Luxe Austin Homes - October, 2022

"Why is the real estate boom in Austin slowing down?"

KVUE Austin reports, "more than two years ago now, 2020 saw what many real estate agents and developers called a gold rush in Austin, with homes being sold in a matter of hours. Now, the market appears to be slowing down.

"It's brought a lot of people here and it was just a perfect storm," said Chester Wilson, one of the owners of Greater Austin Builders.

Two years ago, many set their sights on Austin.

"Gold rush is a perfect term for it. I've been doing this for 25 years. It was unlike anything we've ever seen," said Cord Shiflet, the president of the Austin Board of Realtors.

However, Shiflet said Austin's real estate boom isn't going anywhere but that it's just slowing down.

He noted that rather than…

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"Decline in U.S. Pending Home Sales Gathers Steam in September"

Realtor.com writes, "the numbers: U.S. pending-home sales fell 10.2% in September, which is the fourth straight monthly drop, according to the monthly index released Friday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

The decline was much larger that forecast. Analysts polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast the pending home sales index to drop by 4%.

Outside of the pandemic, the drop in pending home sales is the largest year-over-year decline since 2001. Sales dropped by 33.1% in April 2020.

Contract signings fell by double-digits in all regions across the country.

Pending home sales reflect transactions where the contract has been signed for an existing-home sale, but the sale has not yet closed.

Economists view it as an…

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"Wildhorse Ranch to expand near Manor"

Austin Business Journal writes, "another undeveloped chunk of land has taken a step toward becoming single-family homes in Northeast Austin.

During the Oct. 25 meeting of the Austin Planning Commission, the preliminary plan for Pinnacle at Wildhorse Ranch gained approval to divide 60 acres into 57 lots within the city’s Gilleland Creek watershed.

The approval represents an expansion to Wildhorse Ranch that has risen on 1,450 acres next to the newly requested expansion.

The development is a product of Austin-based Dwyer Realty Companies, led by longtime developer Pete Dwyer, and the request and the preliminary plan were presented to the commission by Kevin Burks, a civil engineer at the design consulting firm Kimley-Horn.

Dwyer Realty did…

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"15 Austin ZIP codes now dominated by renters not homeowners"

Austin Business Journal writes, "if you live in either the 78727 or 78744 ZIP code, odds are you’re renting.

That's according to an Oct. 24 study from RentCafe, which found that from 2010 to 2020, those two ZIPs transitioned from having a majority of homeowners to a majority of renters. There are now 15 ZIP codes in the Austin area with renting majorities, signifying how the evolution of Austin into a big city is changing its economic makeup.

North Austin’s 78727, which eats up a large part of town north of The Domain neighborhood, had a population consisting of about 51% renters in 2020. Its 2020 renter population of 16,285 was a 21% jump from the 13,413 who called the ZIP code home in 2011, RentCafe found. The rental search platform used data…

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"Mortgage Bankers Expect Rates To Drop to 5.4% in 2023. Here’s What That Means for Home Prices."

Realtor.com reports, "high mortgage rates and recession fears are hurting home prices, so expect growth to be flat this year, one expert says.

“Our forecast is for home-price growth moderation to continue,” Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association, said Sunday during the organization’s annual conference in Nashville, Tenn.

Home prices have already begun moderating. According to Case-Shiller, home prices fell month-over-month from June to July for the first time in 20 years. The latest numbers, which will be for August, will be reported on Tuesday morning.

With a recession likely in the cards, on top of mortgage rates near or above 7%, “we’ve already seen a pretty dramatic pullback in housing…

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"New 43-story tower breaks ground in Austin's Rainey Street district"

Austin American-Statesman reports, "a 43-story apartment tower is the latest high-rise to start construction in the booming Rainey Street area in downtown Austin.

High Street Residential, along with MSD Partners and River Street Partners, said started construction has bgun on the tower, which will rise 500 feet at River and Rainey streets on downtown's southeastern edge. It will have 377 upscale apartments, ranging from studios to three-bedroom units and penthouses.

Called 700 River (initially River Street Residences), the tower will include 3,400 square feet of retail space and more than 30,000 square feet of amenity space, according to the developers. The high-rise is due to be completed in late 2024.

The project is part of wave of growth…

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"Austin's economy among fastest-growing in the U.S., new report finds"

Austin American-Statesman writes, "Austin's boom is far from over, as a new report says the metro area has the second-fastest-growing economy in the country.

Austin's estimated regional gross domestic product — the total value of goods and services produced in one year — increased by 4.3% this year, second only to San Francisco's growth at 4.8%, according to the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at the University of North Carolina.

The report is the institute's first as a part of its American Growth Project, which aims to provide "up-to-the-minute" economic data for the microeconomies of towns, cities and counties across the country.

Hoping to help government officials and community leaders understand real-time industry trends, forecasts…

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"Austin homebuyers regain power as active listings reach decade-plus high"

Austin Business Journal reports, "there's more evidence that Austin's housing market is correcting itself after years of overheating.

The Austin Board of Realtors'latest housing market datafound that September saw 9,671 active listings on the market — the most since 9,909 in July 2011 — and total inventory hit 3.1 months for the first time since July 2017. Median home sales prices also dropped more than $25,000 from August, helping the city push back on what's widely considered the biggest threat to the economy: affordability.

Though 3.1 months of inventory isn’t enough to transform Austin into a buyer’s market, there are winds of change.

“Homebuyers have not had this much leverage and this many options in over a decade,” ABOR President Cord…

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"In September, the Austin area saw the highest number of active home listings since 2011"

KVUE AUSTIN, Texas — "Prospective homebuyers can start breathing a little easier, according to new data from the Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR).

ABoR reports that, in September, home sales declined 18.5% to 2,992 closed listings as active listings were up 162.4% to 9,671 listings. That's the highest number of active listings in the area since July 2011, according to ABoR.

"Homebuyers have not had this much leverage and this many options in over a decade," said Cord Shiflet, 2022 ABoR president. "We’re still in a seller’s market, but as homes take longer to sell and are being bought for less than the original list price on average, and with inventory steadily increasing, right now is a great time to be a homebuyer in Central…

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"This Fall’s Latest Housing Stats Are Hiding a Surprising Upside for Homebuyers"

Realtor.com writes that, "Although the fall season is traditionally the best time of year to buy a house, homebuyers out there right now might not feel that way—and for good reason.

We looked at the latest real estate statistics in our column “How’s the Housing Market This Week?” We found that this year’s seasonal high point for buyers is up against some strong headwinds—including skyrocketing interest rates, soaring inflation, and overall economic volatility not seen since the Great Recession in 2008.

“Early fall is usually the best time to buy,” says Realtor.com® economist Jiayi Xu in her analysis, adding that the most optimal window of opportunity for homebuyers nationwide just passed last week.

However, she continues, “as inflation…

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