Fort Worth housing inventory jumps, signaling some relief for homebuyers

Temperatures are finally cooling in Fort Worth. So too has the housing market.

Fort Worth’s housing inventory — a measurement of how long it would take to sell the city’s existing supply of homes — climbed to 3.7 months in September, up from 2.5 months a year ago, according to data compiled by the Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors.

The jump suggests the chasm between Fort Worth’s housing supply and demand has narrowed some, signaling to optimistic experts and hopeful home shoppers that finding and purchasing a property may become less arduous.

“With more people putting homes on the market, we naturally have a ‘loosening’ of inventory , which helps accommodate the area’s continued population growth,” Blake Barry, the president of the association, said in a statement. “Additional home options are available, plus with the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates , more people will find it feasible to purchase a home now compared to this summer, allowing buyers to potentially move into a new home before the holidays.”

Home inventory spiked across the rest of Tarrant County, too. Two of its neighbors, Johnson and Parker, also recorded inventory increases.

Fort Worth’s inventory broke the three-month threshold for the first time in more than a decade in June. Six months of inventory is the accepted benchmark for a balanced housing market — when home sellers are supplying roughly what prospective homeowners demand.

More options and lower mortgage rates may make the dream of homeownership more feasible for some. But there’s no certainty the inventory hike will yield a price drop. Tens of thousands of new residents flood into the city annually, sustaining a steady demand for residences. The median Fort Worth home price climbed 0.4% year-on-year last month.

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