The Austin area home market came roaring into 2017 with year-over-year increases to both the pace of houses sold and the median price of a residential property.
The pace of sales in the Austin metro area increased 7 percent, compared to January 2016. That means a total of 1,549 single-family homes sold during the month. Inside Austin city limits, 469 homes sold in January, representing 9.8 percent growth.
The increased sales occurred while prices continued to rise. The median price in the metro area grew 9.8 percent year-over-year to $279,990. Inside the city, prices climbed 2.3 percent to $312,000.
That leaves the Austin metro area with a shortage of sub-$500,000 homes for first-time homebuyers.
“The range of home prices available in local market areas are slowly trending upward, changing the local profile of what homes and price ranges are considered ‘affordable,’” Brandy Guthrie, 2017 President of the Austin Board of Realtors, said. “Single-family homes priced for entry-level homebuyers are increasingly harder to find throughout the region.”
January’s high rate of activity followed a record-breaking year for home sales in the Austin area in 2016. Stepping even farther back, Austin has been on a long-term upward trend as its population has boomed and its tech sector has expanded as companies like Apple, Google and Amazon increase their workforces in the city.
But, with that type of success comes growing pains as the city’s housing stock increases in value and fewer affordable homes are available. The Austin area’s housing inventory remained flat in January with about 2 months worth of stock — the inventory is even lower inside the city. For homes under $250,000, the inventory is at less than a month in most local markets.
“Consecutive years of strong housing demand and sales growth throughout Central Texas have significantly changed housing market conditions in Austin and the surrounding region,” Guthrie said. “The radius of local market areas with critically low housing inventory levels has expanded out from Austin into surrounding counties, shifting the price range of available homes in local communities upward.”
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 January.
- Median Price for Single-Family Homes in the Austin Area — $279,990
- Single-Family Homes Sold in the Austin Area — 1,549
- Average Number of Days on the Market — 59
- Total Dollar Volume of Homes Sold in the Area — $552,000,000
- Months of Housing Inventory Available — 2
- New Listings — 2,559
- Active Listings — 4,828
Pending Sales — 2,290