July 2018 Market Report - Single-family home sales experience double-digit growth

Summer is over and the market has started to enter it's cooling off period. School is starting, Football season is right around the corner and Austin is in need of a much needed break from the heat. The same goes for the Hotter than Hot real estate market that reached new highs for the month of July. 

Here is a quick snapshot of what happened in July 2018:

The Median home price for Central Austin (which includes the entire 5 county MSA) is $320,000, up 6% year over year. The volume of sales has also increased by 9%, up to 3,103 homes sold in July. The average days on market (44) and the total supply of homes (2.9 months of inventory) has stayed somewhat flat. However, with fewer homes coming on the market than last year and more homes selling, our market is continuing to tighten up with demand far exceeding supply. 

Here is the Press Release from the Austin Board of Realtors with the rest of the market update for July 2018. 

AUSTIN, TX– Strong homebuying activity throughout the summer led to double-digit home sales growth in July, according to the July 2018 Central Texas Housing Market Report released today by the Austin Board of REALTORS®. The five-county Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) experienced the highest volume of home sales since July 2011, and the highest median home price on record for any month.

“Strong pending sales activity in June contributed to a big uptick in home sales growth last month, and pending sales growth was strong again in July, too,” Steve Crorey, 2018 president of the Austin Board of REALTORS®, said. “This means we could see another uptick in home sales growth in August to end the summer selling season on a high note.”

In the city of Austin, single-family home sales experienced a double-digit increase of 13.5 percent year over year to 952 sales, while sales dollar volume increased 19.8 percent to $451,315,853 in July.

Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)
In the Austin-Round Rock MSA, July single-family home sales increased 8.8 percent year over year to 3,103 sales, while sales dollar volume increased 13.7 percent to $1,254,255,680. The median home price increased six percent year over year to a record-breaking $320,000.

For the second month in a row, pending sales growth experienced strong gains across the MSA, increasing 8.3 percent year over year to 3,201 pending sales in June and 10.8 percent to 3,065 pending sales in July. However, the number of homes on the market fell during the same time frame. In July, active listings for the five-county MSA fell 2.7 percent to 7,522 listings and new listings decreased 1.2 percent to 3,738 listings.

“Housing construction is at an all-time high in Central Texas, but the pace of new housing stock entering the market can’t justify last month’s jump in sales growth on its own. These gains in home sales activity are being driven by pure demand,” Vaike O’Grady, Austin regional director for Metrostudy, said.

“Home sales are up across the board in the Austin area, but declines in housing inventory are almost just as steep. The city of Austin, in particular, lost almost half a month of inventory from July 2017 to July 2018. That's a lot of inventory to lose year over year,” Crorey said. “ABoR housing market data underscores not only the ongoing strong housing demand in our region, but the critical need for more housing stock at all price points in and around Austin.”

City of Austin

In the city of Austin, the July median price for a single-family home increased six percent year over year to $390,000. During the same time frame, new listings decreased seven percent to 1,066 listings; active listings decreased 13.8 percent to 1,675 listings; and pending sales rose 11.6 percent to 904 sales. Monthly housing inventory decreased 0.4 months to 2.1 months, well below the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University’s benchmark of 6.0 months as a balanced housing market.

Travis County

In Travis County, July single-family home sales increased 15.7 percent year over year to 1,594 home sales, while sales dollar volume increased 17.5 percent to $769,540,765. The median price for single-family homes grew 4.5 percent to $375,000. During the same period, new listings remained relatively flat, with a 0.3 percent increase to 1,854 listings. Active listings decreased 7.8 percent to 3,543 listings, while pending sales jumped 12.3 percent to 1,503 sales. Monthly housing inventory decreased 0.3 months year over year to 2.8 months of inventory.

Williamson County

In Williamson County, July single-family home sales increased 5.7 percent year over year to 1,054 home sales, while sales dollar volume increased 7.7 percent to $326,159,581. During the same period, the median price for single-family homes increased 2.1 percent to $280,734. New listings decreased 6.5 percent to 1,204 listings; active listings decreased 2.1 percent to 2,497 listings; and pending sales rose 10.6 percent to 1,055 pending sales. Housing inventory decreased 0.2 months year over year to 2.8 months of inventory.

Hays County

In July 2018, Hays County single-family home sales rose 2.7 percent to 347 sales, while sales dollar volume slightly decreased, with a 0.6 percent decrease to $113,218,199. Median price decreased three percent year over year to $265,000. During the same time frame, new listings remained relatively flat, with a 0.2 percent increase to 478 listings; active listings increased 5.9 percent to 1,045 listings; and pending sales rose 6.1 percent to 366 sales. Housing inventory increased 0.1 months to 3.6 months of inventory.