Population growth boosting Lubbock housing market

Since 2010, the county’s population growth has been above average compared with prior years. As of 2016, the Census Bureau estimated the City of Lubbock’s population at approximately 252,000. As a result, home sales have surged.

Sales in Lubbock County grew at around 5 percent year-over-year in both 2015 and 2016. As of August, year-to-date (YTD) county sales in 2017 totaled 2,634, over 100 sales short of where the county was last year. Even to the south and southwest of the city, where many of the area’s sales are recorded, sales have begun to slow. As of August 2017, YTD sales in ZIP codes 79424 and 79423 were 1,160, which is below August 2016’s YTD total of 1,257.

“Despite a possible slower pace, the market looks good with positive overall trends,” said Center Senior Data Analyst Joshua Roberson. “Five years ago, the median price in Lubbock County was $124,000 and homes took an average of three months to sell. Today, median price is over $150,000 and homes take on average only two months to sell.”

Lower sales could be due to the decline in active listings, especially for certain price ranges.

“There just aren’t as many homes to buy," says local Realtor Tim Garrett of Tim Garrett Real Estate. “We’re seeing buyers offer $3,000 to $6,000 more than listing price mainly for homes in the $100,000 to $200,000 range.”

“As listings fall, the lack of availability can put upward pressure on prices, which is exactly what we have seen over the past few years,” Roberson said. “Months’ inventory, a supply-side measure of home availability, has also been in decline and is at the lowest level recorded for the area.”

In response to current market conditions, Roberson said single-family construction sales through the MLS have picked up. The bulk of this activity is to the south, but there are also pockets of activity outside the loop to the west and northwest.

“Building permits for single-family starts surged late in 2016 and early 2017, so construction starts could soon rise very quickly,” Roberson said.