Slight slowdown

Austin home sales cool following ‘post-COVID boom’ but prices remain hot

Austin aerial skyline with bridges and Lady Bird Lake

Summertime in this city means rising temps and rising home prices.

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It doesn’t seem possible: In July, the Austin metro area saw its first dip in home sales since May 2020. However, home prices continued to rocket upward.

The number of home sales in the five-county region fell 9.9 percent last month compared with the same time in 2020, according to the Austin Board of Realtors.

“July 2020 established the all-time-high watermark for home sales in the region due to pent-up housing demand after several months of stay-at-home orders and increased consumer purchasing power,” Susan Horton, 2021 president of ABoR, says in a news release.

“As we have moved away from the post-COVID boom, the market has begun to stabilize,” Horton adds. “The typical seasonality for the summer returned as people reengaged in other activities, including travel. There are fewer instances of dozens of offers over list price even as home prices continue to rise, albeit at a slower rate month to month than the surge experienced in the first half of the year.”

While the number of home sales tapered off in July, home prices keep marching higher.

Last month, the area’s median sale price jumped 37.1 percent year over year to $480,000, a record high for the month of July, ABoR says. Among the region’s five counties, Williamson County notched the only increase in the median sale price that was above 40 percent.

Vaike O’Grady, regional director for housing data provider Zonda, says the frenzy to buy a home in Austin has steadied versus this time last year, but it’s unlikely that home prices will go down anytime soon.  

“Austin is always considered one of the top places to live in the U.S., but we’re losing ground due to shrinking housing inventory and affordability. With construction delays and regulatory barriers, builders and developers are having increasing difficulty getting new homes on the ground,” O’Grady says in the news release.

Here’s a rundown of median sale prices in the region for July:

In the city of Austin, the median home price rose 37.6 percent year over year to $574,975.
In Travis County, the median home price jumped 34.4 percent to $551,000.
In Williamson County, the median home price rose 43.4 percent to $445,000.
In Hays County, the median home price increased 26.9 percent to $392,576.
In Bastrop County, the median home price went up 30.1 percent to $345,500.
In Caldwell County, the median home price increased 22.2 percent to $249,250.

local real estate report

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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