Struggling with a lack of housing inventory, the Allen market proved to be a challenging one for buyers in 2016. Quickly rising prices meant waiting a few months to buy a home could turn into a costly decision.

“If you decided in 2015 to wait a year to buy in Allen, that may have been an expensive decision,” said James Martin, president of the MetroTex Association of REALTORS. “In December, the average price in Allen was more than 22 percent higher than it was this time last year - more than $65,000. Some of that is because the cost of new housing is rising quickly, but the price of existing stock is not very far behind. There’s such low inventory in Allen that people have to be prepared to act quickly. We simply aren’t seeing enough new listings to keep up with demand.”

According to the monthly housing report released by MetroTex, there were 192 active listings on the market in Allen in December and 142 closed sales. However, those sales represented a 4.4 percent increase from 2015. The dollar volume of sales in Allen increased 27.7 percent year-over-year to $51,371,746. The average price in December was $361,773, up 22.3 percent from last year, while the median price was $299,050, up 13.3 percent.

Allen’s monthly housing inventory fell to 1.4 months in December. The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University remarks that 6.5 months of inventory represents a market in which supply and demand for homes is balanced.

Homes spent an average of 49 days on the market in December.

Allen 2016 Market Summary

• 1,681                      Homes sold, 1.4 percent higher than 2015.
• $305,000               Median sales price for homes, 9.4 percent more than 2015.
• $352,588               Average sales price for homes, a 8.1 percent increase over 2015.
• 33                           Average number of days homes spent on the market in 2016.
• 271                         Average number of active home listings on the market in 2016.
• $127                       Average price per square foot in 2016, up 9.6 percent year-over-year.

2016 North Texas Market Overall – New records set

• 101,529                 Homes sold, beating a 10-year-old record of 95,509 sales. This year’s result is 8 percent higher than 2015.
• $28,050,996,211 Total dollar volume of sales, up 13 percent from 2015 and sets a new record in dollar volume.
• $225,000               Median sales price for homes, 10 percent more than 2015, a record high.
• $276,286               Average sales price for homes, a 7 percent increase over 2015, a record high.
• 42                           Average number of days homes spent on the market in 2016.
• 18,355                   Average active home listings on the market in 2016, a 1 percent drop.
• $119                       Average price per square foot, up 7 percent year-over-year.

Celebrating 100 years of service in North Texas, MetroTex is the area’s largest REALTOR association.  We are an advocate for homeowners, private property rights, the real estate industry, and real estate professionals. MetroTex is comprised of more than 18,000 members.