Luxury Sales Plummet Across Texas

If recent months are any indication, it’s shaping up to be a frigid winter for luxury agents across Texas.

Deal volume and median prices dropped precipitously in the third quarter in Austin, Dallas and Houston, according to an analysis of MLS data by Agent Story. The firm considered all home sales above $1 million, and used self-reported data from agents, as Texas law does not require sale prices be made public. Still, the data paint a spooky picture of slower deal flow, lower prices and more days waiting.

In Austin, agents sold 342 homes worth $1 million or more. That’s a 19 percent drop from last quarter. Average sale price for the category fell to $2.13 million, but the most extreme change took place in the time homes spent on the market. The typical luxury home was marketed for 64 days before finding a buyer, up 61 percent from the 40 days it would have spent the previous quarter.

Even more dramatic was the city’s year-over-year change in days on market: one year ago, the typical luxury home in Austin spent just 29 days on the market. That means that in a year, the time it takes to sell a luxury home has more than doubled.

Dealflow also dropped in Dallas, where volume declined 24 percent to 229 sales in the third quarter. Time on market increased by a few days, but unlike Austin, Dallas’ average luxury sale price increased slightly. The average price moved up 4 percent to $2.39 million.

Nowhere saw a harsher drop in deal volume than Houston. The Bayou City’s agents sold 280 homes above $1 million in the third quarter — 28 percent fewer than they did in the previous quarter. Average price declined 12 percent to $2.4 million, while time on market ticked up to 37 days.

While activity was down, top agents still got their big slices of the pie. In Austin, Beth Drewett of Compass posted the top deal volume, selling 11 homes for a total over $39 million. That works out to a median price of $3.74 million, which is below Eric Moreland’s median of $4.77 million. Crystal Olenbush of AustinRealEstate.com made the most deals, selling 15 homes above $1 million.

In Dallas, Amy Detwiler of Compass had the highest deal volume and median price, selling eight homes for $27.65 million, for a median of $3.8 million per home. Nancy Johnson, another Compass agent, topped the list for overall sales with 21.

Meanwhile, Compass’ Laura Sweeney hit for a triple crown in Houston, leading the pack in total sales volume, number of homes sold and median price. Sweeney sold 19 homes worth $71.8 million, a median of $3.78 million. Walter Bering of Sotheby’s International also sold 19 homes in the quarter.