According to the Austin Board of REALTORS® October 2022 Central Texas Housing Market Report, median home prices across the MSA continued their recent trend of more stable and sustainable appreciation even while hitting $474,900—a record for the month of October. The data indicates the continued return to normal activity, with inventory also rising to 3.2 months of inventory, half the amount of housing inventory needed for a market to be considered balanced.

“Austin’s housing market is still growing, just at a different pace,” Cord Shiflet, 2022 ABoR president, said. “We’re entering the time of year that is historically a quieter time for home sales. With more available inventory than our area has seen in a decade and price growth stabilizing, buyers have more options today than ever before. Now is the time for homebuyers to sit down with their REALTOR® and walk through all possible financing and down payment options.”

Last month, sales dollar volume fell by 24.6% to $1,346,229,031 as new listings declined 13.1% to 3,255 listings across the MSA. The median price increased by only 4.9% to $474,990—setting a median price record for the month of October. Pending listings dropped by 40.0% to 2,141 listings and available inventory increased by 2.2 months to 3.2 months of inventory. Homes spent an average of 47 days on market, up 26 days from October 2021.

Dr. Jim Gaines, an economist at the Texas Real Estate Research Center, stated that the normalization of the Austin housing market was to be expected and is a similar trend happening across the nation.

“The 2021 housing market numbers we saw were an anomaly compared to previous years, so anything different from those numbers can appear significant. Homes that are coming on the market are not staying active for long, but they are also not flying off the shelves or going into a bidding war like they used to. That previous, hectic pace of home sales has stopped.”

Gaines added that Texas, specifically the Central Texas region, is well-positioned to weather any potential economic downturn.

“The desire to live in Central Texas remains high compared to other metropolitan areas in the state. The continued creation of jobs and influx of people moving to Austin coupled with companies relocating to the region place Austin in a unique position to weather any potential downturn.”

Shiflet explained the additional ways a REALTOR® can help Central Texas home sellers sell their homes with confidence.

“From a seller’s perspective, we’re looking at a longer timeline to sell a home and more competition. This is where a REALTOR® will help develop a strong and tailored marketing strategy to make your home stand out. Through ABoR’s MLS, they have real-time access to the most complete housing market data for our area and can give up-to-the-minute data on home sales and price trends for your neighborhood, so that you can be confident you’re pricing your home competitively.”


Read the full original article here.