It wasn’t so long ago — less than a decade — that a young family could find a quality single-family starter home for under $200,000 inside Austin city limits. Now, that’s almost nonexistent.
In fact, of the 780 single-family homes that sold in Austin in March, only 30 sold for under $200,000. The bulk of sales are in the $300,000 and up categories. And those higher price points are seeing the most growth in terms of sale volumed.
For example, 215 of the home sales in Austin in March fetched sales prices of more than $500,000.
“Growing disparities in housing market conditions at all levels of pricing represent an urgent and immediate need to fill the ‘missing middle’ in the region’s housing stock,” said Brandy Gurthrie, 2017 president of the Austin Board of Realtors.
The City of Austin is currently in the midst of a massive update to its housing code, which is expected to have a major impact on development trends. The city has released drafts of how development will be regulated. And in May and June, the city will host meetings to explain how the proposed changes will impact neighborhoods.
The Austin Board of Realtors sees the code rewrite as a critical juncture for affordable housing in the city.
“Townhomes, duplexes, mid-rise condos and similar single-family homes are all solutions that can increase density throughout Austin, but those solutions continue to be largely presented in the proposed zoning changes,” Guthrie said. “ As local market experts, Central Texas Realtors recognize the necessary balance of promoting the greater community benefit of affordability and preserving the character and quality of our communities, but we also believe that this balance can be achieved in a way that enhances, not deters, from our neighborhoods.”
The emphasis on affordability came as Austin home sales were relatively flat and sales in the greater metro area slowed a bit.
In March, the pace of single-family home sales increased 1.2 percent compared to March 2016. The median price for those homes was $371,606. That’s a 12.6 percent increase, year-over-year. Sales cooled slightly for the entire Austin-Round Rock metro area. The metro logged 2,509 home sales in March, a 1.4 percent decline from March 2016.
Here are a few other key stats from the Austin Board of Realtor’s housing report on the Austin metro area in the month of March.
- Median Price for Single-Family Homes in the Austin Area — $295,767
- Single-Family Homes Sold in the Austin Area — 2,509
- Average Number of Days on the Market — 56
- Total Dollar Volume of Homes Sold in the Area — $931,000,000
- Months of Housing Inventory Available — 2.4
- New Listings — 4,199
- Active Listings — 5,962
- Pending Sales — 3,049