A real estate broker says many first time home buyers are not prepared for the higher prices, especially in Hidalgo County.

Smart Asset, a financial tech company, recently ranked Hidalgo County second in a list of Texas counties with the biggest jump in home prices over a five-year period.

Brian Reed, a real estate broker at Ryan and Brian Real Estate in McAllen, says the real estate market in the Rio Grande Valley is still feeling the effects of the pandemic. 

“As the prices kept going up… it was pricing [first time buyers] out of homes, that's why they're struggling. Reed said. “If you look back to pre-pandemic… the average sales price was $172,000. If you look back at this month, we're at $260,000. That's roughly an $80,000 increase.

Reed says cost of materials, labor, interest rates and higher demand for affordable homes are all to blame for the increase in prices. 

“Until we get the inventory where we need it to be, and the supply and demand is where it needs to be, it's going to be a shortage of homes and prices are going to stay high,” Reed said.

Reed said buyers shouldn’t lose hope, as there is so much construction happening in Hidalgo County because developers are trying to meet the demand.

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