The holidays bring out a plethora of emotions and this year real estate is doing that as well.  There just aren’t enough homes out there for everyone who wants to move.  The Austin Board of Realtors® does a great job creating the infographics I post every month.  The data certainly tells the story, but the graphics really paint the picture.  It is hard to express how hot the market is to people until I can actually show them.  Some buyers think only the particular market they are looking in is hot. We are in a collective buyers’ blizzard right now. It is hot all over the Central Texas real estate market right now with no signs of cooling off.

Central Texas housing market up 29.4%

The Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) posted another strong month of sales growth, according to the October 2020 Central Texas Housing Market Report released by the Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABoR). The MSA experienced a 29.4% increase to 3,780 in October home sales year over year, while homes continued to sell faster and at higher price points than ever before.

In addition to a third consecutive month of double-digit home sales growth, median sales price increased 13.2% to $365,000, an all-time record, and sales dollar volume skyrocketed 55.3% to $1,778,706,460. Pending sales jumped 28.8% to 3,829; new listings increased 10.2% to 3,747; while active listings fell 50.3% to 3,501 sales. Homes spent an average of 35 days on market, 19 fewer days than in October 2019, and inventory fell 1.2 months to 1.1 months across the five-county area.

“The continued stability and strength of our market will be crucial heading into 2021. As we come to the end of a challenging year, I’m proud of the work that Austin REALTORS® have done to stabilize and grow our market,” Romeo Manzanilla, 2020 ABoR president, said. “While the full impact remains to be seen, the passage of Propositions A & B in Austin will increase the property tax bill homeowners receive over the next few weeks. Combined with rising home values, increasing demand, and limited inventory, homeowners should be prepared for their property taxes to continue to increase regardless of tax rates.”

City of Austin

The median sales price in the city of Austin set an all-time record, rising 13.1% to $441,250 in October. Residential sales increased 22.7% to 1,224 sales, as sales dollar volume soared 52.6% to $705,053,179. During the same period, new listings increased 19.7% to 1,345 listings while active listings decreased 23.6% to 1,349 listings, and pending sales jumped 29.8% to 1,221 pending sales. Monthly housing inventory decreased 0.4 months year over year to 1.3 months of inventory.

Travis County

In Travis County, residential sales increased 22.4% to 1,921 sales, while sales dollar volume jumped 54.2% to $1,105,700,927. The median price for residential homes climbed 16.2% year over year to $430,000. During the same period, new listings increased 14.9% to 2,008 listings, active listings decreased 41.8% to 1,932 listings, and pending sales rose 29.9% to 1,931 pending sales. Monthly housing inventory fell 0.9 months year over year to 1.2 months of inventory.

Hays County

In Hays County, October home sales increased 38% to 432 sales, and sales dollar volume increased 64.2% to $169,973,568. The median price for homes increased 11.9% to $305,000. During the same period, new listings rose 5.3% to 395 listings, while active listings fell 44.9% to 519 listings. Compared to October 2019, pending sales soared 38.3% to 451 pending sales. Housing inventory dropped by 1.6 months to 1.3 months of inventory.

Williamson County

In October in Williamson County, residential sales jumped 36.9% to 1,265 sales, and sales dollar volume skyrocketed 52.6% to $450,779,835. The median price increased 11.4% to $323,115. During the same period, new listings slightly increased 1.2% to 1,135 listings, while active listings dropped 67.9% to 750 listings. Pending sales jumped 21.5% to 1,248 pending sales. Housing inventory declined 1.6 months year over year to 0.7 months of inventory.

For more information, and to download the October 2020 Central Texas Housing Market Report, visit here.