February Austin Real Estate Market Report

Austin Broke Another Record for Home Sales in 2018

Austin’s powerful real estate market exceeded expectations in 2018, according to a year-end report from the Austin Board of Realtors. The new stats show $11.9 billion worth of residential real estate was sold in Central Texas last year — that came across 30,713 home sales logged by ABoR.

Compared to the year prior, Austin metro area homes saw a 3.6 percent increase in median price. Meanwhile, sales climbed annually by 2.1 percent. Inside Austin city limits, median prices climbed 4.1 percent annually to $375,760. The number of single-family home sales logged remained mostly flat.

“2018 was the highest-grossing year on record, and for the first time ever, the median price for single-family homes in the Austin-Round Rock MSA (metropolitan statistical area) stayed above $300,000 for 10 consecutive months,” said Kevin P. Scanlan, 2019 president of the Austin Board of Realtors. “While much of the region is benefitting from these higher numbers, increasing home prices are forcing families out of the city of Austin. This phenomenon is leading to lower enrollment in schools and could lead to decreased property tax revenue and budget shortfalls.”

But December was a little slower in 2018 than in the year prior. Sales decreased 11 percent in the Austin metro area. Meanwhile, median prices climbed 3.6 percent to $310,400. That slowdown may be one part seasonal slowdown and one part speculation among homeowners.

“It’s also likely that people are staying in their homes longer to watch their investment increase and keep their current interest rate,” said Mark Sprague, state director of information capital at Independence Title.

He expects another strong year ahead.

“Annual sales are still ahead of where we were last year,” he said. “I don’t think 2019 will be any different. Austin’s strong gross domestic product growth will continue to drive our region’s job growth and need for housing.”

To Austin’s north, in Williamson County, median home prices remain fairly low — but median prices rose to $285,000. Sales grew annually by 1.2 percent. To Austin’s south, in Hays County, median prices increased by 2.3 percent last year to hit $264,990. Sales grew by 2 percent.

Looking back at the last 12 months, Austin home prices average out at $388,786, our internal analysis shows. That’s up from $372,492 in 2017 and $353,919 in 2016. Meanwhile, the number of days homes are on the market, on average, has climbed from 50 days in 2016 to 54 last year and 57 in the past 12 months. The number of homes sold climbed from 29,805 in 2016 to 30,867 in the past 12 months.

Here are more Austin metro area home sales figures from December 2018.

Median Price for Single-Family Homes in the Austin Area — $305,000
Single-Family Homes Sold in the Austin Area — 2,370
Average Number of Days on the Market — 67
Total Dollar Volume of Homes Sold in the Area — $884 Million
Months of Housing Inventory Available — 2.3
New Listings — 1,684
Active Listings — 5,813
Pending Sales — 1,955