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Bustling Austin neighborhood among the best places to live in Texas for 2019

Triangle State has been named one of 2019's best places to live in Texas.

Photo courtesy of The Triangle Austin

Spring is here, which means it's home shopping season. A new report from real estate review site Niche might just help narrow down your search.

Niche compiled information from its users and data from the U.S. Census Bureau to grade neighborhoods and suburbs on factors including quality of schools, crime rates, housing trends, job market, amenities, and more. After all that calculating, the Triangle State neighborhood was named the seventh best place in all of Texas to live for 2019.

Triangle State, which has a population of 2,367, gets an overall A-plus rating from Niche. The community sits between the Rosedale and Hyde Park neighborhoods and includes the area around the Austin State Hospital, The Triangle development, and UT Austin's intramural fields. It scores mostly As (in public schools, being good for families, jobs, nightlife, diversity, health and fitness, and commuting) and a few Bs (housing, cost of living, outdoor activities, crime and safety, and weather); the neighborhood's median home value is $119,755, and median rent is $1,480. The median household income is $51,147.

In addition to being No. 7 in Texas, Triangle State appears as the No. 73 best neighborhood and No. 100 best place to live in America.

"Living in Triangle State offers residents a suburban feel, and most residents rent their homes," Niche summarizes. "In Triangle State, there are a lot of bars, restaurants, coffee shops, and parks. Many young professionals live in Triangle State, and residents tend to have moderate political views."

The title of best place to live in Texas goes to the sought-after San Antonio neighborhood of Terrell Hills. The rest of Texas' top 10 list includes three Houston suburbs, Greatwood (No. 6), Cinco Ranch (No. 8), and New Territory (No. 10), and five Dallas-Fort Worth neighborhoods: Timberbrook in Plano (No. 2), Preston Highlands in Dallas (No. 3), Richardson's Canyon Creek South (No. 4), Richardson's Clear Spring Place (No. 5), and Richardson's Canyon Creek North (No. 9).

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Homebuyers can afford to be picky as Austin housing inventory rises

Photo by Avinash Kumar on Unsplash

Housing economist Clare Losey said the most significant factor affecting home sales in Austin is high mortgage rates.

The latest real estate report from Unlock MLS and the Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR) has revealed housing inventory is still on a steady rise in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA, creating more choices for potential homebuyers as they navigate a high interest rate market.

Residential home sales dipped by a mere 1.5 percent year-over-year from October 2023, amounting to 2,248 closed sales in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA. Median prices have also dropped to $430,000, or 3.2 percent less than this time last year. More than 3,300 new home listings were added on the market — a 7.4 percent increase from 2023 — bringing the total number of active home listings to 11,599.

According to Unlock MLS and ABoR housing economist Clare Losey, Ph.D., October's mortgage rates stood at 6.4 percent and are showing no signs of a significant drop in the near future. Even heading into 2025, Losey says potential homebuyers who are biding their time in the hopes of seeing rates plummet "may be in for a long wait."

"In the meantime, sellers must recognize that bringing buyers to the table requires a more aggressive pricing approach," Losey said. "Even in a more balanced market, buyers with limited purchasing power are struggling to meet current price expectations."

As for the overall health of the Central Texas housing market, 2024 Unlock MLS and ABoR president Kent Redding labeled recent news reports that called Austin "ground zero" for a downturn as an "extreme over-exaggeration."

"Austin led the state and nation in record-breaking home price growth and sales activity during the pandemic," Redding said. "For three years, near-zero housing inventory, numerous offers above list price and a rapid-paced market raised home prices and left little negotiating power for buyers. During this record-setting growth, ABoR and Unlock MLS consistently emphasized the unsustainability of the rapid growth, and now, our market is working to balance those extremes."

Central Texas housing trends in October 2024

In Travis County, 979 homes were sold last month — a slight 2.5 percent increase from last year. Median prices remained flat year-over-year at $510,000. Active home listings continued growing to 5,702 homes, which is 9.4 percent more year-over-year.

In Williamson County, 807 homes were sold in October, with median prices steadily dropping to $420,000. There were 1,028 new home listings on the market, showing a 4.5 percent increase from October 2023, bringing the total number of active home listings to 3,369.

Residential home sales dropped by nearly eight percent in Hays County in October, totaling 315 sales. Median prices also fell 5.5 percent year-over-year to $359,000. Active listings rose 6.6 percent year-over-year to 1,740 homes with the addition of 534 new listings on the market.

Meanwhile, 114 homes were sold in Bastrop County last month, which is 4.4 percent more than this time last year. Median prices dropped by a single percentage point year-over-year to $355,000. There were 654 active listings on the market in October, and 152 new home listings, representing a 1.3 percent slip in new inventory when compared to last year.

Only 33 homes were sold in Caldwell County in October to reflect a near 14 percent decline year-over-year from October 2023. Median prices fell to $262,990, which was a 13.5 percent decrease from last year. There were 136 active homes on the market last month, and 40 new homes added on the market.

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