Hot prices, cooler sales
Austin home prices climb to new records despite sales slowdown in October
Although home sales in the Austin metro area tapered off in October, the region remains on track for a record-breaking year, according to the Austin Board of Realtors.
ABoR says home sales in the region slid 12.1 percent last month compared with October 2020. However, the median sale price in the area rose 24.7 percent year over year to an October record: $455,000. This is also a slight uptick from the September 2021 median home price of $450,000 in the Austin-Round Rock market.
“We are beginning to see a glimpse into what buyers and sellers can expect in our housing market moving forward,” Susan Horton, president of ABoR, says in a news release. “More new listings are hitting the market, a trend that we have seen continuously for the past eight months, and when coupled with fewer closings across the [metro area], prospective buyers have more options.”
Despite the home market cooling off, competition for homes continues to be robust, says Jon Hockenyos, president of TXP, an Austin-based economic analysis and public policy consulting firm.
“While activity appears to have leveled off somewhat in recent months, Austin’s residential real estate market remains extraordinarily hot, as prices have risen drastically over the past year,” Hockenyos says. “Real estate in Austin remains a seller’s market as historically low interest rates, strong in-migration, a rapidly recovering local economy, and unprecedented stimulus all drive up the demand for housing.”
Here’s how submarkets in the Austin area performed in October:
- City of Austin: The median home price climbed 21.1 percent year over year to $536,000, while home sales decreased 11.7 percent.
- Travis County: The median home price increased 21.8 percent year over year to $522,625, while home sales fell 16.9 percent.
- Williamson County: The median home price soared by 33.4 percent year over year to $430,000, while home sales declined by 4.4 percent.
- Hays County: The median home price jumped 30.6 percent year over year to $399,750, while home sales slipped 11.2 percent.
- Bastrop County: The median home price increased 28 percent year over year to $334,000, while home sales dropped by 20.5 percent.
- Caldwell County: The median home price rose 19.7 percent year over year to $291,500 while home sales stayed level.