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Real Estate Confidential Austin

Housing Woes

Want to buy a house in Austin? Then you better move fast.

Austin home house 2105 E 9th St 78702 January 2016 front exterior
You'll have to move fast if you're looking to buy a house in Austin. Photo courtesy of GoodLife Team

Homes are flying off the market all across the nation, and that means Austin homebuyers have to hustle even more now if they want to score a house.

The latest Zillow market report shows that U.S. homes are selling faster than at any time since 2010. In Austin, that means homes are on the market for a median of 57 days, one of the lowest figures in the country and a day less than last year.

In most fast-moving markets, such as San Francisco and Denver, the inventory of available homes has actually gone up since June 2015. That's barely the case in Austin, where our inventory is a meager 1 percent higher than it was last June. The median home price in Austin is $252,900; the national average is a much lower $187,000.

"Homes are selling faster than ever as the home shopping season hits its peak," says Zillow chief economist Dr. Svenja Gudell in a release. "If you’re looking for a home, be prepared to move quickly. Adding to this difficult buying environment is low inventory — there simply aren’t many homes to choose from."

How's it looking around the rest of Texas? The heat's slightly off in Houston, where homes are spending a median of 70 days on the market before selling for a median price of $172,900. Inventory is up 4.4 percent.

In Dallas-Fort Worth, homes spend 56 days on the market, but inventory has spiraled with a 20.5 percent decrease. Homes there are moving almost a week faster than last year.

The best news for buyers is in San Antonio, where inventory is up a healthy 20.4 percent and homes are on the market for 69 days. They're selling a little faster than last year, but at least there seem to be more homes from which to choose.

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