Austin Unemployment and Austin Real Estate Report July 2008

Austin Realtor Market Report: Unemployment is increasing slightly, home sales are flat, and Austin Texas Real Estate has seen slight price reductions in certain market sectors, but with a continued overall price increases city wide. 

As we wrap up the summer and slowly move toward our fall and winter seasons, sales volume should slow further due to the seasonal change.  The Austin real estate market will most likely stay flat for the remainder of the year compared to 2007.  There is however continued demand for homes in Austin, especially if your home is in good condition and priced aggressively compared to the competition.  If you want to sell, my suggestion is to be highly competitive on the sale and aggressive on your purchase elsewhere.  This way you get the benefit of the strong price gains over the last several years on the sale and you take advantage of the opportunity to find a good deal on the purchase.  

July 2008 unemployment statistics show that the Austin Texas unemployment rate increased from 4.2% in June 2008 to 4.4% in July 2008, which represents an increase of 2,400 unemployed people in Austin between June and July 2008.  Unemployment in Austin has increased by 6,700 between May and July 2008.   When comparing July 2008 to July 2007, July 2007 was better with 4,900 more people employed.  Austin’s unemployment rate continues to beat the overall State of Texas and U.S. unemployment rates.  Austin’s unemployment rate is .6% better than the State of Texas with a 4.4% rate compared to the States’ rate of 5%.  The U.S. unemployment rate is 6%, which makes Austin’s unemployment rate better by 1.6%. 

The median sold price for homes in Austin has actually increased by 2.3% from $119.82 or $236,500 in 2007 to $122.69 or $240,000 in 2008.  While overall prices have increased in 2008 compared to 2007, some market sectors have actually seen price decreases.  For example, home prices decreased by 2.4% for homes sold with a price between $250,000 and $500,000 when comparing July 2007 to July 2008.  The overall rise in prices has been overshadowed by a 23% reduction in the number of homes sold so far this year compared to the same time period during 2007.  So far through August 15th of this year, 5,685 houses have been sold with a median price of $122.69 per square foot or $240,000, which is 23% less houmes sold in 2008 than the 7,389 that sold during the same time in 2007. 

*Raw data provide by the Austin Board of Realtors and interpreted by Brian Talley of Regent Property Group.