Austin Real Estate Market Report – 2010 Summary and 2011 Forecasts
January 11, 2011 by Laura Duggan · Leave a Comment
Dear Marketplace fans,
It’s been a long time since the Austin Real Estate market has ended on a high point—4 years to be exact. This past December, homes sales were up 1.36%. We haven’t been able to say that sales were up in six months.
2010 was a year of high points and low points. Normally, steady growth is the name of the game for Austin. However, we ran across something that we haven’t ever seen before—the Tax Credit. Never in the history of real estate has the government gone so far to try to stimulate the market by making cash payouts for buying a home.
The good news is that the first two quarters of the year were record setting. Sales were up, prices were solid and the market thrived. The bad news is what happened directly after the stimulus went away. Sales dipped dramatically; down an average of 28.33% per month for the next five months. Every positive effect of the Tax Credit was over-shadowed by this decline.
At the beginning of 2011, consumer confidence is on the rise and so are sales. As we soften back down to a normal, balanced market, there are a few key factors we need to watch going into the new year.
Job Growth— With the elections behind us, the stock market up and corporations sitting on more cash than ever, look for hiring to be on the rise and with that the sale of homes. Austin had positive job growth in 2010, and it will continue into 2011. Look for more people to relocate to Austin than ever before because of the favorable business climate, quality of life and unprecedented publicity.
Real Estate Investment— Austin wasn’t immune to the mortgage crisis and whether you realize it or not, homes are being foreclosed on in your neighborhood. Approximately 15% of all real estate sales in Austin were in a distressed situation. The silver lining to this tragedy is the market is set for investors to see tremendous cash flow and ROI in 2011. Investors will turn around and stabilize the real estate market. It is not only the professional investors, it’s the everyday—-saving for their kids to go to college—investors that will make the difference.
See the rest of our extensive report for an in-depth look at the Austin real estate market in 2010.
Make it a productive and prosperous 2011!
Best,
Laura
