What’s happening in the Central Texas real estate market? Your neighbor in the community next door might feel differently than you do. Keep reading….
The latest data from the Austin Board of Realtors shows that August 2017 was another record-breaking month as compared to last August:
- Travis County:
- Median price increased 3% to $350,000
- Months of inventory is up to 3 months a minor increase (a balance market is about 6 months)
- 1,463 single-family homes sold, an increase of 1%
- Williamson County:
- Median price increased 6% to $276,500
- Months of inventory is up to 3 months, again a minor increase
- 1,025 single-family homes sold, an increase of about 1%
All of this said, with recent volatility around the globe – we’ve seen an impact on real estate activity apart from the usual slowdown at the beginning of school. There are a lot of potential factors: Hurricanes Harvey and Maria, the political climate, and a general uncertainty about the economy. Now, economist remain bullish on Central Texas – click here for insight from Real Estate Center Chief Economist Dr. Jim Gaines:
““The Austin-Round Rock MSA looks like it is moving toward a more normalized housing market,” said Real Estate Center Chief Economist Dr. Jim Gaines. “Similar to what we’re seeing across the state, housing inventory levels are slowly increasing, despite continued increases in sales volume and median price. That could indicate that in the latter half of 2017, we will likely experience some slowing of the home price increases that have become common in recent years — not price decreases, as the relationship between home buying and selling activity begins to balance out.” (click here for link to RECON site, one of my favorite resources…)
I’ve been noticing the same… I’ve been closely monitoring price reductions, days on market and sale prices in neighborhoods across the area – and the data is mixed. Below you will see “heat maps” of Travis and Williamson County. These maps show 12-month sales price projections – and here is the legend so that you know what the colors mean:
I realize these may be hard to see – so if you’d like data on a particular area, just let me know – I’ll zoom in for you. That said, I wanted to present the larger picture so that you could see how localized the shifts are. Some areas are expected to boom by 10+ percent, while a neighboring community expects a 10 percent reduction in sales price.
You’ll note the same thing is projected in Williamson County….
Overall, the message that I am offering to sellers and buyers we represent about the Central Texas real estate market is that we need to look very closely at neighborhoods (and sometimes streets….or the side of the street) to determine value – and the days for sellers of looking at the pending market and adding .5 – 1% to your a listing price may be over in some communities.
Here to count on….
Kiersty
We have some fantastic – properly priced – listings that have just come to market. Check them out:
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