Austin Real Estate Market Report

Austin sees a decline, but home sales in Central Texas overall are up in first half of 2019

As the first half of the year wrapped up in June, the Austin Board of Realtors reported that single-family home sales showed strong gains throughout the Austin-Round Rock metro area, but declined in the city of Austin because of decreasing inventory and increasing prices in the city. 

“We have seen slight dips in Austin’s home sales before, but because this decrease is over the course of six months, it could be indicative of a larger trend,” said Kevin P. Scanlan, president of the Austin Board of Realtors. “Austin’s limited housing inventory—which dropped below two months in June—and increasing home prices have resulted in fewer sales over time. As Austin continues to be one of the most desired cities to live in the United States, the suburbs are benefiting from this demand.” 

More people are moving to Austin than moving out, according to Mark Sprague, state director of information capital for Independence Title. “The good news is resales are well in line with where values should be. And, developers are putting more dense communities on the outer rim of the city, a trend which should lead to more affordable pricing comparatively,” he said.

In the greater Austin metro area, the median home price increased by 1% to $315,000 in the first half of 2019. Home sales increased year over year by 4.3 percent to 16,203 sales; sales dollar volume increased 6 percent to $6,439,059,121. During the same period, new listings increased 1 percent to 22,047 new listings, while active listings increased 4.8 percent to 6,282 listings. Pending sales jumped 7.9 percent to 18,180 pending sales. Housing inventory and pending sales activity also increased year over year.  

In June, single-family home sales activity increased 0.5% year over year to 3,349 sales. During the same period, the median price for a single-family home rose 3% to $334,702. Monthly housing inventory decreased 0.2 months year over year to 2.7 months, well below the Real Estate Center of Texas A&M University’s benchmark of 6.0 months as a balanced housing market.

Within the city of Austin, single-family home sales in the first half of the year decreased 1.6% year over year to 4,736 sales, while the median price for a single-family home rose 3.2% to $387,100. During the same period, new listings decreased 3.4% to 6,249 listings and active listings decreased 5.7% to 1,215 listings; pending sales edged upward by 0.2% to 5,229 sales. 

Looking at the month of June, city of Austin home sales decreased 2.3% to 985 home sales as the median price experienced a double-digit percent increase of 10.9% to $420,000. Housing inventory decreased 0.2 months to 1.9 months of inventory, and homes spent an average of 30 days on the market. 

In Williamson County, single-family home sales in the first half of 2019 increased 7.8% year over year to 5,783. During the same period, the median price for single-family homes decreased 0.6% to $285,000. New listings increased 1.3% to 7,428 listings; active listings increased 6% to 2,183; and pending sales rose 10.9% to 6,410. 

In June, single-family homes sales in Williamson County dipping slightly by 0.4% year over year to 1,152, and the median price decreased 2.1% to $292,500. During the same period, housing inventory declined 0.2 months to 2.6 months of inventory.

In the first half of 2019, Hays County single-family home sales rose 6.3% year over year to 1,861, and the median price increased 1.9% to $269,900. New listings increased 4.4% to 2,678 and active listings increased 12.8% year over year to 927. During the same period, pending sales rose 10.9% to 2,127.

In June, single-family home sales in Hays County  increased 6.9% year over year to 389 sales, while the median price decreased 5.2% to $269,950. During the same period, housing inventory decreased 0.1 months to 3.3 months of inventory. 

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

Median Price for Single-Family Homes in the Austin Area — $334,702.
Single-Family Homes Sold in the Austin Area — 3,349
Average Number of Days on the Market — 46
Total Dollar Volume of Homes Sold in the Area — $1.4 billion
Months of Housing Inventory Available — 2.7
New Listings — 3,901
Active Listings — 7,133
Pending Sales — 3,285