Rockwall Housing Market Update • September 2025

Two truths and a myth about Rockwall County’s market. Truth one: in August, buyers had room to breathe. Truth two: the best homes still moved. The myth? That prices collapse just because inventory rises.

In this video, I’ll show you what the August 2025 data actually says, why precision pricing matters more than ever, and how to time your decisions without guessing.

We’ll start with a look supply, demand, pricing power, and days on market on the county level, then we’ll zoom into Rockwall, the city, Heath, Fate, and McLendon-Chisholm with specific takeaways for each.

First up, Rockwall County: what the August data is really saying

If you want the tl;dr version here it is: Buyers have more choices than they’ve had in a while, the pace has cooled, and pricing power now belongs to well-priced, well-presented homes. Translation: precision beats bravado. Or another way to put it - overpricing doesn’t leave room. It leaves you stuck.

Supply is the headline. Think of August’s numbers like restocking day at the grocery store: more options on the shelves, fewer elbows thrown in Aisle 3. The “inventory of homes for sale” and “months of supply” charts both show we’re sitting on materially more choices than we had in the spring. 

More supply doesn’t mean free-fall; it means the market is giving buyers time to compare and it’s forcing sellers to meet the market where it is today—not where it was two years or two months ago. In practical terms, you can’t price on future optimism when the shelves are full; you price on current absorption. When supply is higher, the homes that still move quickly share a theme: clean presentation, accurate pricing, and no homework for the buyer.

New listings have normalized into late-summer mode. We’ve come off the early-summer bulge and settled into a steadier cadence of owners listing before school and holiday calendars crowd out moving trucks. That matters because new listings are the “fresh produce” that sets buyer expectations. 

A steady stream keeps choices up, but it won’t bail out a wishful price. If you’re listing now, assume your home will be judged against a constant trickle of comparable new options—so your launch needs to be better. If you’re buying, that steady drip helps negotiations: there’s always “one more” coming, which softens the urgency to chase. But be careful of falling into the trap of analysis paralysis where the idea of maybe the next one is the right one. There’s a chance it may never come.

Demand has softened from summer’s peak. Closed sales stepped down from early-summer pace when families lock in school routines and discretionary moves slow. So buyers are choosier. 

Homes with a trade-off like location friction, dated finishes, or a funky floor pla) get screened out faster, and anything priced ahead of the data finds itself lonely on the market. For sellers, the move is to reduce the number of reasons a buyer can say “maybe later.” 

For buyers, it’s a chance to negotiate repairs or credits on solid homes that aren’t perfect on paper but are strong in fundamentals.

What this means.

If you’re selling: Treat pricing like a launch window, not a suggestion. Lead with compelling presentation, sharpen list-to-market gap, and plan a pre-decided adjustment path if showings stall by week two. In a higher-supply environment, “wait and see” is the most expensive strategy.

If you’re buying: You’ve got time and leverage—but not a blank check. The best homes still move. Use the extra supply to negotiate repairs, seller credits, or small price improvements, and lean on absorption data in your specific pocket to calibrate offers.

Now if you remember at the start of this video, one of the truths I mentioned was that the best homes are still moving. 

Allow me to explain.

Let’s look at two buckets of closings over the last 90 days in Rockwall County: the homes that sold in 7 days or less… and the ones that took 8 days or more. Same county. Very different outcomes.

In the last 90 days, we had 77 Rockwall County homes that sold in the first week. On average, those sold for about 98.9% of their original list price—that’s roughly a 1.1% trim from list. The median was 100%, which tells me the typical fast mover actually hit full asking. And these weren’t bargain-bin houses—the average sale price in that fast group was about $564,700, with a median of $503,000. So the quick sales weren’t cheap; they were priced right and presented well, which let buyers say ‘yes’ quickly.

Now compare that to the 504 homes that took eight days or more. The median time on market there was 74 days—call it two and a half months—so you’re carrying utilities, taxes, HOA, and you’re also fighting attention decay. To get those deals done, sellers gave back more: the average sale-to-original-list ratio was about 97%, and the median was 97.5%. Prices were lower, too: the average sale price was around $499,100, with a median of $440,000. In plain English, when a listing lingers, the market asks for a bigger discount to move it.

Speed protects price because Week-1 attention is concentrated. Fresh listings get the most eyeballs and the most confident offers. By Week 5, the buyer pool has sorted your home into ‘maybe later,’ and the market starts charging you in price instead of time.

Sellers: Treat pricing like a launch window, not a wish. Aim to be within ~1–2% of comp-supported value, remove buyer friction (repairs, staging, disclosures), and pre-decide a small adjustment if showings stall after two weekends. The goal is Week-1 clarity, not Week-8 negotiations.

Buyers: Use the clock to your advantage. For A-tier, new-to-market homes, come prepared and move decisively. For listings past a month, the data supports asking for credits, repairs, or a 2–3% price improvement—especially if condition or days-on-market signal softness.

So no, the quick sales aren’t giveaways. They’re the homes that launched where buyers actually are. In this market, precision buys you speed, and speed protects your price.

Now to the submarkets. First up, Rockwall, the City.

Rockwall proper is giving buyers room to compare. Look at Months Supply alongside Inventory of Homes for Sale and New Listings: late-summer stock has stayed abundant, which shifts the burden back to sellers in respect to pricing accuracy and presentation. In plain English: if you launch close to the comp-supported number, and dare I say, slightly below it, and remove buyer friction, you still move. If you price on optimism, the market makes you wait—and then it asks for a discount.

Next, speed. Median Days on Market is looking better than it did at the beginning of the year but we’re starting to see the post summer slowdown. And what happens? Buyers take an extra beat, they shop the alternatives, and only the ‘ready on day one’ listings keep fast momentum. Pair that with Pending Sales and Closed Sales and you see a market that’s selective, not frozen. The takeaway for sellers: week-one matters more than week-eight. The takeaway for buyers: you have leverage on anything aging past a month, but true A-tier homes will still require you to be decisive.

Now onto Heath.

Heath is a smaller, higher-price submarket, so every new listing moves the needle. The story in August: buyers had solid choice for late summer, thanks to a healthy pool of active listings and a steady trickle of new listings. In micro-markets like Heath, that combo doesn’t mean “glut”; it means buyers can compare, and sellers have to launch tight to the comps rather than price aspirationally.

The pace in Heath is selective. Median days on market has that gentle creep you expect this time of year, while pendings and closeds show a choosier buyer pool, not a frozen one. Turnkey, well-located homes—especially those that solve for commute, schools, or lake-adjacent lifestyle—still find early offers. Homes with condition friction or wishful pricing take the scenic route.

Heath usually carries a premium, and you can see that expressed in median sale price and price per square foot. But the premium isn’t automatic—it’s awarded to properties that are updated, well-presented, and appropriately priced for their competitive set.

Now for Fate. 

Fate’s late-summer shelf is stocked: active listings are holding at healthy levels and new listings are still coming, but slower than recent months and this same time last year. This gives buyers room to compare and nudges sellers toward tighter pricing. 

While closed sales are underperforming compared to last year, we did see an increase in pending sales, month-over-month. This will likely show stronger sales for September compared to last year and last month.

The months of supply in Fate is the lowest of the area submarkets with only 4.3 months of supply based on the demand. 

What’s driving this could be the better pricing when compared to Rockwall, the city, along with the boom of retail development in Fate.

Now let’s talk about McLendon-Chisholm. This is a thin submarket with a very small data set. One oversized sale or one builder close-out can swing a monthly chart more than you’d expect. So we treat median as our compass and watch the trend, not any single sale.

The supply is a little lumpy. Active listings and new listings ebb and flow here because a handful of properties can reset the totals. That “lumpy” supply means sellers can’t assume automatic scarcity; you still need to earn attention with price and presentation. 

Days on market in McLendon-Chisholm doesn’t move in a neat line. A couple of right-sized, turnkey homes can clear quickly, and then the rest sit until the next cluster of buyers shows up. August looked like that: a few fast wins alongside listings that needed more time. Pendings and closings confirm the stop-and-go tempo, showing that buyers are selective but not entirely stalled.

For sellers, Lead with proof. In a small dataset, buyers want reasons to say yes to the address. Think about providing a feature sheet that translates acreage and outdoor upgrades into dollars, and a pricing story anchored to true comparable homes to show the value. Don’t chase an outlier sale; use the median as your north star and let the features argue for any premium. If showings are thin after two weekends, make one measured move (or offer targeted credits like a rate buydown) rather than serial price cuts.

So, what to do now. Well if you’re buying or selling in this market, here are your playbooks.

Sellers - win with the launch so you can protect the price.

Here’s how you keep control in a market with more choice and slower pace. First, price with precision. Don’t ‘leave room’; leave certainty. Aim to be within one to two percent of what the best like-for-like comps support. 

Second, prep like a product launch: knock out the obvious fixes, set the stage to remove buyer friction, and go live with a 3-d tour,, a floor plan, and clean media. 

Third, make Week 1 your Super Bowl. List mid-week, stack showings through the first weekend.. By Day 7, check your guardrails: if showings are thin or engagement is soft, use the plan you made in advance—either a measured price refinement or a targeted incentive like closing-cost help or a rate buydown. Finally, if you pass 30 days on market, don’t ‘hope’ your way out. Fix the objections buyers keep bringing up, and make one decisive move so you re-enter the conversation as fresh inventory—not stale stock.

Buyers - use time as a tool, not a crutch. What that means is be opportunistic without overthinking it. If a house is new-to-market, turnkey, and priced correctly, move decisively and use clean terms to win. If a listing is past a month or shows condition friction, structure the value: ask for repairs, credits, or a two-to-three percent improvement rather than chasing a giant price cut.

In this post, I went over a bunch of stats but maybe you want to see the data for yourself. All the charts and stats I mentioned are posted HERE (CLICK HERE).

And if you want a private dashboard that tracks your home’s value and equity—think of it like a patient portal for your house— CLICK HERE.

If we haven’t met, I’m Jennifer Templeton. I’m a Realtor and Broker Associate with The Crestedge Group at Keller Williams Rockwall. And if you’re looking to buy or sell a home in Rockwall, I’d love to be your guide.

You can reach me by phone or text at 214-803-4444 or by email at Jennifer@TheCrestedgeGroup.com