2018 Austin Mid Year Market Update

Welcome to the second half of 2018! 

The Austin real estate market has been experiencing some new highs and just a few indicators of a possible shift. We have decided to take a new approach to interpreting the data. We are including the Austin Board of Realtors entire Press Release here. I will be adding my thoughts and commentary in BOLD Italic. 

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Austin Board of REALTORS® releases June & Midyear 2018 Central Texas Housing Market Report

AUSTIN, TX– Single-family home sales in the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) experienced strong and steady growth in the first half of this year but declined in June 2018, according to the June & Midyear 2018 Central Texas Housing Market Report released today by the Austin Board of REALTORS®. In the first half of the year, area home prices continued to increase and housing inventory levels slowly declined amidst strong housing demand.

“Despite a decline in home sales volume across Central Texas in June, 2018 is on track to be another record-setting year for the region’s housing market,” Steve Crorey, 2018 president of the Austin Board of REALTORS®, said. “Consecutive years of record-breaking sales activity have set the bar incredibly high, and it’s important to remember that we’re comparing June 2018 figures to that strong activity. The Central Texas housing market remains strong and continues to move at a demanding pace.”

The slow down in sales is purely Supply-driven. Fewer people are putting their homes on the market, so there are fewer sales. Buyer demand remains at a record high. 

Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)
In the five-county MSA, single-family home sales increased 3.7 percent year-over-year to 15,364 home sales, while the median home price increased 4.3 percent year-over-year to $313,000. The volume of homes on the market declined year-to-date, although pending sales activity increased during the same time frame. From January to June 2018, active listings fell 0.8 percent to 5,951 listings; new listings decreased 0.6 percent to 21,795 listings; and pending sales rose 4.8 percent to 17,008 sales. Sales dollar volume in the Austin-Round Rock MSA was $6,025,035,605—an 8.2 percent increase from the first six months of 2017.

In June 2018, single-family home sales activity declined 2.7 percent year-over-year to 3,299 sales. During the same period, the median price for a single-family home rose 4.9 percent year-over-year to $326,250. Monthly housing inventory decreased 0.1 months year-over-year to 2.9 months, well below the Real Estate Center of Texas A&M University’s benchmark of 6.0 months as a balanced housing market. While home sales decreased across the MSA in June, this is not indicative of a declining housing market, suggested Jim Gaines, chief economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

“The Central Texas housing market is among the top three in the country. The region’s population growth, particularly along the I-35 corridor, is fueled by diversified economic opportunities that bring jobs, new businesses, and resources across multiple industries,” he said. “Strong population growth and home sales activity are expected to continue in the Central Texas region for the rest of the year and into 2019.”

Our overall market is still experiencing contracted inventory and increased demand. Buyers are either paying more for homes or buying new construction homes further outside of the city. 

City of Austin
In the city of Austin, single-family home sales in the first half of the year edged upward 1.3 percent year-over-year to 4,757 sales and the median price for a single-family home increased 3 percent to $375,760. During the same period, active listings decreased 10.1 percent to 1,279 listings; new listings decreased 3.9 percent to 6,458 listings; and pending sales rose 2.7 percent to 5,248 sales.

City of Austin home sales have not experienced a year-over-year decrease in the month of June since 2013. Austin home sales decreased 4.5 percent to 988 home sales and median price dipped 0.4 percent to $388,000. Housing inventory also decreased 0.3 months to 2.1 months of inventory. However, homes spent six fewer days on the market in 2018 than the previous June, averaging 30 days on the market.

We are seeing a slight housing price correction in the City of Austin. Appraisers and banks are being more conservative to stave off a bubble. Median prices also could be going down slightly because there is even more activity below that price where there is more affordability as prices continue to rise. 

Travis County
In Travis County, single-family home sales increased 3.8 percent year-over-year to 7,675 home sales in the first half of the year. During the same time frame, the median price for single-family homes grew 3.6 percent to $362,500. Active listings decreased 6.1 percent to 2,796 listings; new listings decreased 1.2 percent to 10,977 listings; and pending sales increased 6 percent to 8,587 sales.

In June 2018, single-family home sales decreased 2 percent to 1,651 home sales, while median price increased 1.2 percent to $374,500. Monthly housing inventory decreased 0.2 months to 2.8 months of inventory.

Williamson County
In Williamson County, single-family home sales in the first half of 2018 increased 5.2 percent year-over-year to 5,333 home sales. During the same period, the median price for single-family homes increased 3.7 percent to $286,900. Active listings increased 5.2 percent to 2,033 listings; new listings decreased 0.8 percent to 7,303 listings; and pending sales rose 4.7 percent to 5,832 sales.

In June 2018, single-family homes sales dipped 1.7 percent year-over-year to 1,143 sales, while the median price rose 4.7 percent to $300,000. During the same time frame, housing inventory declined 0.1 months to 2.8 months of inventory.

Hays County
In the first half of 2018, Hays County single-family home sales rose 2.6 percent year-over-year to 1,721 home sales, while median price increased 3.3 percent year-over-year to $264,900. New listings increased 2.2 percent to 2,536 listings and active listings increased 1.9 percent year-over-year to 799 listings. During the same time frame, pending sales rose 4.4 percent to 1,907 sales.

In June 2018, single-family home sales decreased 7.1 percent year-over-year to 369 sales, while median price increased 7.5 percent year-over-year to $284,900. During the same time frame, housing inventory increased 0.1 months to 3.4 months of inventory.

With new listings increasing in Hays and Williamson County, more people are willing to sell and move up or move closer in with the higher values of their homes. This trend will continue with affordability continuing to be an issue within Austin City Limits. 

To find out what your home is worth in today's market or ask any related housing question, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at BIRDHOME---home@birdhome.com or call (512) 596-2035. 

Love It Or List It? A BIRDHOME Recap!

SHOULD I LOVE IT OR LIST IT?

We had the joy of participating in an amazing event last night with the incredible Amity Worrel & Co. that we just had to share with you! Over the past few month they have been putting on their Design 101 events to help share professional advice on interior design, architecture, and real estate amongst other things. We were ask to contribute to their Love It or List It event last night and it went so well that we decided we need to share some of the knowledge and advice from the event with you! So read our recap below and be sure to check out the three amazing ladies that we had the pleasure of speaking with last night: Amity Worrel, Dianne Kett, and Maureen Hodges. They are inspirations to us and we can't recommend them enough!

1. Make a list of what you love and what you don't love!

Even if you think you already know you want to renovate your house, its always good to go through and make a list of everything you love and don't love just to make sure you don't miss anything. And be sure to include things beyond just what is in the house itself, consider the neighborhood, neighbors, commute, and location as well! This will help you narrow down your list to the things you can change versus the things you can't and you can decide if you can just renovate or if you need to sell and something different.  

2. Talk to an interior designer and architect

Once you have your list of what you love and don't love you can talk to an interior designer and/or an architect to get their opinion on budget and feasibility. A good general rule is that if you are just changing the setup of a room its okay just to reach out to an interior designer, but once you start talking about moving walls, changes plumbing or electrical, or adding on the house you'll need the knowledge and expertise of an architect as well. And any good interior designer will help you find one that you can trust! So make sure to reach out to them early and often - they are always will to help and get you moving in the right direction.  

3. Decide - Love it or list it!

Now that you've talked to an interior designer and an architect its time to make that decision. Are you going to love it or are you going to list it.  Maybe the architect comes to you and tells you that you can't add a second story or there is a heritage oak preventing you from extending that porch. Or maybe the budget and time just doesn't work for you. Or perhaps everything lines up perfectly and you're ready to move forward with making your house into a dream home. Either way - you'll be confident that you've got all the information to make the right decision for you!

4. Run the numbers

Either way though, once you've decided on what you're going to do make sure to reach out to a trusted real estate professional. Because a good agent will help you run the numbers. As we tell people all the time, buying or selling your house is a business transaction so its important to treat it like one. We can provide a valuation of your house currently and then what it would be after you renovate. If you are going to sell, we can help you through the process to make sure you can get top market value for your house. So don't hesitate to reach out to us, we understand that while this can be a very emotional moment it is also a very important financial one as well. 

5. Think Like a Buyer

So once you've decided to sell and interviewed and hired your real estate agent its important that the goal of selling your house becomes the priority. And the best way to do this is to take it from being your home to becoming a house that someone else can turn into their home. We always recommend to our clients to run through our Seller's Checklist and start to think like a buyer. The easiest way to do this is to have a stager come in and make your house appeal to potential buyers, they can remove the emotion from the process of selling your house and make it so much easier for a buyer to imagine and dream of living there. This is such an important part of selling a house that we started our own staging company!

We hope this helped you as you consider remodeling or selling your house and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to reach out to us or the wonderful women that spoke (we'd be happy to connect you as well). And if you're interested in attending the next Design 101 class be sure to sign up to be on Amity's mailing list!

Why You Should Buy In The Fall

It's no secret that Austin is considered by just about every metric to be a strong seller's market right now. In our most recent market report we shared that for August there were 2.8 months of inventory within Austin and balanced market is considered to be 6.5 months of inventory. This just further confirms what we all know - it's great to be selling your home but it can be difficult if you are looking to buy. However if you are looking to buy hope is not lost, we've got a few tips that can help you get the house that you want for the price that you're looking for.  

Currently there 2,519 homes on the Market in Austin, with another 4,874 are listed for sale in the surrounding areas. That is 5% more homes on the market than there were last year. And 958 of them are new construction homes.  Within the last week, of those homes on the market, 404 have lowered their price, 49 homes fell out of contract and came back on the market and about 90 homes came off the market (either withdrawn or expired). This creates an environment that can benefit a smart buyer. 

Here are four reasons it can be better for you to be buying in the fall:

 

Less Competition

Most homes sell in the spring and summer months. Everyone clamors when new houses come on the market during those months and all that competition can make it harder get an offer accepted, or even submit an offer in the first place. This past spring we saw it was quite common that buyers had to submit an offer immediately after the house when to market if they wanted a realistic shot of getting the house. With less buyers crowding the playing feel you've got opportunity to really search for the home of your dreams without worrying it will get snatched up immediately.

Serious Sellers

 There are generally two types of sellers in the Fall, those who's homes went to market in the spring and summer and then sat until the fall or those who have to move out immediately, either because of jobs or family or something similar. This means that most sellers are seriously movtivated to sell. They aren't just testing the market or seeing what's out there, they need to sell and this is to the buyers advantage. 

Negotiating can be a little easier

Now can be a good time to make lower offers to see if the seller will accept them. The average sale in Austin goes for 98% of the asking price. Based on a median sales price of $289,990, that’s an average of about $6,000 of the seller’s asking price.If you can negotiate the seller’s another 1-2% off of that, that translates into a savings of about another $3,000 to $6,000.

Sellers who have been on the market for awhile are more ready to deal    

Of the 2600+ homes in Austin currently on the market, the average days they’ve been on the market is 88. This is double the normal average days on market of 40.  It’s a great time to negotiate for that dream home or that smart investment property purchase.

We hope this post has shed some light on some of the advantages that buyer's have in the fall. Be sure let us know if we can help you out with your home search or if you want to talk about any of the topics we've talked about in this blog.