The Austin Board of REALTORS® just released the September 2018 Austin Market Report.  According to the report, September data shows a stall in home sales growth. Regardless, median home sales prices continue to rise for both the City of Austin and the Greater Austin area. 
 
The home sales volume stall that the board report magnifies as its report title is quite slight.  Compared to September 2017, there were 22 fewer single family home sales in the Austin – Round Rock MSA this past month. Within the City of Austin, home sales decreased from 708 last year to 702 home sales in September of 2018.  This is hardly a drastic change in the market.   According to Lawrence Yun, chief economist and senior vice president of research at the National Association of REALTORS®, the flat sales growth in the Austin area could be due to rising interest rates.  This is a valid argument; interest rates have rose about three quarters of a percent since last year.  However, there are many other factors that could be at play here, such as the lack of housing available and the increasing rise in the median sales price. ​

​In the greater Austin Area, the median home sales price increased to $302,250 last month.  This is almost eleven grand more than the median home sales price of September 2017.  Within the city limits, the median sales home price increased to $365,000.  The combination of increased prices and higher interest rates leads to less purchasing power for home buyers. 
 
The average days on market (ADOM) for homes in the greater Austin area and homes within the city limits has not changed much since last year.  Homes within the City of Austin spent a few less days on the market this year compared to last year.  This month, City of Austin homes had an ADOM of 38 compared to 42 days last September.  In the greater Austin Area, the ADOM was 53 days.  The exact same figure as September of 2017.
 
If you’re interested in learning more about the exact market conditions in your neighborhood, contact me today.  I’d be happy to prepare a specified report for your area. 

The most recent market report for Austin area home sales was just released by the Austin Board of Realtors.   May’s market report showed continuing trends of rising prices, low supply and strong demand in the Austin market.  The median price for homes within the city limits rose to the greatest price ever of $389,000.  Outside the city limits, prices continue to rise as well.  In the greater Austin area, the median sales price increases 5% year over year to $325,000 last month.  

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​Rising home prices in the greater Austin area continues to make it challenging for many first-time home buyers to purchase a residence in the Austin area.  Home prices are increasing at a rate far greater than median family income. Data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) shows the Austin-Round Rock median family income increased 17.5 percent from 2013-2018. Over the same time frame, median home prices in the Austin-Round Rock MSA increased 42.5 percent.  

​With the steady demand for Austin housing, builders struggle to keep up with the steady influx of buyers.  Antiquated building restrictions, and an inundated city staff further delay the creation of more housing.  As we have seen in past months, buyers are flocking to the suburbs in search of more affordable housing options.  In order to encourage the growth of affordable housing within the city limits, there must be changes made to the city’s land code.  Conflicts over the City of Austin’s CodeNEXT plan are further delaying the ability for developers and builders to take action towards the City of Austin’s housing crisis. 
 
If you’re interested in learning more about what’s happening in your specific local market, contact me today.  I’d be happy to provide a detailed market report for your specific zip code.   

The Austin Real Estate Market is not showing any signs of slowing down.  Yesterday, the Austin Board of REALTORS released the March 2018 market reports for the Austin Area.  Across the board, we are seeing median price increases and an increase in the volume of single-family residential sales.  With new listings going under contract quite quickly, we are also seeing an increase in the number of pending sales.

​In the greater Austin area which encompasses Austin and suburbs such as Round Rock, Georgetown, Cedar Park, Kyle, Buda, and Manor, known as the Austin-Round Rock MSA, the median sales price reached $305,233 last month.  That figure is up 4% compared to March 2017’s Austin area median sales price. Even more remarkably, this area saw a total of 2,714 single family sales last month; this is more sales than any previous March. 
 
Within the Austin-Round Rock MSA, the average days on market (ADOM) increased slightly from last year.  Homes stayed on the market approximately 3 days longer with an ADOM of 61 days last month.  Homes prices under $250K in the greater Austin area averaged far fewer days on market.
 
In the City of Austin, single family homes spent on average 46 days on market last month.  This is about 5 days less than the ADOM in March of 2017.  The median sales price within the City of Austin increased only slightly compared to the median sales price of last March.  Last month, the median sales price for single family homes in the Austin city limits was $370K.  

​Inventory continues to be a problem across the board as well.  A balanced market consists of 6.5 months of available homes.  Within the City of Austin, there is about 1.5 months of inventory; the greater Austin area has about 2.2 months.  As buyers continue to seek out more affordable areas to live, suburbs like Buda are facing a shortage in supply.  Last month, there was 1.9 months of inventory in Buda.  In comparison, in March of 2017, Buda had 2.4 months of inventory.  As inventory decreases, buyers are moving farther out to suburbs like Kyle in order to find homes. 
 
If you are interested in learning more about the market conditions in your Austin neighborhood, contact me today.  I’d be happy to give you a detailed breakdown of the activity happening in your hood.  

In 2004, the median home sales price in greater Austin for a single family home was $158,000.  In comparison, the median home sales price in the greater Austin area in 2017 was $299,000. Overall, the median home sales price has increased almost every year in the past 14 years. In 2008-2009, the median sales price dropped 1.04%, and in 2010-2011, it remained the same at $195,000. This was during the largest housing market collapse in the US history.  Austin was impacted very little in the grand scheme of things.  On average, between 2004-2017 the median single family home sales price in the greater Austin area increased 5.09% annually. 

​I should mention that this data is all from single family home sales in the entire greater Austin area.  If you are looking at home sales in only the city limits of Austin, you will see a slightly different but similar picture.  In the City of Austin, the median home sales price has increased every year by at least 5% in every year except 2009 (when it dropped 3%) and 2011 when it only increased 1%.  Overall, in the past 14 years, the median home price in the city of Austin has increased 6% each year on average.    

So what does this data really mean? 
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The Austin real estate market is strong whether you are buying in the city limits or in the suburbs.  While this data is from single-family home sales, similar trends are seen when looking at the data from condo, townhome, and attached ½ duplex sales.  If you currently own a home in Austin, your home has most-likely appreciated nicely.  If you’re curious what your home is worth now, click here for a free no-pressure home valuation.   If you’re considering buying, your money today will likely go further than it will in the future, and look at those appreciation rates!  Let your money start working for you rather than throwing it away renting.  You can search all homes for sale in the greater Austin area here, or contact me today, and I can show you the best Austin properties for your needs.
 
 
All data provided was derived from the Austin Board of REALTORS MLS.

Well, December home sale statistics from the Austin Board of Realtors were just released, and sales are steady!  In the Austin-Round Rock MSA, single-family home sales increased 13% to 2,653 home sales in December 2017, while median price rose 7% to $310,000 over the same time frame.
 
Within the city limits of Austin, there were 802 home sales last month with a median home price of $359,150. Within the City of Austin, the Average Days on Market or ADOM went up slightly to 54 days which is not unusual as the market tends to slow slightly around the holidays.  Compared to City of Austin home sales in December of 2016, the total dollar volume of residential home sales in December increased 15% to $352 million. 
 
There are just under one million residents in the City of Austin, while more than two million people reside in the greater Austin area.  In fact, the Austin-Round Rock MSA is the 31st largest metropolitan area in the United States.  In the Austin- Round Rock MSA there were 2,653 home sales in December of 2017 bringing the annual home sales total for the MSA to 30,059 sales, an all-time high. 
 
If you’re interested in learning more about what’s happening in your specific neighborhood, contact me.  I can provide you with a custom Austin real estate market update for your specific area.  

The Austin Board of REALTORS just released their May market report, and the real estate market is strong as ever in the City of Austin!  Houses within the city limits of Austin sold for a median price of $380,000 last month, representing a 9% increase compared to last May. 
 
The May real estate market report also revealed increased inventory, although we are still far from a balanced market.  Coupled with rising home prices, this recent surge in home sales activity made May 2017 the highest-grossing month for Central Texas real estate in the region’s history.
 
The May real estate report for home sales in the City of Austin also found that homes sold last month were on the market for an average of 34 days.  In my opinion, this figure seems high, after all it is an average.  When I am helping my clients buy or sell houses in the Austin area we continue to see frequent multiple offer situations.  Similarly, houses flying off the market in less than a week is a common occurrence in the Austin real estate market. 
 
If you’re interested in seeing a more specific report for your Austin neighborhood, contact me today.  Is the Austin Board of REALTOR’s May Real Estate Report making you think about selling your Austin home?  Visit my site for a quick home value estimate.

As you might expect, April is already off to a good start for the Austin real estate market.  Thus far, the median sales price for residential homes in the City of Austin is $390,000.  Another good indicator of the market is how long a property was listed before it went under contract; these properties were on the market for an average of 35 days.  Keep in mind, this number is an average.  Oftentimes, these properties are going under contract way more quickly; the median days to sell was 7.  This means a number of properties are going under contract in the first day or two of being listed.  These stats are based on approximately 2,700 April residential sales in the City of Austin.
 
What does this mean for you?  Well, if you are considering selling your home, now is likely the time!  Historically, residential homes in Austin sell for the most money in May or June. I looked at data for residential sales from the past 5 years for Austin homes and found that every year Austin properties sold for the most money in the least amount of time in either May or June.  If these properties are selling in May or June, that means the properties are going on the market this time of year.  Lenders usually need at least 21 days from the time a property goes under contract until the closing day.
 
If you are thinking of buying, you should know this may be a more competitive time to purchase.  Depending on where you are looking, and what your price range is, you may encounter multiple offer situations.  This is when a number of people are interested in the same property and they all submit offers creating a bidding war.  However, this doesn’t happen everywhere or with every type of property. 
 
If you are considering buying or selling, give me a call today so that we can discuss the pros and cons for your unique situation.