University Park Real Estate Market Prices, Trends, and Forecast 2023

 

The University Park, TX, real estate market is constantly changing and evolving. It’s essential for anyone who is thinking about buying or selling a home in the affluent and upscale University Park to have a basic awareness of what the market is doing on both a local and national level. At the same time, it can be hard to keep up with market trends when you don’t live and breathe the housing market on a daily basis.

Working with a local realtor is the best way to ensure that you’re prepared for whatever the market can throw at you. Read on to get up to speed in the meantime.

Currently, the national housing market is experiencing a slight cooldown. This trend came as a surprise, given the strong market activity over the past few years, with homes flying off the shelves and prices soaring. However, with rising interest rates and inflation, many buyers are waiting on the sidelines hoping for clearer skies before moving forward with their real estate plans.

That said, highly desirable locales such as University Park have been somewhat immune to these market trends. The median price of single-family University Park homes has held steady over the past two years at around $2.5 million, despite prices rising temporarily in the middle of 2021. Since last month, the median list price has only dropped by 1.2%, which is a normal amount of fluctuation.

Due to the incredible amount of appeal for this prestigious Dallas neighborhood, it is likely that home prices will hold steady or continue to climb, even in the face of an uncertain economic climate nationwide. 

 

If you are aiming to enter the University Park real estate market, it’s important to be aware of the interest rates. Before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, mortgage rates hovered around four percent. They dropped closer to two percent during the summer of 2020, and many prospective buyers took advantage of the opportunity to purchase a home with a lower interest rate. The increase in demand gave sellers the chance to charge higher prices when selling their homes. Many sellers still received multiple offers well above the asking price.

Times have changed, and interest rates are now closer to seven percent. Inflation is also rampant right now, and the rising cost of living presents a challenge for many people who might otherwise have an interest in shopping for homes. It’s easy to understand why buyer demand is down right now and why average sales prices are leveling out as a result.

 

Because of higher interest rates and a general uncertainty about where the housing market (and the national economy) could be headed in the coming months, nobody should be surprised to see rent prices continue to increase. Landlords understand that many people would prefer to wait for interest rates to drop before shopping for a home, and they are capitalizing on the opportunity to generate more significant income on their properties. Higher demand also creates a more favorable environment for them to charge more. 

According to the latest report by the MetroTex Association of Realtors, home prices in Dallas County are higher than they were one year ago. As of December 2022, the median price within the county was $329,000, which was up by 1.6% since December 2021. It’s important to note here that as a highly sought-after enclave, University Park real estate commands much higher prices than the average throughout the entire county.

Sales numbers are also down in Dallas County, with 37.4% fewer closed sales compared to December 2021. In addition, Dallas County homes are spending an average of 72 days on the market before closing, which is nine days longer than in December 2021. This reflects the cooldown seen across the nation.

Home prices in University Park tend to be much higher than average. Homes are often priced well above $1 or even $2 million. The community itself is one of the most affluent in all of North Texas. Many realtors in the area specialize in buying and selling luxury properties, and they expect to see a tremendous amount of growth in the market over the coming years. 

Despite the high interest rates and slow market activity, this can still be a great time to invest in a home. Home values should continue to grow over time, as history has shown that the real estate market is well-equipped to respond to temporary setbacks. Over the past 100 years, home prices have outpaced inflation by almost three percent. This means that the market was able to successfully rebound from both the Great Depression of the 1930s as well as the housing market crash of 2008.

It’s also worth mentioning that homes are hard assets. Hard assets have a visible value that is easy to understand and perceive. The value of hard assets is less susceptible to volatility in the market when compared to soft assets, such as stocks. While stock prices can change quickly and frequently, home values often move at a much slower pace and less dramatically, making them a solid investment over time. 

The rest of 2023 will undoubtedly present challenges for both buyers and sellers across the country. The good news is that the market remains in a strong position of overall health and is likely to trend back in the right direction in the near future. Pay attention to how things develop over the next several months, but don’t panic about the vitality of your portfolio or your current investments.

If you’re looking for someone to help you successfully buy or sell a home in the University Park real estate market, The Bellm | Corley Group should be one of your first contacts. This highly skilled team works hard to stay current on what the market is doing, both locally and on a broader scale. They use this information to guide their clients in making wise financial decisions when buying and selling homes. Reach out to their office if you have more questions about the current state of the market or if you’re ready to take the next step toward buying or selling your home.