Market Madness

Austin drops dramatically on list of America's best real estate markets

Austin has slipped on this list.

Kumar Appaiah/Flickr

Texas is busy dominating a list of the most attractive real estate markets in the U.S. But this year, Austin's not one of them.

Analysts at personal finance website WalletHub compared 300 cities across 21 key metrics to determine not only tangible assets, such as an area's common square footage and home style, but also historical market trends and the economic health of a city's residents. Those metrics make up two rankings — "real estate market" and "affordability and economic environment" — that look at everything from median home-price appreciation and foreclosure rates to the population growth rate and median credit score. The real estate market rank makes up a whopping 80 percent of the score.

Who's far and away the winner? Frisco places No. 1 in both categories and earns a total score of 83 points out of 100. Hot on its heels are North Texas neighbors McKinney (No. 2) and Allen (No. 3), with Richardson coming in at No. 5 and Carrollton making a showing at No. 8.

And what about Austin? The Capital City takes a dramatic dive from the No. 5 spot in 2016 all the way down to No. 68 this year. Austin ranks No. 93 for its real estate market and No. 39 for affordability and economic development.

Dallas hovers at No. 57, Houston comes in at No. 206, and San Antonio is No. 215.

If you want to separate the cities by size, North Texas still comes out on top. McKinney takes the crown as best mid-size city (150,000-300,000 people), and Frisco, Allen, and Richardson hold down the top three for small cities (fewer than 150,000 people). Last year, Austin was No. 1 on the big cities list (more than 300,000 people); this year we rank 15th.

You might want to avoid sinking your real-estate dollars into the Northeast, as Connecticut's Hartford and Bridgeport and New Jersey's Elizabeth, Paterson, and Newark all land at the bottom of the list, with Newark ranking dead last in each category.

wallethub lists bests

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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