City of Austin June Housing Report

Many have wondered in these crazy CO-VID times how their industry is going to fare. Well, I’m happy to report that the Austin housing market is still alive and well, even during a global pandemic. The Austin Board of Realtors just released their monthly report, and the results are good. We see that the median sales price is up 3% in June while the average days on the market is down by 6. This means that it is still a seller’s market in Austin, Texas. If you have a property you would like to put on the market, believe it or not, now is still a good time!

Check out these other ABOR statistics below:

Interested in seeing what your home could be worth? Contact me below for your complimentary home evaluation!

Austin Real Estate Boomed in 2019. What's Next in 2020?

An astounding view from the balcony of Shore Condominiums, Austin, TX.

According to the Austin Business Journal and Mark Sprague, who is the state director of information capital at Independence Title, the Austin market continues to thrive beyond everyone’s projections. At the end of 2019, Mark Sprague pointed out two encouraging economic developments for Austin that demonstrate just how phenomenal the economy and housing market have been. First, Austin is one of only eight cities in the nation that has seen its home prices FULLY bounce back since the 2008 recession. Second, over the past 20 years, Austin’s GDP, or gross domestic product, has seen more growth than any other major city in the United States! In other words, its a great time to own a home and earn a living in Austin, Texas.

None of this should be too surprising from the city that has added more people to its population this past ten years than any other city in the United States! Austin’s population has climbed from 1.7 million in 2010 to 2.2 million in 2018. That’s a growth percentage of 26%! And, according to Austin Business Journal, the median price of a single-family home in Austin has increased 64% from 193,520 in 2010 to 318,000 in 2019. Median family income has not kept up with the increase in home prices, however. Most families only saw a 35% increase in their income during the same time frame, causing many home buying procrastinators to get priced out of their desired markets.

If those statistics are not encouraging enough, here are some more astounding findings from the Statesman about Austin’s home market: 9,572 single-family homes sold in the city of Austin last year, totaling almost $13.2 billion total dollars in sales. This is a major increase from 2018 and a brand new record for Austin in both number of homes and total dollar amount in homes sold. In addition, this is the ninth year in a row that the sales volume and the median price both topped the previous years numbers!

And, the good news (if you’re a seller!) is that the housing market seems projected to continue its rise in 2020. With housing inventory in the city limits of Austin down to just 0.9 months in December 2019, we will soon face a housing shortage in this city without new construction and more sellers on the market!

With numbers like these, it’s easy to see why so many buyers consider a home in Austin such a good investment. If you are interested in getting in on the “growing edge” of Austin and finding an affordable home for you at the right price, contact me below! Don’t miss out on this opportunity to capitalize on Austin’s phenomenal growth phase, which will continue into 2020.

Or, if you have a home you need to sell, now is a GREAT time to get it on the market. You will most likely see high competition and multiple offers on your home, especially if you are in a favorable school district or trending area of town.

Whatever your home need, I am available to help you capitalize on this unprecedented time in Austin’s real estate history. Contact me today and let’s realize together your real estate dreams for 2020!

Apple's Big Announcement and Its Impact on Austin

In early December, while all eyes were on Amazon’s HQ2 announcement, Apple made an important one of its own:  the decision to invest $1 billion in a new 133-acre Austin campus that will increase Apple to upwards of 15,000 employees in the coming years. With the completion of this campus, Apple will surpass other well-known names such as H-E-B and Dell to earn the title as the largest private employer in the city of Austin.

The Apple campus will be located right next to its counterpart just over the county line in Williamson County, placing it 12 miles from the city center. It will bring in a good mix of middle to upper range jobs in technology, research and customer call centers. In addition to catapulting Austin into the big leagues as a technology center, the incoming Apple campus will impact all sectors of life, such as housing, restaurants, traffic, and retail marketplaces.  Some estimate that the overall impact of the new Apple campus could result in over 30,000 new jobs across all sectors of real estate, construction, and the marketplace in Austin. 

What impact will this swell of jobs have on the Austin housing market? Prices will continue to rise if more supply is not created to meet these additional demands. As housing prices in the urban core of Austin continue to escalate, look for more incoming Apple employees to search for homes in the Round Rock, Pflugerville, and Hutto areas because of their close accessibility to the Robinson Ranch area (where Apple is located) via SH 45. Other communities that will likely see further development are Liberty Hill and Leader as I-35 will also become a main thoroughfare for Apple employees.

What might the arrival of Apple mean for your housing sale or purchase? If you are shopping in the housing market right now, the answer is simple.  The sooner you can buy, the better.  Competition and prices are only looking to increase. However, if you own a home in North Austin, you might want to hold onto it for a couple more years.  That is, if you can afford its increasing property taxes!

The addition of the new Apple campus will only contribute to Austin’s reputation as a knowledge and talent center and will continue to draw more people from the West Coast who are looking for solid tech jobs in more affordable housing markets.  However, the infrastructure will have to work hard to keep up with the demands of this brand new influx of people to make this a win for all Austinites.

2015-2018 ATX Urban Core Growth Trends

The final 2018 numbers are in, and the data confirms that the Austin real estate market continues to be on the rise in the urban core.

When comparing the numbers from 2017 to 2018, the median price, median price per square foot, overall dollar transactions in the urban core, highest price per square foot, and highest overall price all increased from 2017 to 2018. For example, the median price of a home in the urban core in 2017 was $434,000; in 2018, that same number increased to $450,000. The median price per square foot back in 2015 was $273.38. That number has increased almost $50 per square foot over the past 4 years, resulting in a median price per square foot in 2018 of $320.64.

Will prices continue to be on the rise for 2019? With Apple’s company announcement and the arrival of a major league soccer team in ATX, expansion and growth do not seem to be slowing down anytime in the real estate market of Austin, TX. Check out my urban core trends and market analysis below! For more market statistics and analysis in the downtown area specifically, click here!

Are you considering purchasing a property in the urban core of Austin? Jump in now before prices continue to rise! Contact me today to help you find the home of your dreams!

Supply and Demand in the Austin Housing Market

Real estate is a business of supply and demand.  For the past four plus years in Austin, Texas, there has consistently been less than four months’ worth of housing inventory available. Data shows that low supply in the housing market also has driven up the median home price.   

In a relatively short period of time, there’s been a dramatic shift in home sales by price range. In 2011, 67 percent of houses that were sold were priced below $250,000, while 32 percent were priced from $250,000 to just under $1 million. By 2017, those percentages flipped: 63 percent of sales were above $250,000, and 35 percent were below.

The trends of low supply and high demand look to continue as Austin’s population is projected to increase from 1 million in 2014 to an estimated 2.3 million by the end of 2020.  In 2017, Austin saw 151 net new people move to Austin every single day!

In the past 10 years, the median home price in the Austin area has soared as well. In 2018, the Austin median home price was $319,000, up 66 percent from $192,000 in 2008, and median home prices in recent years have seen a year-over-year increase of 5.4%.  In May of 2020, the median home price rose to $424,050 with an average of only 1.7 months of available inventory.

What does all of this mean for the continued growth of the housing market?  There are some that think there will be an inevitable “normalization” of this strong market curve, while others that think the housing market will continue to boom if the city’s economy and job markets continue to prosper. 

What, if anything, could cause a downturn in the market in coming years?  Perhaps another U.S. Presidential election? Other potential factors could be trade/tariff issues, labor shortages, increased traffic and potential water-supply developments as the city continues to expand.  And of course, we have yet to see the full impact of the global pandemic on the housing market.

However, for now, we are enjoying a real estate market that continues to boom with demand significantly higher demand than supply in Austin, Texas. 

Are you wondering what the fair market price of your home is?  Contact me for a complimentary home evaluation today!  

Articles sourced:

1. http://austin.culturemap.com/news/city-life/09-15-15-what-will-austin-look-like-in-2020-new-lawnstarter-report-confirms-rapid-growth/

2. https://www.statesman.com/business/20180627/expert-outlook-bright-for-austin-economy-housing-market

3. https://communityimpact.com/austin/central-austin/development-construction/2018/02/01/austin-housing-market-expected-to-continue-growth-despite-low-supply-and-increasing-interest-rates/

4. https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2018/03/22/austins-population-keeps-popping-heres-how-many.html