Texas led the nation in 2024 for new house permits, accounting for 15% of the national total despite only having a 9% share of the population.
According to new data from Realtor.com, more than one in four people looking to buy a home in Texas are from out of state, with the largest sources of interest coming from international migration and people leaving California – including Realtor.com itself, which announced its corporate headquarters was moving from Santa Clara, California, to the Texas capital of Austin.
Realtor.com also noted the median listing price in Texas was $360,000 as of the end of 2024, roughly $40,000 below the national median. Last year, almost half (47.5%) of all for-sale inventory in Texas was priced at $350,000 or below compared to just 40.1% of national inventory, while there were 23.3% (roughly 50,000) more homes priced under $350,000 for sale in Texas in 2024 compared to 2023.
“The state has grown rapidly in the last several years as people from across the country and across the world have seen what Texas has to offer,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. “In the years since the Covid-19 pandemic, the Texas economy has boomed, especially in high-demand industries like technology, education, manufacturing and construction. Already-scarce housing inventory from years of under-building was flooded with cash offers, and listing prices and rents soared. Texas has responded by building more and smaller homes to meet demand, helping the market settle and housing inventory climb back to pre-pandemic levels ahead of the nationwide recovery.”
