According to the December 2021 and Year-End Central Texas Housing Market Report  released by the Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABoR), more homes were sold in the Austin-Round Rock MSA in 2021 than ever before, with residential home sales rising 2.5% year over year to 41,316 homes sold last year.

“In 2021, we lived through the most exciting, complicated, fast-paced and record-setting housing market in Austin’s history,” Cord Shiflet, 2022 ABoR president, said. “I’m extremely proud of every REALTOR® who worked so hard on behalf of their clients, helping them navigate such an unprecedented market — not an easy thing to accomplish. With all the new jobs across the region from exciting companies like Tesla and Samsung, Austin was put on the world’s stage and captured the hearts and attention of so many. We are lucky to call Austin our home when it has so much to offer from a great quality of life to a wonderful destination for innovation and opportunity.”

In addition to an annual record for closed sales, the median price for a home across the MSA set a record in 2021, rising 30.8% over 2020 to $450,000. Sales dollar volume jumped 32.6% to yield a $23,374,102,226 impact on the Austin-area economy in 2021. More homes hit the market in 2021 than ever before, with new listings increasing 5.9% to 46,449 homes and pending listings rising 1.1% to 42,592 homes.

Despite a healthy growth in listing activity last year, the average number of active listings on the market dropped 48.2% to 2,348 homes in 2021. Homes spent an average of 20 days on the market, 25 days fewer or 55.6% less than in 2020, and the five-county MSA ended the year with 0.6 months of housing inventory, unchanged from December 2020.

“As we look back on the record-setting year, the numbers show that while the number of homes on the market at any given time is much smaller, there are still more homes being built and sold across our area than ever before,” Shiflet said. “There are still great opportunities to find your next home. Folks interested in buying should consider looking at making a move ahead of presumed increases in interest rates and home prices this year. Our REALTORs® have a sworn obligation to help buyers find the right home for their budget and can guide them through every step of the homebuying process. Markets like this one are where you need a REALTOR® more than ever and we’re here to help.”

Mark Sprague, state director of information capital at Independence Title, reinforced that housing records were set due to high demand combined with limited supply, and provided a glimpse into what to expect in the coming year.

“In 2021, the record number of homes sold were demand-driven transactions and that demand was influenced greatly by companies continuing to target the region for job creation and expansion. Even though more homes are being built, listed and sold than ever before, our region is still nowhere close to having a comfortable amount of supply to meet the demand, which is why home prices continue to rise steadily.”

When looking ahead to 2022, Sprague identified a lack of inventory and supply chain disruptions as variables that could impact Austin’s housing market.

“Lack of inventory and global supply chain issues may lead to a 5-7% decline in closed sales across the region in 2022, but rising home values will ensure the housing market’s economic impact remains steady. In short, 2022 will see a robust market for home sales and property values, but the region must do more to address inventory.”

With 2022 being an election year, Shiflet emphasized the importance of local leaders prioritizing housing.

“Affordable homes at all price points continue to be a challenge in our market. This is something we’re all working to address. As we move closer to the election, ABoR encourages candidates for our local offices to put housing policies designed around streamlining the development process at the top of their list. It’s important that everyone who wants to own a home be able to find, afford and enjoy something regardless of their budget.”

In December 2021, closed listings across the MSA declined 4.6% to 3,513 year-over-year as sales dollar volume increased 19.1% to $2,126,920,422. Median price set a record for the month of December across the MSA, rising 30.6% to $476,700. New listings declined 10.6% to 2,170, active listings rose 5.0% to 2,042, and pending sales dropped 11.3% in December to 2,654. Last month, homes spent an average of 25 days on the market, 12 fewer compared to December 2020. 

Complete original article can be found on the ABoR website here.