As summer arrives, home buyers come out in droves. And even more so this year.
In May 2017, single-family home sales in the Austin metro area shot up 9 percent year-over-year. And the pace of was even faster inside Austin city limits where sales were 9.7 percent higher than during the month of May last year, new Austin Board of Realtor statistics show.
The strong housing demand extended to nearby areas. Home sales climbed 14.8 percent in Hays County — or 364 home sales — and were up 8.3 percent to 1,117 home sales in Williamson County.
The growth in sales comes despite rapidly increasing prices. The median price of a single-family home in the metro area increased 8 percent from last May to reach $310,000. Inside Austin city limits? Median prices climbed 8.6 percent to hit $380,000. Even in Hays and Williamson counties prices have climbed dramatically. The median price in Hays was at $262,250 — or 10.4 percent above last year’s figure. In Williamson, the median price is $284,375, which represents a 6.5 percent year-over-year increase.
The rapid pace of sales and climbing prices combined to help the Central Texas region set a new real estate record — total sales dollar volume reached $1.23 billion in May. That’s 18.4 percent above last year, and it’s an all-time high.
Meanwhile, the number of new and active listings increased at nearly the same pace, providing some relief from months prior when housing inventory levels reached some of their lowest levels in years, indicating very strong demand in the market.
“Housing is the backbone of our region’s economy and the heart of our communities,” said Brandy Guthrie, 2017 president of the Austin Board of Realtors. “Housing demand continues to be at an all-time high in and around Austin, indicated by steady growing home sales and prices, listing activity and housing inventory. The concurrent gains in listing activity and inventory, in particular, are a positive sign that housing inventory could continue to increase throughout the aggressive summer selling season.”
The new figures came as state lawmakers continued to debate property tax reductions in the statehouse. Meanwhile, the City of Austin is undertaking a massive overhaul of city building and planning codes that could help foster more affordable housing development.
“Rising property values and housing development costs are rapidly causing an upward shift in the price range of residential real estate available within Austin and across the region,” Guthrie said. “This trend will not be reversed until our city is able to come together to create strong, purposeful changes to Austin’s zoning maps that pave the way for housing at all price ranges to exist.”
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 May.
- Median Price for Single-Family Homes in the Austin Area — $310,000
- Single-Family Homes Sold in the Austin Area — 3,170
- Average Number of Days on the Market — 43
- Total Dollar Volume of Homes Sold in the Area — $1.23 billion
- Months of Housing Inventory Available — 2.8
- New Listings — 4,369
- Active Listings — 6,972
- Pending Sales — 3,437