Austin real estate news shows the volume of homes sold decreased across the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) for the first time since May 2020, according to the Austin Board of REALTORS® July 2021 Central Texas Housing Report. The report states that “despite the dip, the five-county MSA was just 445 homes shy of breaking the all-time home sales record set in July 2020. “
Central Texas June Housing Report
As residential home sales in the Austin Round-Rock MSA declined 9.9% to 4,041, the median sales price jumped 37.1% year over year to $480,000—a record for the month of July. At the same time, sales dollar volume increased 20.7% year over year to $2,409,491,114. Monthly housing inventory dipped 0.8 months to 0.9 months of inventory. While the inventory remains well below a healthy average, inventory has slightly increased since the first half of 2021.
Moving to Austin
Vaike O’Grady, regional director of MetroStudy, said that while the frenzy to buy a home in Austin has steadied from this time last year, it’s unlikely that home prices will go down any time soon.
“Austin is always considered one of the top places to live in the U.S., but we’re losing ground due to shrinking housing inventory and affordability. With construction delays and regulatory barriers, builders and developers are having increasing difficulty getting new homes on the ground. Because of that, there’s not enough supply coming to the market to significantly impact available inventory, which further pushes prices up. Looking ahead, there will likely only be new inventory available further out in the suburbs; meaning, other submarkets may gain traction over Austin.”
Austin Real Estate News
In July, new listings increased 8.2% to 5,166 listings; active listings dropped 36.9% year over year to 3,294 listings, and pending sales declined 11% to 3,900 listings. Homes only spent an average of 12 days on market last month across the MSA.
Susan Horton, 2021 ABoR President, states “Seasonality has a hand in the increasing home sales growth across our region and nationally. Compared to the early pandemic days, the pace of homebuying activity has slowed across the U.S. If you’re looking to buy or rent a home, don’t miss this opportunity to take advantage of the market’s slower pace. If you’re looking to sell, don’t mistake this dip as a cooldown—it’s still an excellent time to sell a home. Our market is still difficult to navigate, so it’s always best to enlist the expertise of a REALTOR®.”