Austin housing market optimism 'continues to grow,' ABoR says

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Both sellers and buyers are seeing "more opportunity" in the Austin housing market, according to the latest monthly market report from the Austin Board of Realtors.

Almost 9,000 homes were actively listed for sale in May, according to the ABoR report, equal to about 3.4 months of inventory.

"Last month’s housing market activity demonstrates not only a stable market, but one where optimism for the months ahead continues to grow," said ABoR President Ashley Jackson.

The median price for homes sold in May was $467,500 across the Austin metro, a decline of 15% year-over-year. Homes are taking longer to sell compared to this time last year, but the average number of days on the market has dipped since a peak in February.

Homes sold in May spent an average of 65 days on the market, down from 84 in February, but up significantly from 15 days in May 2022. A total of 3,411 sales closed last month.

"Nationally, from May 2022 to May 2023, homebuyers' purchasing power declined by an estimated 8% to 9% due to the rise in mortgage rates," said Dr. Clare Losey, housing economist for ABoR. "However, in Austin, the moderation in home prices has helped to mitigate the decline in purchasing power. In fact, from May 2022 to May 2023, the monthly mortgage payment declined an estimated 3% to 4%."

Home prices across the metro have dropped from record highs a year ago. Since last May, the median sales price within Austin city limits fell from $667,000 to $550,000, a 17.5% decrease.

In the same timeframe, median prices have dropped 18.5% in Travis County as a whole, 14.9% in Hays County, 13.6% in Williamson County, 9.6% in Caldwell County and 7.7% in Bastrop County.

Prices are still higher than pre-pandemic, though. ABoR reports May's median price across the metro was up 44% relative to pre-pandemic levels.

"Last month, homes sold for 94% of their original list price," Losey said. "The continued uptick in that figure demonstrates that sellers are pricing their homes more accurately and buyers are more responsive to those prices than in the earlier part of 2023."