Austin Area Home Sales in October 2015Austin-area home sales in October 2015 remained high, increasing year-over-year for the fifth month in a row. With 2,378 homes sold, sales increased by 2 percent while the median home price rose five percent to $252,790. Even while the suburbs have started seeing a slowdown and a decrease in inventory, many areas of Central Texas haven’t been affected just yet by the course correction. This pace signals a potential record year for home sales in the Austin area.

Barb Cooper, 2015 President of the Austin Board of REALTORS®, explained, “We’re on pace for another record year and while home sales typically slow each fall, housing demand has remained strong far past the typical peak selling season. This demand stems from strong employment and our area’s high growth rate—factors that help create a stable housing market.”

A recent Freedie Mac report ranked Austin as the second-most stable housing market in the country, primarily due to the positive gains in area employment and the proportion of mortgages currently in good standing. The stability of the local economy and continuing job growth has supported the regular growth of the housing market over these last few years and will continue to do so in the near future, though the rapid increases in home prices might start tapering off as housing affordability becomes more of a concern.

Of the homes that sold in October, the average length of time on the market was 50 days, one day fewer than in October 2014. The average price for all sold homes rose 7 percent to $333,452. Monthly inventory was at 2.6 months, slightly less than during the same time period last year. This is still significantly lower than the 6.5 months considered as a stable market by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

Statistics for Austin-area Home Sales in October 2015:

  • 2,378 – Single-family homes sold, two percent more than October 2014.
  • $252,790 – Median price for single-family homes, five percent more than October 2014.
  • $333,452 – Average price for single-family homes, seven percent more than October 2014.
  • 50 – Average number of days single-family homes spent on the market, one day fewer than October 2014.
  • 2,847 – New single-family home listings on the market, statistically unchanged compared to October 2014.
  • 6,342 – Active single-family home listings on the market, three percent more than October 2014.
  • 2,339 – Pending sales for single-family homes, four percent more than October 2014.
  • 6 – Months of inventory* of single-family homes, 0.1 months less than October 2014.
  • $792,948,856 – Total dollar volume of single-family properties sold, 10 percent more than October 2014.

Austin-area home sales remain solid going into the last few weeks of the year. With another possible year of record sales, the housing market looks bright for the foreseeable future. The suburban areas have been seeing a few more microtrends not described in ABOR’s report, including increasingly tighter inventory and more houses coming to the market that are on the higher end of the spectrum. While homes of all price ranges still sell consistently in the suburbs, including in Round Rock, homes priced over $300K are often sitting on the market much longer before going under contract and often sell for less than similar homes were selling for just this past spring.

It’s important to consider both the Central Texas-wide statistics provided by ABOR’s monthly reports as well as the more localized data that an area expert can provide you. If you’re considering selling your house, ask us for a Market Analysis report for your neighborhood and area. The RJF Team can help guide you in determining what the local and area-wide real estate data is saying about how your house will do on the market this winter.

Call us today at 512.537.4977 or email us at Info@RJFteam.com to request a CMA report. We look forward to helping you with all your real estate needs!

 

Source: ABOR