Austin, Texas Real Estate Market Update and Statistics January 2012

More good news for Austin! Austin is proving to be a resilient player in overall market viability and sustainability, as evidenced by recent accolades. The Austin area was recognized as the number one performing metropolitan area in the United States during 2010, which bodes well for the future of the city, and the Milken Institute recognized Austin as the fourth best-performing city in the nation, thanks to a combination of factors, including jobs, wages, and technology performance.  

Specific to Austin real estate, the city’s single-family housing market showed solid improvement during 2011 over 2010 with an 8.5% increase in the number of single-family homes sold and a 1.4% increase in the median sold price. Austin showed even better statistics during December 2011 compared to December 2010 with an 8.7% increase in the median sold price, 13.5% decrease in the time it took to sell, and a 9.6% increase in homes pending sale. When comparing the year 2011 with the year 2007 – just before the recession took a hit on the housing market in Austin – sold prices were up 5.3%, with the number of homes sold down 19.7% in 2011 compared to 2007. In other words, prices and sales volume are improving year-over-year (2010 to 2011) in Austin while the number of homes sold is still quite a bit lower than the peak of the market in 2007.

Job growth has contributed to the improving market in Austin and will continue to be the critical component to the future of the Austin housing market. The Austin unemployment rate (Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos) during November 2011 showed a significant decrease from the previous year at 6.6% compared to 7.1% in November 2010. Furthermore, there are 12,900 more people employed in November 2011 compared to November 2010.

Market Snapshot

(Summary for the year 2011 compared to the year 2010)
– 8.5% increase in the number of single-family homes sold
– 1.43% increase in median sold price (total dollars)
– .41% decrease in the median single-family sold price per square foot
– 6% increase in the time it is taking to sell a home

(December 2011 compared to December 2010)
– 7.3% increase in the number of single-family homes sold
– 3.9% increase in median single-family sold price per square foot
– 8.7% increase in median sold price (total dollars)
– 13.5% decrease in the time it is taking to sell a home
– 9.6% increase in the number of homes pending sale
– 37.8% decrease in withdrawals
– 23% decrease in homes available for lease
– 10.6% increase in leased prices per month
– 31.1% decrease in the time it is taking to lease a home

Austin housing summary for 2011 compared to 2010 and 2007:
During 2011, there were 8,693 single-family homes sold within the Austin city limits with a median sold price of $119.51 per square foot (248,500) and averaging 71 days on the market. During 2010, there were 8,011 homes sold with a median sold price of $120 per square foot ($245,000), and averaging 67 days on the market. During 2007, there were 10,831 homes sold with a median sold price of $120.03 per square foot ($236,000), and averaging 47 days on the market.
 
Austin Real Estate Market Summary for December 2011:
Sold: As of 1/10/12, there were 665 homes sold in Austin, Texas during December 2011 compared to 619 during the same period of time in 2010 (7.3% increase). Overall home prices (total dollars) have increased 8.7%, and home prices per square foot have increased 3.9% during December 2011 compared to December 2010, with a median sold price of $120.73 per square foot ($250,000) in December 2011 compared to $116.02 per square foot ($230,000) in December 2010. In December 2011, these sold homes averaged 77 days on the market, compared to 89 days on the market in December 2010, which shows there was a 13.5% decrease in the time it is taking to sell a home this December 2011 compared to last December 2010.
Active: There are 2,156 single-family homes actively for sale within the city limits of Austin, Texas as of 1/10/12, averaging 123 days on the market, with a median list price of $133.51 per square foot ($299,999). This is a 28% decrease in the number of homes for sale last year on 1/6/12, when there were 2,993 single-family homes for sale.
Pending Sale: There are 773 houses pending sale in Austin as of 1/10/12, which is a 9.6% increase from a year ago on 1/6/11, when there were 705 houses pending sale. These 773 homes average 78 days on the market with a median price of $119.78 per square foot ($230,000), which is a list price per square foot that is 0.80% less than the median sold price per square foot in Austin during December 2011.
Withdrawn: There were 222 single-family homes withdrawn from the Austin Texas real estate market during December 2011 compared to 357 homes during the same period of time during December 2010, which is a 37.8% decrease in withdrawals. The homes withdrawn in December 2011 averaged 125 days on the market and were listed for sale with a median price of $141.05 per square foot ($318,250). This compares to an average of 131 days on the market with a median price of $133.31 per square foot ($283,400) for homes withdrawn from the market during December 2010.
Leases: As of 1/10/12 there are 763 homes (all types) for lease within the City of Austin with a median lease price of $.97 per square foot per month ($1,400 per month) and averaging 39 days on the market. This is 23% less homes for lease compared to the 995 homes for lease last year on 1/6/11. During December 2011 there were 579 homes (all types) leased in Austin compared to 713 during December 2010, which is an 18.8% decrease in the number of homes leased. In December 2011 the median leased price per square foot was $0.89 per square foot per month ($1,300/mo) and averaging 31 days on the market compared to $0.81 per square foot per month ($1,175/mo) and averaging 45 days on the market in December 2010, which shows a 10.6% increase in the lease prices per month and a 31.1% 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 home search 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.