AUSTIN-ROUND ROCK MSA HOUSING MARKET CONTINUES TO BALANCE, OUTPERFORM NATIONAL TRENDS

Market is withstanding broader economic conditions

The Austin-Round Rock MSA housing market is outperforming national trends while continuing to balance, according to the Austin Board of REALTORS® April 2023 Central Texas Housing Market Report. The most recent National Association of REALTORS® data (March 2023) found that home sales declined 22.7% nationally while in Central Texas, they declined 14%, demonstrating the resilience of the region’s economy.

“For several months, the Austin-area housing market has been balancing as REALTORS® continue to help clients on both sides of the transaction navigate this market effectively,” Ashley Jackson, 2023 ABoR president, said. “This is still a market that is seeing lots of activity, just not at a record-setting pace, and that is to be expected given broader economic trends. Home prices are moderating, pending sales are holding strong and homes on the market last month are selling closer to list price. These are all signs of a market that is still balancing and doing so in a healthy way.”

Last month, Austin-Round Rock housing inventory increased by 2.4 months to 3.2 months of inventory, and homes spent an average of 71 days on the market, up 53 days from April 2022. The median home price fell 15.1% to $466,705 while residential home sales also declined 18.8% year-over-year to 2,611 closed sales and sales dollar volume dropped 29.3% to $1,545,088,361. New listings declined 10.6% year-over-year to 4,115 listings while pending sales rose 0.2% to 3,267 transactions.

Dr. Clare Losey, housing economist for ABoR, provided an analysis of how economic factors are impacting the housing market.

“Inflation, the near doubling of mortgage rates, fear of a recession, and, most recently, stress in the banking
system have all contributed to declines in home prices nationally. In Austin, robust job and population growth have mitigated these effects on homebuyer demand, favorably indicating that our region’s economy and housing market continue to outperform national economic trends. Austin remains resilient and able to withstand broader economic turbulence more effectively.”