Rising mortgage rates due to the rate hikes implemented by the Federal Reserve have put the squeeze on home affordability for many American homebuyers, not to mention raising fears of an impending recession. The housing market in the United States really took off in the pandemic’s second year (2021), with high demand and homes flying off the shelves, leading to diminishing inventories and surges in home prices. With the recent increases in mortgage rates, many housing markets have showed reduced activity. Still, there are many housing markets that have continued to thrive.

Using monthly housing data from Redfin, we analyzed the 200 largest cities in the U.S. by population and determined which housing markets have experienced the biggest growth in…

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For the past two years, anyone who had a home to sell could get practically any asking price. Good shape or bad, in cities and in exurbs, seemingly everything on the market had a line of eager buyers.

Now, in the span of a few weeks, real estate agents have gone from managing bidding wars to watching properties sit without offers, and once-hot markets like Austin, Texas, and Boise, Idaho, are poised for big declines.

The culprit is rising mortgage rates, which have spiked to their highest levels since the 2008 housing crisis in response to the Federal Reserve’s recent efforts to tame inflation. The jump in borrowing costs, adding hundreds of dollars a month to the typical mortgage payment and coming on top of two years of home price…

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One of the country’s hottest ZIP codes for homebuyers is in one of the country’s hottest cities.

A new ranking from real estate platform Opendoor puts the 78641 ZIP code in Leander at No. 6 among the country’s 20 hottest ZIP codes for homebuyers.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Leander ranked second for population growth from July 2020 to July 2021 in cities with at least 50,000 residents. The Austin suburb saw its population grow by 10.1 percent during the one-year period, winding up at 67,124. 

Opendoor identified the top ZIP codes by analyzing data from local Multiple Listing Service programs where Opendoor operates. The ZIP codes were ranked by the total number of homes that went under contract within 90 days of listing in 2022.

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Situated in the southeast outskirts of Austin and with a population of less than 10,000, Bastrop provides a charming small-town feel without being too far removed from the city.

It has tons of appeal, and here are five of the top reasons you'll want to become a Bastrop resident:

Loads of outdoor fun
Bastrop sits on the banks of the Colorado River, making it the perfect spot to bird watch, kayak, camp, and even golf or zipline.

You can relax on the El Camino Real Paddling Trail and fish for Guadalupe bass and flathead catfish. Keep your eyes peeled for local wildlife sightings such as great blue herons, red-shouldered hawks, or kingfishers.

Bastrop State Park is comprised of 600 lush acres and is home to the famous lost pines. These trees…

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A Dallas-based real estate developer has partnered with the owners of a winery and resort north of Austin to add more than 1,000 Tuscan-style luxury homes on the 600-acre scenic property in the Hill Country.

Since August 2021, representatives for Hoque Global LLC said they've been marketing and selling one-acre to three-acre estate home lots at a "brisk pace" at the Vineyard at Florence, a neighborhood modeled after the Italian countryside. It will spring up about 45 miles north of Austin near the northernmost end of Williamson County.

In total, the company has plans for 1,000-plus additional lots on the property, which also includes the vineyard, as well as a boutique hotel and restaurant. The full build out of the hospitality and residential…

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Once again, the city of Austin's median home price has risen to a new record high.

According to the latest monthly report from the Austin Board of Realtors, the median price in the city limits soared to $667,000 in May 2022, representing an 18.1 percent increase from May 2021 and a significant jump from April 2022, when it hit $640,000. 

While the Austin-Round Rock metro area's median home price held steady in May ($550,000, the same figure as April 2022, ABoR reports), home prices in all five counties in the region continued to climb. Travis County recorded a median home price of $659,000, up more than 21 percent from a year ago.

But prices weren't the only thing on the rise. In a bit of good news, the Austin market saw active listings grow…

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LEANDER, Texas — In a real estate market with skyrocketing active listings, Leander’s 78641 ZIP code ranked as one of the “hottest” areas to call home.

Opendoor released a list Tuesday with the 20 “hottest ZIP codes” in the country in the first half of 2022. Leander ranked No. 6 in the list of 20 areas across the U.S.

The ranking used Multiple Listing Services data where Opendoor brokerages operate and ranked ZIP codes by the total number of homes in 2022 that went into contract within 90 days of listing, according to a release.

The top 10 ZIPs include:

  1. Clarksville, Tennessee: 37042
  2. Celebration, Florida: 34747
  3. Yukon, Oklahoma: 73099
  4. New Braunfels, Texas: 78130
  5. Loganville, Georgia: 30052
  6. Leander, Texas: 78641
  7. Katy,…

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Texas’ capital city saw an increase in homes for sale in May, with dollar volume increasing while the median price held steady.

The Austin-Round Rock area had enough inventory on the market to last 1.2 months, according to the monthly Central Texas Housing Market Report by the Austin Board of Realtors. The median sales price remained at the record-setting $550,000 it hit in April, a 19 percent increase over April 2021.

Active listings were way up — 146 percent higher than last year, to 4,173 — and new listings increased 18.8 percent over last year, to 5,231.

Area residential sales were on the downslide, declining 7 percent year over year to 3,633, but sales dollar volume for the month was $2.4 billion — 9 percent higher than in May 2021.…

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Active listings in Austin swelled by nearly 150% May 2021-2022 as the region begins to recover from the "dangerously low" housing inventory of the pandemic housing frenzy, according to the latest Austin Board of Realtors report.

For the first time since September 2020, the metro saw 1.2 months of available inventory, up from a critically low 0.4 months in early 2020. Still, median home prices continued their ascent and increased almost 20% year-over-year to tie April's record of $550,000.

While Austin's housing market has seen some signs of decline—residential home sales declined 6.7% year-over-year—available homes still spent 15 days on the market, a day less than May 2021. Texas A&M University research economist Adam Perdue said that while a…

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Rising home prices have made Austin one of the most equity-rich markets in the nation, according to a recent report. 

Of the 107 U.S. metros with populations greater than 500,000, Austin ranked No. 2 for equity-rich properties, according to Attom Data Solution's first-quarter 2022 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report. For Attom, equity rich means that the combined estimated amount of loan balances secured by a property was no more than 50% of the home’s estimated market value.

"Homeowners continue to benefit from rising home prices," stated Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence for Attom. "Record levels of home equity provide financial security for millions of families, and minimize the chance of another housing market…

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