A bright spot on the horizon for Austin residential real estate?

Since January 1st of this year (2008) 1,813 homes have sold and 884 homes have been withdrawn from the market in Austin Texas, a 28% decline and 42% increase respectively from the same period last year.  This reflects a weaker Austin Texas residential real estate market in 2008 compared to 2007.  With that said, the median price for homes sold during the same period in 2007 was $120 per square foot with an average 57 days on the market.  During the same period in 2008 the median home prices have risen slightly by 2.4% to $123 per square foot with an average of 69 days on the market.  Although this increase in Austin home value’s shows a slight improvement from the previous year, the improvement falls well short of making up for the decreased number of homes sold during the same period in 2007.  The number of homes sold in March of 2008 has declined 47% compared to the same period of time in 2007, although the numbers of homes withdrawn have comparably remained the same. 

There is one bright spot on the horizon.  Currently (March 24, 2008) there are 1,774 homes pending sale in Austin Texas, which could improve the comparative sales numbers heading into April.  IF 90% of these pending sales get closed and IF 3/4 of those get closed in April, then Austin will be back on track to selling a similar number of homes in April 2008 as was sold in April 2007 (1246 homes sold in April 2007).

If you need to buy or sell a home and are not already working with a realtor, give Brian Talley of Regent Property Group a call and he will be sure you are in the best position possible to get top value for your investment. 

Source: Austin Board of Realtors