Austin, Texas Real Estate Market Update and Statistics May 2012

Continued good news for the Austin residential real estate market! The Austin real estate market for housing continues to thrive, with solid increases in the number of homes sold and sold prices year-to-date. Inventory levels continue to fall, and it is taking buyers much less time to get their homes sold compared to last year. The rental market has extremely low inventory with actively rising rental rates, which is making it even more attractive to purchase a home in Austin. Although there is a relatively small inventory of homes for sale in Austin, low interest rates and a slow and steady rise in prices are allowing for good conditions to buy a home here. Forbes just named Austin the fastest growing city in the U.S. for the second year in a row so we anticipate continued downward pressure on housing supply and upward pressure on prices and rent. As such, it is a good time to take advantage of reasonable prices and low interest rates, which likely will increase steadily in the years to come.

Market Snapshot (Year-to-date compared to same time period during the year 2011)

• 5.46% increase in homes sold
• 6.18% increase in sold prices (total dollars)
• 4.18% increase in sold prices (per square foot)
• 22.5% decrease in days on market

April 2012 compared to April 2011

• 33.8% decrease in homes actively for sale compared to 5/09/11
• 34.23% increase in homes pending sale compared to 5/09/11
• 4.8% increase in the number of single-family homes sold
• 3.05% increase in median single-family sold price per square foot
• 9.18% increase in median sold price (total dollars)
• 32% decrease in the time it is taking to sell a home
• 18.81% decrease in number of homes for lease compared to 5/09/11
• 8.35% decrease in the number of homes leased
• Lease price per square foot remains the same
• 7.7% decrease in the time it is taking to lease a home 

Between January 1st and May 7, 2012 there were 2,762 single-family homes sold within the Austin city limits, with a median sold price of $122.20 per square foot ($250,000) and averaging 62 days on the market. During the same time period in 2011, there were 2,619 homes sold with a median sold price of $117.30 per square foot ($235,500) and averaging 80 days on the market. This is a 5.46% increase in the number of homes sold, a 4.18% increase in the median sold price per square foot, a 6.18% increase in sold prices (total dollars), and a 22.5% decrease in the days on market compared to the same time period in 2011.

Interest rates are very low, averaging 3.84% for a 30-year conventional loan today with 0.8 fees/points down per freddiemac.com. The Austin unemployment rate (Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos) during March 2012 showed a slight increase from the previous month at 6.1% in February 2012 compared to 6.0% in March 2012. Meanwhile, lease inventory continues to fall in Austin, and lease prices are increasing.

Austin Real Estate Market Summary for May 2012:

Sold: As of 05/07/2012, there were 827 homes sold in Austin, Texas during April 2012, compared to 789 during the same period of time in 2011 (4.8% increase). Overall home prices (per square foot) have increased 3.05%, and the total dollar sales prices have increased by 9.18% during April 2012, compared to April 2011, with a median sold price of $124.90 per square foot ($267,500) in April 2012 compared to $121.20 per square foot ($245,000) in April 2011. In April 2012, these sold homes have averaged 49 days on the market, compared to 72 days on the market in April 2011, which shows there was 32% decrease in the time it is taking to sell a home this April 2012 compared to last April 2011.

Active: There are 2,493 single-family homes actively for sale within the city limits of Austin Texas as of 5/07/12, averaging 88 days on the market with a median list price of $145.50 per square foot ($376,873). This is a 1.46% increase from the 2,457 single-family homes for sale last month on 4/09/12 and a 33.8% decrease in homes actively for sale from the 3,766 single-family homes that were actively for sale within the city limits of Austin Texas on 5/09/11.

Pending Sale: There are 1,753 houses pending sale in Austin as of 5/07/12, averaging 49 days on the market with a median price of $127.70 per square foot ($269,900). This is a 16.1% increase from the 1,510 single-family homes pending sale last month on 4/09/12 and a 34.23% increase from the 1,306 homes that were pending sale on 5/09/11.

Withdrawn: There were 140 single-family homes withdrawn from the Austin Texas real estate market during April 2012 compared to 198 homes during the same period of time during April 2011, which is a 29.3% decrease in withdrawals. The homes withdrawn in April 2012 averaged 108 days on the market and were listed for sale with a median price of $145.30 per square foot ($346,250). This compares to an average of 113 days on the market with a median price of $134.40 per square foot ($286,000) for homes withdrawn from the market during
April 2011.

Austin Leases: As of 5/07/12, there are 712 homes (all types) for lease within the City of Austin, with a median lease price of $1.10 per square foot per month ($1,750 per month) and averaging 27 days on the market. This compares to 5/09/11 when there were 877 homes (all types) for lease within the City of Austin with a median lease price of $1.00 per square foot per month ($1,400 per month) and averaging 37 days on the market. During April 2012, there were 626 homes (all types) leased in Austin, compared to 683 leased in April 2011, which is an 8.35% decrease. In April 2012, the median leased price per square foot was $0.90 per square foot per month ($1,500/mo) and averaging 24 days on the market, compared to $0.90 per square foot per month ($1,425/mo) and averaging 26 days on the market in April 2011, which shows the lease price per square foot has remained the same and a 7.7% 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.