Arlington, Texas is a city in Tarrant County, TX that lies in between Dallas, TX and Fort Worth, TX (about 20 miles west of Dallas and 12 miles east of Fort Worth.  The city of Arlington, TX is approximately 100 square miles in area and has a population of close to 400,000 per a recent US Census estimate.  Arlington is perhaps best known as the home of Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers, and also has some interesting entertainment venues such as Six Flags, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, The Palace Wax Museum, and Hurricane Harbor.

The Arlington, TX real estate market has often been cited by various media as having some of the most affordable homes and cost of living in the United States.  The real estate market for single family homes had some challenging years during the fallout from the financial crisis, but has shown steady growth for the last several years.

Median Sales Price Chart for Homes in Arlington, Texas

Arlington, Texas has a wide variety of neighborhoods and homes.  Although median prices have risen steadily over the last several years, Arlington remains one of the most affordable cities to live in the D/FW area.

Median Sales Price Per Square Foot Chart for Homes in Arlington, Texas

Likewise, the median price per foot has also increased steadily in Arlington over the same period.

Median Original List Price Chart for Homes in Arlington, Texas

Average Days on Market Chart for Homes in Arlington, TX

As prices have risen in Arlington, the average days on market has dropped significantly.  The seasonal cycle is also evident as the real estate market is typically busiest in the spring and summer months and slows down in the late fall and winter months.

Average Days on Market Chart by Price Range for Homes in Arlington, Texas

it’s important to note that marketing times for homes are often significantly different at various price points in any given area.  During most previous years, the days on market was significantly lower on average for the lower and mid-tier priced homes.  As the supply of $250K and under homes has dwindled due to lower inventory levels as a result of steady price increases, the marketing times for lower priced homes have decreased at a faster pace than the mid-tier homes.  The higher tier homes have evened out as the supply has increased. At times, the average days on market for the sub $250K market has been more than three times lower than the $500K+ market of homes in Arlington.

Months Supply of Home Inventory Chart for Homes in Arlington, Texas

The supply of homes peaked significantly after the financial crisis and then made a dramatic return to low inventory.  Anything below four months is generally considered to be a seller’s market and more than six to eight months is a buyer’s market.

Months Supply of Home Inventory by Price Range in Arlington, Texas

However, the inventory levels of homes vary significantly in Arlington based on the price point.  The inventory of homes under $250K has decreased steadily and may all but disappear if prices continue to rise.  The $500K+ market saw incredibly high inventory levels after the Great Recession and then leveled back to a more modest rate, although still at levels many would consider more of a buyer’s market.

Inventory of Homes For Sale in Arlington, Texas

The inventory of homes peaked after the Great Recession and then retracted to less than half.  Inventory is typically much higher during spring and summer and lower during the fall and winter months as many people do not like to list their home during the holidays.

Inventory of Homes For Sale by Price Point in Arlington, Texas

For many years the inventory of homes for sale in Arlington was almost all priced under $250K. As prices rose after the Great Recession ended, the inventory of sub-$250K homes decreased substantially to where it had much less inventory than homes over $250K.  The majority of homes are now priced in the $250K-$500K range and the inventory of homes priced over $500K has also increased, but at a lower rate.

Percentage of Original List Price Received for Homes in Arlington, Texas

As markets heat up, this ratio gets closer to 100% and then lowers once the market starts to cool off. When the ratio gets close to or at 100%, this often indicates that bidding wars are common on home sales.  A situation where a home receives multiple offers may result in the seller asking each bidder for their “highest-and-best offer” which forces buyers to compete in a “winner-take-all” scenario.  Home buyers considering buying a home in markets where this ratio is high should be prepared for the possibility that they may have to compete for the home and may possibly have to offer more than list price to win the offer.  This is more common on lower price points since the inventory is much lower and the pool of possible buyers is often quite high.

New Listings of Homes in Arlington, Texas

The seasonal variances in listings are quite evident in this chart with the spring and summer months being busiest and the late fall and winter months being slowest for new listings.  When deciding what time of year might be best to purchase a home, consider that there are generally more buyers in the market when there are higher levels of inventory and fewer during months when inventory is lower. So there’s more inventory but also more competition in spring and summer while the fall and winter have fewer homes but less competition from other buyers.

Pending Sales of Homes in Arlington, Texas

Pending sales follow the seasonal pattern as well.  Typically pending sales translate into closed sales the following month as the average sales cycle for a home transaction is around 3-4 weeks.  Arlington was a very active market prior to the Great Recession. Although prices are much higher in the current market, the recent volume of sales is still a bit less than during those years.

Closed Sales of Homes in Arlington, Texas