down 0.26 points year over year.
Well if you live in Florida that could be a reality one day soon. Governor Ron DeSantis is floating the idea of eliminating property taxes in the state of Florida.
With the rising cost of homeownership making it difficult for much of "Main Street" America eliminating property taxes would allow a substantial number of new homeowners to qualify for a home purchase.
Obviously any state the pursues eliminating state/local property taxes would have to find revenue in other places like sales tax, tourism taxes, etc.
But based on how important housing is to the economy, building wealth, and job creation there may be some creedence to shifting from property taxes to consumption taxes.
It would also allow elderly people and those that live in areas undergoing gentrification to not be forced out of their homes due to rising property taxes.
Odds and Ends -
Unfreezing the Real Estate Market -
The Treasury Secretary is trying to thread the needle to push interest-rates lower without spiking inflation - as noted here if he can do it the real estate market will benefit.
As Treasury Secretary he does have several tools in his tool box to pull it off. Paving the way to lower rates is his goal to "Unfreeze" the real estate market. Here are some things he can do to achieve his goal:
Mega Sale of Government Owned Properties -
I don't know if we've seen such a huge sell of commercial properties at one time since the Resolution Trust Corporation aka RTC days of the 80's after the Texas Savings & Loan crisis.
Maybe we put together an OB Real Estate Hedge Fund
Here is One that I feel will not work out like they think it will - many people think they will own their home "forever", but few things in life are forever and here are a few things that will make these people eventually sell - divorce, job relocation, increasing income, decreasing income, expanding family size, decreasing family size, demographic shifts.
Nonetheless, it is an interesting chart/list -
Final Thoughts -
Let's see if lower rates can get on a winning streak like Texas Baseball!
Always here to help and answer any questions ITT or send me a DM.
Have a great week!
Hook 'Em!
MH
The data is well researched from multiple sources concerning the real estate & mortgage market.
Thus, it is fact based and only analyzing the data/trends without regard to government policy.
As I stated previously let's keep the thread informational for those that might be in the market and leave policy discussions in "The Corral".
Current Rates -
30 Year Conventional - Mid 6's
15 Year Conventional - Mid 5's
30 Year Jumbo - Low 6's
30 Year FHA - Low 6's
30 Year VA - Low 6's
Fixer Upper vs Renovated Home -
Homebuyers who purchased a remodeled home in 2024 paid more than $13,000 over the expected sales price, according to a new report from Zillow. It looked at homes listed on Zillow.com between June 2023 and May 2024.
The real estate listings site researched more than 2 million homes listed for sale in 2024. Properties that included the word “remodeled” in the listing received a higher sales price premium than the other 358 listing keywords analyzed.
Today’s buyers, it seems, would rather make a down payment on a house that’s in move-in condition, according to the study. And they are willing to pay up to 3.7% more than expected for a home that’s been renovated.
Amanda Pendleton, Zillow’s home-trends expert, said that although fixer-uppers initially are less costly, “buyers who are already stretching their budget to afford a home in today’s market may not be willing or able to spend more on renovations or repairs,” she said in a statement.
“A remodeled home may come with a higher price tag, but buyers can spread that additional cost over the course of a 30-year mortgage versus paying cash up front to make similar upgrades themselves,” Pendleton said.
Now, it appears that homebuyers are more interested in homes that are already renovated rather than ones they’d need to renovate themselves.
That’s a shift from the last several years when fixer-uppers were all the rage.
Properties that needed some TLC got the upper hand in the mid-2010s, when millennials, fueled by escalating home values and the DIY movement and all the home-renovation shows on TV, snapped them up. They often hoped to earn a quick profit either by flipping them or earning huge gains in equity.
If you are looking for a bargain, a fixer-upper is a solid target, if you can find one. According to Zillow, “fixer-uppers” sell for 7.3% less than a similar home, the largest discount in three years.
However, inflation has ramped up renovation costs so much that it may be cheaper in the long run to pay more for a remodeled property.
Editor's Note -
While the article mentions that renovated homes sell better because the renovations that have been done can be financed into their mortgage at purchase is true.
They make the case that when buying a "Fixer-Upper" the buyer's will be out of pocket to do the remocel. And that is one way to do it - buy the home and pay out of pocket for your upgrades.
What they fail to mention is that both Fannie-Mae/Freddie-Mac and FHA offer "Renovation Loans" where you can buy the home and finance your upgrades into the mortgage that you use to purchase the home.
So if you find that ideal "Fixer-Upper" you don't necessarily have to come out of pocket to renovate it to your liking.
One final note here - do not trust the prices you hear/watch on the shows on HGTV - they are mostly FOS and way underprice the cost of a renovation.
Texas February Housing Stats -
What is the housing market like right now?
In February 2025, home prices in Texas were down 0.35% compared to last year, selling for a median price of $339,400. On average, the number of homes sold was down 7.5% year over year and there were 21,632 homes sold in February this year, down 23,499 homes sold in February last year. The median days on the market was 75 days, up 12 year over year.
Top 10 Metros in Texas with the Fastest Growing Sales Price
- Farmers Branch, TX 29.8%
- Fulshear, TX 21.7%
- Granbury, TX 21.7%
- Benbrook, TX 18.2%
- Hurst, TX 15.9%
- Forney, TX 13.9%
- Corsicana, TX 13.3%
- Magnolia, TX 12.5%
- Harker Heights, TX 12.0%
- Pasadena, TX 11.8%
Are there enough homes for sale to meet buyer demand?
In February 2025, there were 148,117 homes for sale in Texas, up 13.4% year over year. The number of newly listed homes was 36,723 and down 2.4% year over year. The average months of supply is 5 months, up 0 year over year.
Texas Housing Demand
How competitive is the market?In February 2025, 11.6% of homes in Texas sold above list price, down 1.1 points year over year. There were only 29.4% of homes that had price drops, up from 25.0% of homes in February last year. There was a 96.9% sale-to-list price, down 0.26 points year over year.
Top 10 Most Competitive Cities in Texas
- Euless, TX
- Porter Heights, TX
- Coppell, TX
- The Woodlands, TX
- Greatwood, TX
- Mission Bend, TX
- Carrollton, TX
- Hurst, TX
- Lancaster, TX
- Lewisville, TX
Well if you live in Florida that could be a reality one day soon. Governor Ron DeSantis is floating the idea of eliminating property taxes in the state of Florida.
With the rising cost of homeownership making it difficult for much of "Main Street" America eliminating property taxes would allow a substantial number of new homeowners to qualify for a home purchase.
Obviously any state the pursues eliminating state/local property taxes would have to find revenue in other places like sales tax, tourism taxes, etc.
But based on how important housing is to the economy, building wealth, and job creation there may be some creedence to shifting from property taxes to consumption taxes.
It would also allow elderly people and those that live in areas undergoing gentrification to not be forced out of their homes due to rising property taxes.
Odds and Ends -
Unfreezing the Real Estate Market -
The Treasury Secretary is trying to thread the needle to push interest-rates lower without spiking inflation - as noted here if he can do it the real estate market will benefit.
As Treasury Secretary he does have several tools in his tool box to pull it off. Paving the way to lower rates is his goal to "Unfreeze" the real estate market. Here are some things he can do to achieve his goal:
Mega Sale of Government Owned Properties -
I don't know if we've seen such a huge sell of commercial properties at one time since the Resolution Trust Corporation aka RTC days of the 80's after the Texas Savings & Loan crisis.
Maybe we put together an OB Real Estate Hedge Fund
Here is One that I feel will not work out like they think it will - many people think they will own their home "forever", but few things in life are forever and here are a few things that will make these people eventually sell - divorce, job relocation, increasing income, decreasing income, expanding family size, decreasing family size, demographic shifts.
Nonetheless, it is an interesting chart/list -
Final Thoughts -
Let's see if lower rates can get on a winning streak like Texas Baseball!
Always here to help and answer any questions ITT or send me a DM.
Have a great week!
Hook 'Em!
MH
Last edited:
