Bringing down the house

Austin housing market continues ‘calming trend,’ with sale prices dipping once again

Despite cooling a bit, the local housing market remains hot.

Homebuyers in the Austin metro area might be able to breathe just a tad easier these days.

A report from the Austin Board of Realtors shows the number of home sales this September fell 5.1 percent compared with last September. However, the median sale price grew 28.5 percent to $450,000, setting an all-time high for the month of September.

This represents a dip from August 2021, when the median home price in the metro area was $470,00, which was a dip from the July 2021 median home price of $480,000.

For the month of September, housing inventory fell and homes spent five fewer days on the market compared with September 2020.

An ABoR news release declares that the region’s housing market continues its “calming trend.”

“The Austin housing market remains strong and competitive,” Susan Horton, president of ABoR, says in the news release. “However, more homes are beginning to hit the market, evidenced by the increase in new listings in September, which is creating a greater number of opportunities for buyers. While this is a positive step forward, there is a long way to go for this to be a balanced market.”

Horton emphasizes the need to address the region’s housing challenges.

“With the region’s continued growth, we must focus on creating more inventory to meet the increasingly high and sustained demand for housing,” she says. “This isn’t just on our elected officials or industry to solve, but rather on the entire community. We have to put housing first and use all the tools we have in the toolbox to address this issue.”

Here’s how home prices stacked up last month in the Austin area:

In the city of Austin, the median home price rose 28 percent in a year’s time to $525,000 — a record high for the month of September.
In Travis County, the median price jumped 22.9 percent to $510,000.
In Williamson County, the median home price rose 37.5 percent to $435,000.
Hays County saw the median home price climb 16.3 percent to $365,000.
In September, the median home price in Bastrop County increased 25.5 percent to $335,000.
Caldwell County witnessed a 19.6 percent rise in the median home price to $259,000.

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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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