The number of new listings over the past several days continues to decline, both compared to previous weeks and compared to last year. For the seven day period ending Monday, April 13, there were 732 new listings in the Austin MLS which was down 41% from last year. The declines over the preceding weeks were 17%, 21%, and 37%, respectively.
The number of contracts for the seven days ending Sunday, April 12, was 548. This number will increase a bit, though, because, for reasons that have always eluded me, some agents don’t change the MLS status is a reasonable time. This number is down 41% from last year. However, Easter was the 12th but in 2019 it was the 19th so there will be a small of an Easter impact.
As we continue to log significant time under stay-at-home orders, we see fewer sellers and buyers wanting to engage in the market. A couple of weeks ago, I expected we would see things improve at the beginning of May. Last week, I thought we might see the market improvement move into the end of April. However, now we have a new issue cropping up – mortgages. I am going to have a Zoom interview later today with Michael Scott of Capstar Lending and we will dive further into what the new lending restrictions will mean for the market.
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