Real Estate Report
Austin-area home sales heat up following midsummer slump

After a slump in July, Central Texas finished the summer selling season on a high note. The latest monthly real estate report from Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR) shows that home sales — and prices — were on the rise in August 2016.
In the Austin-Round Rock metro area, single-family home sales rose 5.3 percent year-over-year, while the median home price increased 9.4 percent to $289,990. Home sales in Austin proper saw a slight uptick — less than 1 percent. The median home price, meanwhile, increased 10 percent year-over-year to $356,276.
"Austin, and now the Central Texas region at large, continues to be a magnet for jobs and new businesses across multiple industries," said Aaron Farmer, ABoR president, in a release. "This continues to keep housing demand at an all-time high and inventory at near-record lows despite strong housing development and a greater number of listings on the market."
Hays County saw the largest gain in home sales, a whopping 23 percent increase from August 2015.
"As housing inventory remains constrained across the Central Texas region and demand remains high, home sales growth is increasingly impacted by new home development," explained Farmer. "This is especially true in Williamson and Hays counties, where housing demand and development activity are strongest. As new housing stock becomes available, it’s quickly scooped up by homebuyers."
And, with a median price of $253,250, Hays County is an affordable alternative to Austin, which was just named the most expensive market in Texas.