Austin’s Real Estate Market Report: September 2014

As summer ends and fall begins, we are starting to see a change in the seasonality of the Austin real estate market. What has been a hot, hot, summer and actually a hot last two years of of real estate, defined by multiple offers, increased sales prices, low inventory and increased demand, has in the past two months shifted. The past two months have shown us that the Austin market may have reached its peak for the year, as prices, inventory and demand start returning to Normal.

In March of 2012, the overall Austin market began to move from a Normal to an Extreme Sellers Market. This shift created high demand for the limited homes for sale and caused home values to rise. The rise of demand and home values continued for almost 28 months. However, two to three months ago, the Austin market began to slow, and home values began to stabilize overall. While the Austin market is still a Seller’s Market overall, it is clear that the market is changing. Each Price Range and Zip Code have their own characteristics.  For the most recent statistics for your neighborhood, check out our latest MARKET REPORT.

While we are currently still in an overall Extreme Sellers Market, the Months of Inventory is rising and we are getting closer to moving from an Extreme Seller’s Market to a Normal Sellers Market. In three months, the Months of Inventory have moved from 2 months to 2.6 months. Overall, it is now less of a Seller’s Market than last year at this time.

•  Very few homes are now for sale under $100,000.
•  There remains a strong demand for home prices from $100,000 to $400,000 and home values continue to slowly increase.
•  Homes priced over $700,000 are entering a Balanced Market, with over 6 Months on Inventory; which means home values are holding steady. However, sellers are not currently seeing this market shift to normalcy and are still expecting home values to increase. This is causing many sellers to price their homes above market value.
•  Last month, 6 homes sold out of 205 for homes priced over $2 Million,
• In the last two months, zip codes that are in an Extreme Sellers Market have decreased from 15 to 11.
• For the third month in a row, June through August, fewer homes sold this year than sold last year. For the fourth month in a row, May thought August, fewer homes are for sale than last year. For the last ten months in a row, from November to August, the number of Pendings have been lower than last year.
• The Median price of a home in Austin has been continuing to rise for 28 straight months, since March 2012. However, for the last two months, the Medium price has fallen below the Median price of June 2014.
• The Average price of a home in Austin has been continuing to rise for 29 straight months, since February 2012. However, for the last two months, the Average price has fallen below the Average price of June 2014.
• The Average days a sold home was on the market was at its lowest level in six months from February to June of this year. During the last two months, July and August, Days on Market are higher than last year during the same two months.

Buying and selling in this market requires a deep understanding of the history and pressures in each area of town and price range. We hope the West Austin Properties Advance Market Report, with detailed information by price range, zip code and area, helps you make the best decision for you and your family. It is our pleasure to deliver it to you so together we can spot trends and prepare for the future. Please contact us if we can provide you any additional information; Laura Duggan, West Austin Properties, 512-750-2425 or laura@westaustin.com.