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With around 200 people moving to Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) each and every day, it’s no great surprise that there’s currently a shortage of residential housing in the area. Newcomers just can’t find a place to live since the supply of homes can’t keep up with the demand. Moreover, there are no signs of an end to the shortage. As long as the local economy and job market stays strong, chances are that the housing market will also stay sizzling hot. What’s even more interesting is the fact that DFW has been able to maintain its strong housing market despite last year’s oil price crash. While the event was expected to considerably affect the construction industry in most of the Lone Star State, DFW fared exceptionally well under the circumstances. In fact, DFW actually welcomed over $17 billion-worth in new projects in 2015 -- that’s about 19 percent more than the new projects in 2014! In other words, the DFW housing market not only weathered the oil crash, it even improved despite of it. How did DFW accomplish this? Experts generally agree that DFW’s upswing can be attributed to its diverse local economy. While other cities greatly rely on the oil industry for their economy, the oil industry in DFW only accounts for around 10 percent of the economic pie. According to the US Census Bureau, DFW had the second-highest residential construction total in the US market. But despite this building boom, studies still suggest that the total number of homes listed by North Texas realtors is only equivalent to a 2-month supply -- that is around one-third of a normal market’s supply. There are several reasons for this current supply shortage, such as the lack of affordable construction sites and the rising costs of labor and construction materials. Considering that, it’s highly unlikely that the DFW housing market will be able to build its way out of the predicament any time soon. What does the shortage mean for house hunters and existing homeowners in DFW? Well, basic economic principles tell us that when supply is low and demand is high, then prices will be on the rise. Bidding wars will probably ensue, where interested buyers will compete with each other for the most popular properties on the market. While Texas has traditionally been known for its affordable housing, studies have shown that the median home price in DFW has slowly caught up to the national average. To put that into perspective, the median home price in DFW in the first quarter of 2016 has been pegged at $210,100 or about 4 percent short of the national average.