Luxe Austin Homes - November, 2024

"Housing Market Predictions For 2025: When Will Home Prices Drop?"

Forbes Advisor writes, "Home prices remain at record highs and mortgage rates are climbing again. Is there any relief in sight for buyers? Potentially. Although home prices continue to break records, they’re rising at a slower pace due to loosening inventory and sluggish demand—and experts project further price growth deceleration in 2025.

Meanwhile, even as many are still waiting for lower mortgage rates before taking the home-buying plunge, pending sales data indicates that at least some prospective buyers are starting to dip their toe into the market.

In fact, experts say now might be the ideal time for buyers to get ahead of a potential demand surge in 2025—one that could drive home prices up again and leave some would-be homeowners out in…

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"Assumable Loans: How To Get One of These Coveted Mortgages"

Realtor.com writes, "Many would-be homebuyers today are sidelined due to one financial hurdle: high mortgage rates that are pushing ever closer to 7%. Yet instead of getting a 2024 rate, some Veterans can get a low rate from years ago.

For military families, Veterans Affairs loans (or VA loans) offer a unique edge: the option to assume an existing VA loan from a seller, keeping the original low rate intact.

For qualifying buyers, these assumable VA loans, known as assumable mortgages, can mean major savings—especially when today’s rates are considerably higher than what sellers locked in years ago.

“If both buyer and seller are VA loan-eligible, the seller can pass on their current mortgage, and current rate, to the buyer without forfeiting…

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"Austin, San Antonio, Houston Realtors to have access to nearly 60% of Texas real estate listings"

Community Impact shares, "A data share agreement between the Austin Board of Realtors, San Antonio Board of Realtors and Houston Association of Realtors is set to give Realtors with all three associations access to nearly 60% of all Texas real estate listings by the end of the year.

How it works

The agreement between the three metroplexes, which was announced in early October, will open up access between the associations' Multiple Listing Service, or the online portal where Realtors can share information about homes for sale in their markets.

As of Nov. 4, there are approximately:

• 17,970 ABoR MLS subscribers
• 14,889 SABoR MLS subscribers
• 48,000 HAR MLS subscribers

After the data share agreement goes live, the over 80,000 combined MLS…

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"Austin metro's hottest housing markets ranked"

Austin Business Journal shares, "Neighborhoods on the shores of Lake Travis, in Round Rock and in Driftwood are among the hottest housing markets in the Austin area.

That's according to The Business Journals' inaugural hottest housing markets ranking, which is based on third-quarter listing and sales data from Intercontinental Exchange Inc.

The ranking is intended to emphasize sales and pricing momentum in individual ZIP codes, using a weighted formula that includes quarterly and year-over-year comparisons. Only ZIP codes with complete data were included in the analysis. You can read more about the methodology at the bottom of this story.

Using those criteria, Austin’s 78726 ZIP code was found to have the most momentum in the metro. Located…

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"Landsea Homes opts for larger digs in Austin as its local pipeline grows"

Austin Business Journal reports, "As Austin’s housing inventory continues to grow, a Dallas-based homebuilder with a national footprint is increasing its presence in the Texas capital.

Landsea Homes Corp. (Nasdaq: LSEA) signed an 8,000-square-foot lease for an office at North Austin’s Stonebridge Plaza, according to an announcement. The company will leave its current office at 4001 W. Parmer Lane, which is roughly 4,500 square feet, when the new office opens in early 2025.

“Landsea Homes has been expanding rapidly in the Austin area over the last year and we have quickly outgrown our current office space,” said Jill Wasik, Landsea’s director of sales and marketing for its Austin division, in a statement. “Stonebridge Plaza is centrally located,…

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"Housing market hits highest inventory since 2019 as sellers flood the market"

The New York Post writes, "The housing market is finally giving buyers some breathing room.

After two years of skyrocketing prices and shrinking inventory, the number of homes on the market just hit its highest level since 2019, sparking hope for frustrated buyers across the country.

In October alone, available homes surged 29.2% from last year, marking a full year of growth in listings, according to an analysis by Realtor.com.

Homeowners nationwide are throwing up “For Sale” signs in droves, especially in former pandemic hot spots like Austin, Memphis and Orlando.

These “boomtowns” are making a comeback in a big way, with Austin inventory jumping a staggering 40.1%, while Memphis and Orlando posted gains of 39.2% and 26.6% respectively.

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"United Properties opens its first two apartment developments in Austin"

Austin Business Journal reports, "Minneapolis-based United Properties LLC has opened its first two Austin-area multifamily properties, and it has plans for more.

The pair of projects, located in South Austin, add hundreds of apartments to the city. Victor Young, senior vice president of Austin commercial development at United Properties, said the company has additional multifamily developments in its pipeline but nothing to announce yet.

The first of the two projects is Bishop Momo, located at 4341 S. Congress Ave. in the St. Elmo District. Bishop Momo is a 274-unit property with one- and two-bedroom apartments, according to an announcement. Overall, the property is 256,510 square feet.

Apartments at Bishop Momo are leased primarily at market…

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