Housing Report

Austin housing market reports skyrocketing inventory and cooling prices this summer

Is the Austin market beginning to stabilize?

Relief is on the horizon in the red-hot Austin housing market, according to the latest monthly report from Austin Board of Realtors.

The June 2022 market report highlights a 218 percent year-over-year increase in the number of active listings in the Austin-Round Rock metro area, growing the area's housing inventory to 2.1 months — a level not seen since November 2019.

“These numbers are a breath of fresh air for a housing market that has been holding its breath,” said Cord Shiflet, 2022 ABoR president, in a release. “The trajectory of our market over the last two years was unsustainable and it was in no way going to last... We are now seeing a move more towards pre-pandemic sales activity and inventory."

In the city of Austin, housing inventory spiked 145 percent in June 2022 compared to June 2021, and in Travis County, inventory jumped 159 percent year-over-year. Despite the significant increase in inventory and a decrease in sales (ABoR reports metro sales dropped 7.7 percent in the first half of 2022), home prices are still on the rise, but in less dramatic fashion.

“Home prices are still increasing at a faster pace than the 5-6 percent that’s historically considered normal," Shiflet said. "However, that’s still much better than this time last year, when the median price increased 43 percent year over year compared to June 2020."

In June, the city's median home price reached $615,000, a record for the month of June, but a drop from the May 2022 median of $667,000. The greater metro's median price sat at $537,475 last month, up 13 percent from a year ago, but down from $550,000 in May.

“The Austin market is by no means balanced and it still favors sellers, but buyers have more bargaining power now than at any point since before the pandemic. Homes still closed at over 100 percent of the list price on average last month, but Realtors have started seeing lower list prices and therefore sale prices, over the last few weeks,” Shiflet said.

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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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