San Antonio Home Sales Drop as Buyers Gain Leverage

San Antonio crossed the line into a buyer’s market, with July sales plunging 10 percent compared with last year while inventory crept past the six-month balanced market threshold.

The slowdown outpaced the statewide market, which notched a 3.6 percent gain in transactions, according to the San Antonio Board of Realtors. Last month, 2,915 homes sold across the Alamo City, but prices didn’t budge downward, the San Antonio Express-News reported. The median home sales price hit $330,000, up 4 percent year-over-year, even as the statewide median slipped 1.1 percent to $345,000. San Antonio is now moving in the opposite direction of Texas overall: more sluggish deal flow, but pricing that’s proving stickier.

Supply climbed to 6.12 months in July, crossing the six-month marker brokers typically use to mark balance between buyers and sellers, putting the ball in the buyers’ court. Homes are also sitting longer, averaging 74 days on the market — a 16 percent increase from last summer. Pending sales fell 24 percent, a sign that some would-be buyers are hesitating despite more choices. Active listings rose 14 percent to more than 17,100.

“The leverage is shifting,” SABOR chair Ed Zapata said in the report, noting that buyers are taking their time to weigh options as inventory builds.

San Antonio is the value play compared with other big Texas metros. Bexar County’s $310,000 median trails far behind Travis County’s $560,000 and Dallas County’s $390,000, while Harris County is level with San Antonio at $330,000. Austin leads on price but has seen sharp corrections since its pandemic peak, while Houston’s vast supply has kept a lid on appreciation. Dallas-Fort Worth is in the middle — pricier than San Antonio but still drawing buyers priced out of Austin.

Mortgage rates could prove the swing factor. Freddie Mac pegged the 30-year fixed at 6.58 percent last week, its lowest since October and the fourth straight weekly decline. If borrowing costs continue to ease, markets like San Antonio — with relatively lower entry prices and fresh inventory — could see demand rebound faster than Austin or Dallas, where affordability is more strained.

— Eric Weilbacher