Luxe Austin Homes - February, 2023

"Report shows Southwest Austin home prices down, inventory up"

Community Impact shares, "the latest Austin Board of Realtors report shows home prices are down and inventory is up in Southwest Austin compared to this time last year.

For the month of January, the median home price in Southwest Austin was $537,450, down from $587,100 in January 2022.

Southwest Austin is not alone with this downward trend, as median home prices throughout Austin decreased 6.3% to $450,000 in January 2023. This is the largest drop since July 2011, according to the ABoR report.

While prices are dropping, inventory is going up in the area, according to the report. In January 2023, there were two months of inventory compared to January 2022 when there were 0.4 months of inventory, the report shows.

"January's data demonstrates the…

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"Austin retires into 19th best spot in the country to put away your work boots"

CultureMap Austin reports, "if 2023 is your year to relocate for a new life in retirement, or you’re a future retiree looking for that next move, Texas should be on your search list. Rental marketplace Zumper analyzed data from 100 cities nationwide to find the best American cities to retire, ranking Austin at No. 19.

In their latest report, Zumper looked at housing affordability, transportation, satisfaction of renters aged 45 and older, and other metrics to determine the cities in which current and prospective retirees would find the best benefits.

Texas was great overall for retirees based on the lack of state income tax and state-level taxes on Social Security. Good news for those who'd like to stay in Central Texas: San Antonio ranked No. 6…

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"Cash is still king in the housing market. It could become even more important."

Austin Business Journal writes, "increasingly, if you want to buy a home in America, you need to bring cash to the table.

Nationwide, all-cash purchases accounted for about 36.1% of total home sales in 2022. That’s the highest rate since 2013, according to ATTOM Data Solutions. In 2011 and 2012, coming off the Great Recession, cash sales were about 38.5%.

It's also up from 34.4% in 2021 and just 22.7% in 2020. And it’s likely to keep increasing, according to Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence at ATTOM.

“Cash buyers — many, but not all of whom are investors — are in a position of competitive advantage in today’s higher interest rate environment and will continue to account for a higher-than-usual share of market at…

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"Mortgage Rates Rise for Third Week in a Row, Returning to Highs Seen in November"

Realtor.com reports, "the numbers: Mortgage rates are up sharply, putting pressure on the housing market once again.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.5% as of February 23, according to data released by Freddie Mac on Thursday.

That’s up 18 basis points from the previous week. One basis point is equal to one one-hundredth of a percentage point.

The 30-year rate was last at this level in November 2022.

Last week, the 30-year was at 6.32%, compared with last year, when it was averaging 3.89%.

The average rate on a 15-year mortgage rose to 5.76%, from 5.51% the previous week. The 15-year was at 3.14% a year ago.

Freddie Mac’s weekly report on mortgage rates is based on thousands of applications received from lenders across the…

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"Housing market continues to stabilize in Round Rock, Pflugerville, Hutto"

Community Impact writes "the latest report from the Austin Board of Realtors shows a continuing trend of decreasing prices and growing inventory in the Round Rock, Pflugerville and Hutto housing markets as of January.

According to the report, the three cities combined saw a median home sale price of $435,124 in January, up 7.39% from $405,200 in December, but down 3.48% from $450,800 in January 2022.

In keeping with previous months, Round Rock Pflugerville and Hutto's median price in January was higher than the broader Central Texas market at $417,500, but lower than the city of Austin's median price of $525,000.

The three cities had a combined 845 active listings and 237 closed sales in January. Last January, they had only 135 active listings and 423…

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"January housing report: Central Austin home prices trend downward, housing inventory increases"

Community Impact writes, "home prices are continuing to trend downward, and housing inventory is on a steady uptick in Central Austin, according to Austin Board of Realtors January report.

In January, median home prices in Central Austin decreased 0.2% to $680,000 in Central Austin.

This trend was reflected throughout the Austin-Round Rock area, where median home prices decreased 6.3% to $450,000, the largest drop since July 2011, according to ABoR.

ABoR President Ashley Jackson said that while the market is cooling within the Austin region, surrounding Central Texas cities are seeing an uptick in home prices.

“Outlying areas like Caldwell and Hays counties are the most affordable pockets in Central Texas. When we have a city like Austin challenged by…

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"Is Austin housing hot or not? Prices are sliding but buyers, sellers cautiously test waters"

Austin Business Journal writes, "despite chilly forecasts from the likes of Zillow and Goldman Sachs, others expect the heat to stay elevated in Austin’s housing market — by at least one measure, it's still among the hottest in the country.

Austin tied with Durham, North Carolina for third place in the U.S. News & World Report’s latest Housing Market Index, released Feb. 14. Raleigh, North Carolina ranked first and Denver ranked second.

The index takes into account data on employment, housing prices, builder sentiment and much more.

Austin ranked No. 4 in the supply sub-index, which included government data on housing supply, rental vacancy rates, construction costs, construction jobs, builder sentiment from the National Association of Home…

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"Hundreds of Realtors, builders nominated for Austin Residential Real Estate Awards"

Austin Business Journal shares, "the time to honor Central Texas' top-selling Realtors, superlative homebuilders and inclusive master-planned communities is approaching.

Austin Business Journal's 2023 Residential Real Estate Awards are scheduled for next month. A total of 214 agents and realty teams and 16 builders and master-planned communities were nominated — you can find their names below.

There's nothing subjective about the agent awards — they are based on hard numbers. Realtors were asked to submit data on their 2022 transactions for deals in the six-country area: the five counties in the Austin metro, plus Burnet County. Winners will be crowned in three categories for solo agents and teams and ranked by last…

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"The Hottest Housing Markets in the U.S."

U.S. News reports, "now that the demand for housing is showing renewed signs of life amid lower mortgage rates, declining inflation and a reduced risk of recession, it’s certainly an opportune time to analyze which markets are the hottest across the country. While the term "hottest" may no longer mean desperate buyers bidding thousands over asking prices and waiving inspections, it does mean returning to the basics of healthy demand, supply and financing options.

Because the U.S. News Housing Market Index incorporates so many varied data points, it provides a simple and comprehensive way to rank the covered metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) from shivering to scorching on a scale of 1-100. Designed to work on desktops and laptops but not on…

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"Seller’s Market, Buyer’s Market, ‘Nobody’s Market’? The Weird State of Housing Right Now"

Realtor.com writes, "today’s housing market has everyone wondering: Is it still a seller’s market, or has the power dynamic finally shifted in favor of buyers?

Try neither.

Uncertainty about the future of inflation, the economy, mortgage rates, and more have seized up the market—and wrenched power away from buyers and sellers alike.

“Today, real estate is ‘nobody’s market,'” notes Realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale in her analysis of housing data for the week ending Feb. 4. “The number of homeowners deciding to sell continues to lag, but inventory and time on market continue to climb, reflecting still-hesitant buyers.”

We’ll break down what the latest real estate statistics mean for homebuyers and sellers in this latest installment…

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