Well, some good news and some not so good news. DFW led the state in total single-family homes sold in the third quarter, but it also had the largest home sales decline compared to last year. Statewide, agents sold 115,272 homes in the quarter, down 3.5% from the third quarter in 2020. In DFW, agents sold 31,486 homes, down 9.3% compared to the same time last year. The lack of inventory and record prices have contributed to the decrease in home sales in North Texas and in other parts of the country. DFW median home prices in the third quarter were a record $354,900, up 18% from the same period last year. Austin’s home sales were down 7.1%, but outpaced the top metro areas with a median price of $465,000, up nearly 33% from the third quarter in 2020. The statewide median sales price was $310,000, an increase of nearly 17% from last year.
North Texas remains one of the hottest construction job markets in the country, but employment in the industry still has not rebounded to pre-COVID levels. The building industry in Dallas and Fort Worth rose by 5,800 jobs in September, but total building employment is still down 3,000 jobs compared to January of last year. Most of the construction job gains in North Texas were in Fort Worth, up 3,700 jobs. Total construction starts in DFW are up 16% from last year with a total of $21.3. billion. Construction jobs declined in more than 60 cities across the country. The largest declines were in suburban New York, New York City and New Orleans. The biggest construction gains were in Sacramento, Seattle and San Diego.
Construction work has started on a nearly 36-acre business park west of downtown near Interstate 30. Turnpike North Logistics Center will include a two-building, 636,000-square-foot distribution and warehouse complex. The development on Singleton Boulevard and Weir near Loop 12 is being built by a fund managed by Ares Management Corp. of Los Angeles. The development is the latest among nearly 40 million square feet of warehouse and distribution space that is under construction in North Texas, the most of any area in the country.