Central Texas Market Update - 2022 Year End

2022 was a tale of two different markets. We started remarkably strong with major increases while the second half of the year saw the market begin to correct itself. This report covers the entire year stats, but if you have any interest in reviewing the December sales stats, they can be found here.

If you are looking to buy or sell a home in Steiner Ranch, contact me via email or at 512-650-7300. If you prefer to read instead of watch, here are the chart and transcript.

It was a roller coaster of a ride in real estate so let’s get right to the stats.

The stats I’m providing are resale homes only in Travis and Williamson Counties. More about the stats at the end.

In 2022, 21,077 resale homes closed in Travis & Williamson Counties which was down 28% from 2021. The median price of a resale home increased 11.6% to $541,500, the average price increased 11.3%. to $673,090, and the average price per square foot increased 13.2% to $335. In real estate, the bellwether measurement for home prices is the median price so when we talk about the price of homes in the Austin for 2022, we’ll say that the prices increased about 12%. But that doesn’t really tell the story, does it?

2022 was a tale of two different markets. We came out of the chute like a wild bull amassing a 20% increase from January to May. But as inflation and the Federal Reserve’s response to it started to hit mortgage interest rates, the real estate market slowed down very quickly. Not just in Austin or Texas, but across the entire country. The number of buyers quickly started to dwindle, inventories began to rise, and prices began to fall. So while the overall numbers show a 12% increase in home values this year, the $541,500 median price encompasses all the homes sold in 2022. Currently prices have come back down and all of the gain from the first five months was wiped out and then some. From the peak in May, prices have come down 21% and are below where they were at the start of 2022.

Last year, 30,153 new listings hit the market which is down 5.5% from 2021.

The average sales price to list price ratio was 102%. For homes that closed in 2022, the average days on market was 23, up from 16 in 2021. Again, since those are full year numbers, they aren’t a good indicator of what we are seeing now as the numbers look very different during the first half of the year compared to the second half. The 2022 sales ranged from a low of $100,000 to a high of $12,250,000.

Ultimately, the question is whether or not now is a good time to buy or sell in Central Texas. My answer to this is always the same regardless of the type of market we are in – it depends upon your situation. Some people should buy now. Some should sell now. Some should wait a while for either. Your circumstances are unique and I would need more information to provide a proper answer. So if you are wondering, just reach out to me and we can have a conversation.

So what do I think will happen in 2023? Before I answer, let me preface this by noting I didn’t foresee such a massive run up in the market, nor did I expect the decline to be so rapid. I expect the market prices will continue to decline over the next several months. Whether it can turn around in the second half will depend upon inflation and the Fed’s response to it. But for the full year, I’ll take a shot in the dark that the number of sales will decline by 7% and the prices will decline by 5%.

If you have any real estate related questions, please don’t hesitate to call or text me at 512-650-7300 or email me at [email protected]. Thanks for watching “How’s The Market in Central Texas.”

The stats I’ve cited are resale homes only in Travis and Williamson County classified as single family residential, condominium, or townhouse. This is different than the stats released by the Austin Board of Realtors which include all types of homes and also include Hays, Bastrop, and Caldwell Counties. Plus, their numbers include any new construction homes listed in the MLS.

Statistics based upon information from ACTRIS for the periods cited.