Austin Real Estate Market Report

2019 Will Likely Be Another Record-Breaking Year in Home Sales

With just one month left to report in 2019, Central Texas home sales appeared to be heading for another record-breaking year. November home sales throughout the Austin metro area pushed the year-to-date total to 30,561 sales, which is approximately 300 homes shy of last year’s total sales volume.

Travis and surrounding counties experienced a double-digit increase in home sales, while Austin’s sales were up 4.5%, according to the Austin Board of Realtors latest report. “Because the demand in Austin continues to outpace the supply, the market is experiencing increased urban sprawl,” said Kevin P. Scanlan, the Board’s president. “Limited and pricey housing within the urban core is driving residents to relocate to the suburbs. Until we adopt a refreshed land development code that focuses on diverse housing options for all income levels within the city, homebuyers will continue to flood surrounding towns.”

This November’s home sales are considerably stronger than 2018 numbers, indicating the demand for housing in the greater Austin area has not slowed, said Vaike O’Grady, Austin regional director for Metrostudy, a market intelligence firm.  “This time last year, we expected the housing market would slow, but that’s not been the case. We’re seeing very strong numbers for new homes across the board,” she said. “Because Austin is severely constrained, home builders are moving outward in search of lower land costs and development opportunity. The surrounding counties are going to continue to emerge with the current demand,” she added. 

In the city of Austin, the median price for a single-family home increased 10.6% to $405,000—the highest median price for any November on record. Single-family home sales increased 4.5% to 670 sales and sales dollar volume increased by 12.7% to $329,203,254. The median price for single-family homes rose 10.6% year over year to $405,000. Monthly housing inventory decreased 0.6 months year over year to 1.3 months of inventory.

In the greater Austin area, In the Austin-Round Rock MSA, single-family home sales in November experienced an increase of 14.3% to 2,554 home sales, with a sharp rise in sales dollar volume of 18.3% to $984,201,220. The median price for single-family homes increased 1.7% to $305,000. Monthly housing inventory declined 0.5 months year over year to 2.1 months of inventory.

In Williamson County, November single-family home sales increased 13.2% to 927 sales. The median price for single-family homes slightly decreased 0.4% to $278,000. New listings increased 5% to 838 listings while active listings decreased 14.7% to 2,075 listings. Housing inventory declined 0.6 months year over year to 2.1 months of inventory.

In November, Hays County single-family home sales experienced an increase of 11.4% to 303 sales and sales dollar volume increased 21% to $109,558,416. The median price for a  single-family home increased by 3.6% to $260,000. During the same period, new listings jumped 17.8% to 325 listings while pending sales increased 17.9% to 303 pending sales. Active listings dropped 3.9% to 894 listings. Housing inventory decreased 0.3 months to 2.8 months of inventory.

Here are additional Austin metro area home sales figures from November 2019.

Median Price for Single-Family Homes in the Austin Area — $305,000.
Single-Family Homes Sold in the Austin Area — 2,544
Average Number of Days on the Market — 62
Total Dollar Volume of Homes Sold in the Area — $984 million
Months of Housing Inventory Available — 2.1
New Listings — 2,351
Active Listings — 5,774
Pending Sales — 2,526