January Home Sales Indicate Strong 2020 for Austin Area
Across the Austin metro area, both home sales and home prices showed steady increases in January, an early predictor of a strong market to come in 2020, according to the Austin Board of Realtors.
Residential home sales in the Austin area increased by 8.5 percent to 1,947 sales in January 2020 as compared to January 2019. The median price increased 4.8% to $308,000, setting a record for the month of January. At the same time, housing inventory in both new and active listings dropped to a critically low level — 1.6 months — across the area. Increases in pending sales activity in January could indicate further drops in inventory for 2020.
“While this January showed significant gains compared to January 2019, the beginning of the year is a traditionally slower time for new and active listings,” said Romeo Manzanilla, Austin Board of Realtors president. “We expect to see a significant increase in activity in the spring, when market activity should climb naturally.”
The January 2020 numbers from the Austin Board of Realtors represent a transition to reporting on all residential properties (single-family homes, condos and townhomes), as opposed to previous reporting, which reflected only single-family homes.
“Austin’s competitive housing market is changing the landscape of traditional homeownership. We’re seeing more homebuyers purchase condos and townhomes in an effort to live closer to the urban core or stay within their budget,” Manzanilla added. “Focusing only on single-family housing leaves out half of the story, especially in the city of Austin where multi-family housing options are not only desired, but greatly needed.”
“Austin’s engine of job and population growth is not projected to slow down anytime soon,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist and senior vice president of research at the National Association of Realtors. “Looking at other metro areas across the U.S. that have faced similar circumstances, this level of rapid, positive growth will not be sustainable without a continued influx of a variety of housing types and careful transportation planning.”
In the city of Austin, the median price for residential homes experienced a double-digit percent increase of 13.5% year over year to $384,750. Residential home sales increased 0.6% to 638 sales and sales dollar volume increased by 8.2% to $290,628,094. During the same period, new listings decreased 10.6% to 960 listings; active listings dropped 32.5% to 1,099 listings; however, pending sales rose 8.6% to 956 pending sales. Monthly housing inventory decreased 0.5 months year over year to 1.1 months of inventory.
In Williamson County, January residential home sales increased 11.6% to 654 sales; sales dollar volume had a double-digit percent jump of 15.3% to $202,314,400. The median price for residential homes slightly increased 2% to $279,990. New listings declined 15.1% to 838 listings, while active listings decreased 27.1% to 1,557 listings. Pending sales increased 11.4% to 990 pending sales.
In January, Hays County residential home sales spiked 22.8% to 205 sales and sales dollar volume jumped 22.2% to $67,627,774. The median price for residential homes declined by 2.6% to $255,000. During the same period, new listings dropped 19% to 298 listings, while active listings decreased 15% to 745 listings. Pending sales spiked 29.2% to 354 pending sales.
Key Austin Housing Market Statistics
Here are additional Austin metro area home sales figures from January 2020.
Median Price for Single-Family Homes in the Austin Area — $308,000.
Single-Family Homes Sold in the Austin Area — 1,947
Average Number of Days on the Market — 62
Total Dollar Volume of Homes Sold in the Area — $726 million
Months of Housing Inventory Available — 1.6
New Listings — 2,723
Active Listings — 4,889
Pending Sales — 2,956
