Midland Overtakes Dallas-Fort Worth in Q3 Texas Median Home Prices

Midland's median home price surpassed the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex in the third quarter, signaling that Texas's four major housing markets are normalizing from pandemic-era highs, according to Texas Realtors' quarterly housing report. Midland's median price reached $386,000, up 3% year-over-year, while DFW-Arlington fell 1.1% to $385,535. Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos remained the state's most expensive market at $420,000. All four of Texas's largest markets posted declines of 1.2% or less. Yanling Mayer, a research economist at the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University, attributed DFW's softening to weak sales activity and persistent affordability pressures. Midland, which skipped the pandemic boom, has drawn continued price growth from its oil-based economy. Laura Camp, president of the Permian Basin Board of Realtors, said new construction has eased price pressure and the market is "easing towards a balanced market." Houston and Dallas each saw lower shares of total statewide sales, while Austin and San Antonio volumes rose about 1% and 2.9%, respectively.