Once upon a time November and December were the months that home buyers slowed down and investors came out of hibernation. During the holiday season days are shorter, not only because of the amount of daylight hours, but because of the added tasks taken on this time of year. Shopping for presents, food, cleaning, parties and travel can add to the daily grind and often put the thought of buying a home on the back burner. Historically, with fewer buyers in the real estate market this time of year, inventory would tend to rise a bit because houses would tend to stay on the market longer than spring and summer. With a larger supply of homes available, prices would tend to fall and investors would enter the market to get a good deal or two.
Austin Home Sales
That was then, this is now. The Austin real estate inventory hasn’t really grown that much in the past month and in many select markets, it has only gone down which has pushed prices up. The home buyer that expected to be settled by now who had plans to host Thanksgiving dinner is still in the real estate market. Interest rates and home prices have gone up in the last 6 months, but inventory has not.
Inventory on Austin Investment Properties
The inventory of multiple family units, like duplexes, has not increased either. The buyer pool albeit is smaller, but the supply and demand is not any more level in that market which is leading to multiple offers, even for investors.
Keep the New Home Bug Alive during the Holidays
Do not cross that new home off your holiday wish list. Stay in the market at whatever level you can. It is a lot easier to find the time to see one or two houses a week you really might like, than to see 10 you really won’t, which is what happens when buyers start over. Buyers who bow out this time of year with too much to do will literally be starting from scratch in January along with a new crop of people with New Year’s resolutions to buy a new home.
Finding the perfect home is often about being in the right place, at the right time. If it’s meant to be while everyone else is at the mall, then so be it.
Austin is hot and I’m not just talking about the weather. Austin’s growth is outpacing the supply of homes in inventory which is making it a competitive market to buy and even rent in. Over 25,000 people moved to Austin between July 2011 and July 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The growth moved Austin’s ranking of the nation’s largest cities from the 13th spot to number 11.
Sellers had much to do leading up to Christmas, which created a slowdown in terms of new inventory for 
I have selected random subdivisions in Austin Texas real estate market areas and listed current data on active listings. The data is subdivision specific, so there may be additional homes available for purchase in the neighborhood. Average Days on Market below 90 days are considered Seller’s markets, because homes are moving quickly. Austin neighborhoods with homes on the market between 3 and 6 months are considered neutral.
Austin is hot and I’m not just talking about the weather, though we did have the nation’s high temperature last week with 92 degrees! Residential houses in the greater Austin area saw an increased volume of sales, with an increase of 10 percent in January compared to 2011. According to the Austin Board of REALTORS®, the average time a home remained on the market was 85 days in January, which is eight days less than the same month in 2011. As I have mentioned inventory is low. How low? There were 6 percent less new listings added in January 2012, than in January of 2011. January of 2012 also saw 19 percent fewer active