January Austin Real Estate Market Report

Austin’s 2018 Home Sales on Record-Setting Path

Austin has been on a path to set a new record for single-family home sales throughout much of this year. Now, it looks all but certain.

But the city’s growth has a changing face as prices within the City of Austin — and especially near its bustling downtown — have risen at an astonishing rate in recent years. That means growth and home sales activity, aside from towering condos downtown, are happening largely on the city’s fringes.

“Families and young professionals continue to move to the suburbs where there are more opportunities for home ownership at a more reasonable price point than in the city of Austin,” Steve Crorey, president of the Austin Board of Realtors said. “While home sales growth isn’t as rapid in the city, demand is still strong. Analysts predict Austin will be a market to watch in 2019.”

Overall, sales are up 3.3 percent in the Austin metro area so far this year. In November alone, the latest period for which data is available, the number of single-family home sales grew by 0.7 percent. Sales volume grew by 5.6 percent, thanks in part to climbing prices. The metro area median home price was up 2.2 percent year-over-year in November at $301,391.

Inside city limits, the median price sat at $374,900 in November, a 5 percent year-over-year increase. Meanwhile, sales decreased by 5.4 percent. Active listings and pending sales also were on the downswing — most likely because of rising prices.

To Austin’s north, in Williamson County, however, sales were going strong. The county showed a 4.5 percent increase in home sales as the median price crept up by 1.8 percent, year-over-year, to $280,000. New listings grew by 4.9 percent and active listings shot up 21 percent.

In November, Williamson County single-family home sales increased 4.5 percent to 812 home sales and sales dollar volume increased 4.9 percent to $246,902,818 since last November. The area is likely to see continued growth following Apple’s announcement that it will build a new, $1 billion campus inside Williamson County near the Travis County line that will draw thousands of new high-paid workers to the area. And that’s on top of already robust growth in North Austin.

Looking back at the last 12 months, Austin home prices average out at $387,794. 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 31,150 in the past 12 months.

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

Median Price for Single-Family Homes in the Austin Area — $301,391
Single-Family Homes Sold in the Austin Area — 2,201
Average Number of Days on the Market — 64
Total Dollar Volume of Homes Sold in the Area — $839 Million
Months of Housing Inventory Available — 2.7
New Listings — 2,380
Active Listings — 6,907
Pending Sales — 2,217