Central Texas Market Update - July 2023

Why did prices rise this month despite most of the stats pointing down? Let's jump right into the stats. The stats I’m providing are resale homes only in Travis and Williamson Counties.  More about the stats at the end.

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

In June, 1,846 resale homes closed in Travis & Williamson Counties which was down 20% from June 2022. To put that in perspective in historical terms, we have to go back to 2011 during the recession to find a lower number. And keep in mind that since then the Austin metro area has grown by 36%. The median price in June decreased 11% year-over-year to $509,250. Remember that last May was the peak of the Austin market. Compared to last month, it was an increase of 4.8% which is the largest jump we’ve seen in over a year. Since the start of 2023, the median price is up 9%. In real estate, the primary way we measure home values is with the median price. But, there are other numbers worth examining. Year-over-year, the average price of a home dropped 9.3% to $649,814 and the average price per square foot decreased by 12% to $311.

The number of available homes in June was 5,756, up 21% from last June. During June, 3,018 new listings hit the market which was down 28% from last year. So the market continues to be sluggish in a variety of ways. First, few homes are being listed for sale – down 28% in June and down 16% so far this year. I’ve mentioned this numerous times, but I’ll quickly reiterate that with so many owners having a 2.5 to 3.5% interest rate on their mortgage, there must be a very compelling reason to move and end up with a 7% interest rate (yes, rates are back up to 7%). Second, for those with a homestead exemption in place since 2020 or earlier, those owners are paying property taxes on a below market value appraisal so a move to a new home will end up paying taxes on a market value appraisal. Third, we simply don’t have the demand we had over the past few years. Fewer people are moving to the Austin area right now. Of those already here, fewer are out looking to buy a home. So while there are fewer homes listed for sale, fewer are getting purchased, so the number of homes available is higher.

Back to the stats: the average sales price to list price ratio was 98.1%. The June sales ranged from a low of $90,000 to a high of $4,727,000. For homes that closed in June, the average days on market was 46, up from 11 last year. What that 46 days on market stat tells us is that for the homes that are getting contracts, they are priced correctly at the start and not taking too long to sell. But many others are just sitting. If we look at the average days on market for the homes currently available, that number is 77 days.

So with most of the stats pointing down, why did prices rise this month? Well, while demand is low, supply is lower. It’s just basic economics. Good homes in good condition and priced where they should be, are selling well.

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.