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or the first time in years, home sellers in Dallas-Fort Worth may not have an upper hand due to rising competition among buyers across southern U.S. markets. Inventory levels are increasing, and sellers might need to consider lowering their asking prices. However, this doesn't mean it's good news for buyers.

    The brief relief they experienced when the Federal Reserve cut short-term interest rates has worn off, with mortgage rates approaching 7% again. Elevated mortgage rates may define the remainder of 2024, with hopes for improvement in 2025.

    According to Shriram Villupuram, a real estate and finance professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, "We're not a normal market." Home sales and inventory are up, making it a more balanced market. However, Villupuram notes that sellers still have an advantage, with mortgage rates flattening home prices.

    Recent data from the Texas Real Estate Research Center, North Texas Real Estate Information Systems, and the MetroTex Association of Realtors show mixed results for the region in October. Sales were higher than last year, but inventory levels remain high, with over 30,200 active listings. The median price of a D-FW home was $399,000, up 2.5% from last October.

    Experts consider an inventory level of five or six months as balanced between buyers and sellers. Currently, there are 4.1 months of housing inventory in D-FW. Homes were on the market for 91 days, two weeks longer than last October.

    Several factors contributed to the stronger showing in October, including lower mortgage rates in September and higher interest rates during the same period in 2023. However, Villupuram notes that buyers who closed on homes in October had interest rate lockups when rates dropped, which may not be sustainable in the long term.

    Transplants from more expensive states are also driving up sales prices in D-FW, keeping prices higher than expected despite interest rate and supply trends. The Federal Reserve's decisions influence mortgages but don't determine rates, which tend to follow the 10-year Treasury yield.