Austin Real Estate Market Report for January 2018
January 23, 2018 by Laura Duggan · Leave a Comment
December saw a significant increase in home sales, 2693 homes sold, a 26% increase from last December! We think Hurricane Harvey, the California fires, a rising interest rates and perhaps the tax bill contributed to the rise. We had buyers coming to Austin from both the Houston area hit by the hurricane and from California where one family lost everything. Thankfully, inventory is also up so we had good Austin properties to show them.
To Summarize:
Currently Pendings are lower than the last two years.
It is an Extreme Seller’s Market for homes priced under $500,000. This is 72% of the homes for sale.
Of homes prices above $2M, only 9 homes sold in December out of 192 homes on the market. Of the 4 that sold over $3M, the sales price was only 73% of the asking price.
There are currently more homes for sale in January, 5,967, than the previous 5 years. There are 11% more homes for sale than last January.
Overall the Austin market has 2.43 Months of Inventory, the lowest of any December in the last 7 years.
The average sales price for a home in Austin, $376,185, was an increase of 3.4% from one year ago. The prior year also saw an increase of 3.4%
The median sales price for a home in Austin, $310,000, was an increase of 6.9% from one year ago. The prior year saw an increase of 5.6%
Conclusion: The Austin market remains strong. Demand overall is high and homes for sale have increased. The only weakness in the Austin market are the homes priced over $2M.
See the entire market report where we break down the statistics by price band and zip code.
Housing Market Normalizes in Austin Area
November 17, 2017 by Laura Duggan · Leave a Comment
For the first time in 5 years the OVERALL Austin market has moved from an Extreme Seller’s Market (less than 3 months of inventory) to a Normal Seller’s Market (3 to 6 months of inventory).
The reason for the movement is the increase in inventory. There are more homes for sale now this November than in any time in the last 6 years. There are 21.31% more homes for sale now than one year ago.
Demand, the number of homes sold in October, is nearly identical this year to the last three years. Pending sales, homes under contract but not yet closed, are nearly identical to last year. Demand is staying steady. However with more inventory, the average number of days to sell a home is 8 days longer than a year ago, now at 53 days.
The above are overall averages. Market conditions are different by Price Band, Zip Code and Neighborhood. For instance homes valued over $2M are in an Extreme Buyer’s Market while homes valued under $300K are in an Extreme Seller’s Market. The following Zip Codes are still in an Extreme Seller’s Market: 78705, 78727, 78730,78739,78749,78750 and 78759
Historically, the total number of homes sales declines during the holidays and through November, December and January. Sales begin to increase in February. (February sales are the result of homes going under contract in January.)
If you want to sell your home, you should use this time to get it ready for a January listing. We have a designer on staff along with a great work crew that can help you get your home ready.
Submitted by Laura Duggan, President, West Austin Properties, 3312 River Road, Austin, Texas 78703, 512-750-2425, homes@westaustin.com
Number of Homes for Sale Increases in Austin
May 19, 2017 by Laura Duggan · Leave a Comment
While the demand for homes and home sales have remained steady, the housing inventory in Austin is growing. That is good news for Austin home buyers.
The number of homes that sold from January 1 through April 30 (4 months) during 2017 was very close the the same number of homes that sold in the same period in 2016.
In April 2016, 2474 homes sold. In April 2017, 2445 homes sold. Pending sales in April, 2016 were 4746 and in April, 2017 there were 4,485, a decrease of 5.4%.
But, one of the biggest differences in the Austin market, however, is the increase in the number of homes for sale. Last year at this time there were only 5923 homes on the market. This year during the same period, we have 7,099 homes for sale, an increase of 16.57% from last year.
In the price band between $200,000-$400,000 there were 1288 homes for sale a year ago. Today, in the same price range, there are 3,113 homes for sale, an increase of 142%. In the upper end market, in 2016 there were 750 homes for sale over $1M. Today, there are 810 homes for sale, an increase of only 8%
The increase in inventory is good news for buyers! Last year we were scurrying to find homes before they hit the market. Our buyers were competing with multiple offers on every home sale and we saw homes sell for as much as 10% over the list price. More inventory means a little less competition and home prices stabilizing.
Every market around the Austin area is different depending on the price band and the location. Watch our market report each month that breaks sales down by price and zip code. For instance, in zip codes 78727, 78739 and 78749 the average sold price was ABOVE the average listed home price. In other zip codes, the sold price was usually 2%-3% BELOW the list price.
Submitted by Laura Duggan, Broker/Owner, West Austin Properties, 3312 River Road, Austin, TX 78703, 512-750-2425, laura@westaustin.com