Summer Sales
Austin home prices soar to all-time high as real estate market preps for red-hot summer
In unsurprising, yet still disheartening, news, Austin home prices climbed to an all-time high in May. According to the May 2018 market report from Austin Board of Realtors, the median price for a single-family home inside the city limits is $389,000, a 3.7 percent year-over-year increase.
Median single-family home prices in the greater Austin-Round Rock metro area clocked in a bit lower at $325,000. That's still a 4.8 percent year-over-year increase, forcing buyers throughout the area to move farther and farther away from the city center.
“Austin’s lack of housing choices disadvantages first-time homebuyers, families with children, and middle and lower-income buyers," said Steve Crorey, 2018 president of ABoR, in a release. "Coupled with rapid population growth, it’s driving an affordability crisis that leaves many residents looking for homes far from job centers and essential services.”
The report goes on to note that Austin-area home prices have "exponentially outpaced" income growth for local workers. Referencing numbers from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, ABoR says, "Austin-Round Rock median family income increased 17.5 percent from 2013-2018, while ABoR data shows that median home prices increased 42.5 percent from May 2013-May 2018."
Adding to the cost of single-family homes is the lack of inventory. Last month, the number of available homes fell 6.8 percent to just 1,533 listings. Despite the decline in listings, sales are still red hot. According to ABoR, home sales rose 5.9 percent to 1,037 sales in May.