SAN ANTONIO – When Alyssa Matsuzaki and her husband bought their dream house this summer, they got the land and beautiful backyard they were looking for. What they did not get, perhaps surprisingly, was a bidding war.
“Our offer was not too aggressive, but it was in our budget and appealing enough to be accepted,” she said.
When it comes to San Antonio’s housing market, it appears competition is cooling and buyer frenzy is calming.
“They’re not just getting any house and going $30,000 over asking anymore,” said Keller Williams realtor Monique Cardenas. “But, houses are still selling.”
They’re just selling in shrinking numbers.
In July, 3,333 existing homes sold for a 15% drop compared to the year before, according to data from the San Antonio Board of Realtors. It was also the fourth consecutive year-over-year decline.
Why the slide? Economists say it comes down to worries about inflation and a possible recession and simple affordability. While the number of sales is down, prices are not.
The median price of existing homes sold last month was $341,600, a 15% bump over the year before.
But, looking month to month, there are signs that the sizes of the price jumps are easing up.
Mortgage rates appear to be sidelining some buyers, too. A 30-year fixed rate is about 5%, roughly double what it was about a year ago, but still relatively low.
As Cardenas sees it, the market is getting back to pre-pandemic norms.
“Where we were in a red hot market, we’re just in a hot market,” she said. “I explain to my sellers, you have to price at value and not over value any more.”
After buying their dream home, the Matsuzakis needed to sell their old home quickly. They did, and for more than asking price - proving it’s still a seller’s market.