Austin, Texas Real Estate Market Update and Statistics April 2012

The Austin housing market continues to thrive with continued job stability and growth, especially with home sales in the more affordable $200-$400K price range.  As such, it is an excellent time to sell a starter home and move up to take advantage of the values that can still be found in higher priced homes while enjoying the benefits of extremely low interest rates.  There are still some value opportunities for luxury buyers, but there have been value increases in this segment of the market as well.  Investors can also benefit from high rental prices by finding well priced fixer-uppers to fix and rent.

Our market statistics show that there were 5.35% more homes sold and a 6.66% increase in sold prices per square foot when comparing March 2012 to March 2011.  There are 30.16% less homes for sale, a 22.66% increase in homes pending sale, a 36.9% decrease in homes withdrawn from the market, and it is taking 24.42% less time to sell a home.  Interest rates are very low averaging 3.98% for a 30 year conventional loan today with 0.7 fees/points down per freddiemac.com. The Austin unemployment rate (Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos) during January 2012 showed a slight increase from the previous month at 6.1% in December 2011 compared to 6.5% in January 2012.  Meanwhile, lease inventory continues to fall in Austin and lease prices are increasing.
 
Market Snapshot
(Year-to-date compared to same time period during the year 2011)
• 13.77% increase in homes sold
• 5.16% increase in sold prices (total dollars)
• 5.22% increase in sold prices per square foot)
• 17.86% decrease in days on market

(March 2012 compared to March 2011)
• 30.16% decrease in homes actively for sale compared to 4/10/11
• 22.66% increase in homes pending sale compared to 4/10/11
• 5.35% increase in the number of single-family homes sold
• 6.66% increase in median single-family sold price per square foot
• 6.74% increase in median sold price (total dollars)
• 24.42% decrease in the time it is taking to sell a home
• 19.7% decrease in number of homes for lease compared to 3/03/11
• 12.25% decrease in the number of homes leased
• Lease price per square foot remained the same
• 28.12% decrease in the time it is taking to lease a home
 
Between January 1st and March 11, 2012 there were 1,892 single-family homes sold within the Austin city limits with a median sold price of $120.90 per square foot ($244,500) and averaging 69 days on the market. During the same time period in 2011 there were 1663 homes sold with a median sold price of $114.90 per square foot ($232,950) and averaging 84 days on the market. This is a 13.77% increase in the number of homes sold, 5.22% increase in the median sold price per square foot, a 5.16% increase in sold prices (total dollars), and an 17.86% decrease in the days on market compared to the same time period in 2011.  

Austin Real Estate Market Summary for April 2012:

Sold: As of 04/09/2012 there were 768 homes sold in Austin, Texas during March 2012 compared to 729 during the same period of time in 2011 (5.35% increase). Overall home prices (per square foot) have increased 6.66% and the total dollar sales prices have increased by 6.74% during March 2012 compared to March 2011 with a median sold price of $121.70 per square foot ($245,500) in March 2012 compared to $114.10 per square foot ($230,000) in March 2011. In March 2012 these sold homes have averaged 65 days on the market compared to 86 days on the market in March 2011, which shows there was 24.42% decrease in the time it is taking to sell a home this March 2012 compared to last March 2011.

Active: There are 2,457 single-family homes actively for sale within the city limits of Austin Texas as of 4/09/12 averaging 92 days on the market with a median list price of $145.70 per square foot ($359,900). This is a 4.24% increase from the 2,357 single-family homes for sale last month on 3/11/12 and a 30.16% decrease in homes actively for sale from the 3,518 single-family homes that were actively for sale within the city limits of Austin Texas on 4/10/11.

Pending Sale: There are 1,510 houses pending sale in Austin as of 4/09/12 averaging 53 days on the market with a median price of $125.30 per square foot ($264,950). This is a 17.60% increase from the 1,284 single-family homes pending sale last month on 3/11/12 and a 22.66% increase from the 1231 homes that were pending sale on 410/11.

Withdrawn: There were 130 single-family homes withdrawn from the Austin Texas real estate market during March 2012 compared to 206 homes during the same period of time during March 2011, which is a 36.9% decrease in withdrawals. The homes withdrawn in March 2012 averaged 124 days on the market and were listed for sale with a median price of $135.30 per square foot ($293,950). This compares to an average of 113 days on the market with a median price of $126.20 per square foot ($238,950) for homes withdrawn from the market during March 2011.

Austin Leases: As of 4/09/12 there are 632 homes (all types) for lease within the City of Austin with a median lease price of $1.00 per square foot per month ($1,675 per month) and averaging 34 days on the market.  This compares to 4/10/11 when there were 787 homes (all types) for lease within the City of Austin with a median lease price of $.84 per square foot per month ($1,350 per month) and averaging 41 days on the market. During March 2012 there were 623 homes (all types) leased in Austin compared to 710 leased in March 2011, which is a 12.25% decrease. In March 2012 the median leased price per square foot was $0.90 per square foot per month ($1,450/mo) and averaging 23 days on the market compared to $0.90 per square foot per month ($1,450/mo) and averaging 32 days on the market in March 2011, which shows a the lease price per square foot has remained the same and a 28.12% decrease in days on the market.

Source: The raw data in this report was provided by the Austin Board of REALTORS® but interpreted by Austin real estate expert and Austin luxury Realtor® Brian Talley of Regent Property Group. The information contained herein is subject to errors, omissions and changes without notice. Any information, statistics, analytics, recommendations or opinions provided in this report are subject to errors and/or omissions and are not in any way guaranteed as accurate or reliable by Brian Talley or by Regent Property Group LLC. Statistics in this report may be updated as more information is added or changed from the source of this information.