Kyle's 78640 ZIP code was the 10th hottest housing market nationwide in 2024. The City of Kyle, TX - Local Government/Facebook

CultureMap Austin writes, "The Austin metro's strong real estate market has shown it can persevere through another year of high mortgage rates, and one local ZIP code in Kyle was the No. 10 hottest housing market in the nation in 2024. That's according to a just-released report by online real estate company Opendoor.

The study examined the U.S. ZIP codes where people bought homes the fastest in 2024, using local Multiple Listing Services (MLS) data in markets where Opendoor operates. The ZIP codes were ranked by the total number of homes that went into contract within 90 days of listing.

Homes in Kyle's 78640 ZIP have an average value of $319,463, though that price has dipped 6.1 percent over the last year, according to Zillow's Home Values…

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Realtor.com reports, "Mortgage rates jumped to a six-month high of 6.93%, up from 6.91% last week, for the average 30-year fixed home loan for the week ending Jan. 9, according to Freddie Mac.

“In the first full week of the new year, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remained elevated at just under 7%,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The continued strength of the economy has put upward pressure on mortgage rates, and along with high home prices, continues to impact housing affordability.”

Khater also pointed to a continued lack of entry-level inventory, which presents a stumbling block, especially for consumers looking to become first-time homeowners.

“The Freddie Mac rate for a 30-year mortgage climbed this week as the…

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KXAN Austin shares, "Six of the nation’s 10 hottest zip codes in 2024 are in Texas, according to real estate site Opendoor.

The site ranked the hottest zip codes nationwide by looking at the number of homes that went into contract within 90 days of listing last year.

In 2024, 77493 and 77433, both in the Houston area, topped the list for areas where people bought homes the fastest. In 2023, the two zip codes were flipped, with 77433 on top.

San Antonio’s 78253 ranked third in 2024, while New Braunfels’ 78130 ranked fourth.

Also in the top 20 were 75126 in Forney, which ranked sixth, 78640 in Kyle, which came in 10th, and McKinney’s 75071, which ranked 12th.

“Over the past three years, we’ve seen people choose to move away from city centers…

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Realtor.com writes, "With 2025 underway and with the presidential inauguration on the horizon, speculation is rife about the direction of interest rates.

Here are some of the main outlooks for where they might be headed:

Mortgage rates

Last week, the Freddie Mac rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 6.91%, its highest level since July.

But Realtor.com® economists predict that mortgage rates will take a tumble in 2025.

According to our 2025 Housing Forecast, we will see an average mortgage rate of 6.3% in 2025.

Home equity loans and HELOCs

Home equity loan and HELOC rates are also expected to fall.

Bankrate predicts that in 2025, the average home equity loan rate will go from 8.41% to 7.9%, and the average HELOC rate will…

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(Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Realtor.com writes, "The U.S. housing market crawled to a standstill last year—and while the latest projections show that 2025 is expected to bring only limited relief to buyers and sellers, there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon.

The year closed out with the strongest seasonal slump since January 2023. Homes lingered on the market for a whopping 70 days, up from 62 in November. It made December 2024 the slowest festive season in five years.

Inventory also plummeted 8.6% from November, marking the most precipitous drop in nearly two years.

Meanwhile, mortgage rates reached a six-month high, hitting 6.91% for the average 30-year fixed home loan for the week ending Jan. 2, according to the latest numbers from Freddie Mac.

On top of…

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U-Haul International Inc. released state and metro data that shows where people were moving last year. U-HAUL INTERNATIONAL

Austin Business Journal shares, "The Austin metro was among the hottest destinations in the country for where people were moving last year, according to the latest annual ranking from U-Haul International Inc.

Austin ranked No. 5 among the top U.S. growth metros in 2024, and Texas was the No. 2 state for move-ins — bested from the top spot after three consecutive years by South Carolina, according to data released Jan. 2 and Jan. 3.

The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area took the crown for the top growth metro in the recent list, followed by Charlotte, North Carolina (No. 2); Phoenix (No. 3); and, Lakeland, Florida (No. 4). Houston ranked No. 9.

U-Haul collects migration data from more than 2.5 million one-way U-Haul truck, trailer and moving…

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AUSTIN (KXAN) — "A senior economist for real estate company Zillow told KXAN that the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan housing market is set to enter 2025 in a “healthier” spot than its previous “unsustainably hot” situation.

Zillow senior economist Orphe Divounguy said in a Dec. 11 interview that 2024 saw a “cooling in the housing market.” The company rated the Austin-Round Rock Metro as a buyer’s market in an October 2024 report.

“We’re in a period of transition, and we’re going to continue to see home sales continue to rebound slowly from the big trough that we had in 2023,” he said. “The big surprise at the national level was the fact that we started to see some sellers return.”

Divounguy’s prediction for the national market in 2025?…

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Round Rock residents feel right at home living in one of the safest American cities for 2025. Round Rock, Texas – City Government/Facebook

CultureMap Austin writes, "New Year's resolutions can come in many forms, and if relocating to a safe Austin-area suburb is high on the list for 2025, Round Rock is the place to be.

Round Rock was declared the No. 26 safest city in America for 2025 in a new study by personal finance advisors MoneyGeek. The website's experts examined the most recent FBI crime statistics (from 2023) to determine the cost of crime in 292 U.S. cities with populations over 100,000 residents.

The estimated cost of crime in this North Austin suburb – which the study calculated as the "societal cost of crime per resident" – was $575 in 2023.

While Round Rock's crime cost per capita may seem high, it's actually far lower the national crime cost, which was $2,178 per…

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Two of Icon's homes under construction at Community First Village. ICON TECHNOLOGIES

Austin Business Journal shares, "Austin-based, 3D-printing company Icon Technologies Inc. is continuing its partnership with East Austin's Community First Village, where construction is underway on more of the company's unique, printed homes.

Icon is partnering with Lennar Foundation, the charitable arm of homebuilder Lennar Corp., to build 100 homes at Community First using its industrial-scale 3D-printing technology, according to an announcement. Icon has already built 17 homes and facilities at the development, including Community First's welcome center.

Community First Village, created by Austin-based nonprofit Mobile Loaves and Fishes, provides affordable, permanent housing for people coming out of chronic homelessness. It will be able to…

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In Bastrop, homes were listed on the market for an average of 70 days. (Courtesy Austin Board of Realtors)

Community Impact shares, "The real estate market continues to see action in the Bastrop-Cedar Creek area, which experienced 62 home sales in November, according to data from the Austin Board of Realtors.

Zooming in

In the 78602 ZIP code, 42 homes sold, while 20 sold in the 78612 ZIP code in November.

The median home sales price in the 78602 ZIP code over the last six months is $375,000, and in the 78612 ZIP code, median home prices were $474,998 in the same time frame.


In the 78602 ZIP code, homes were listed on the market for an average of 70 days. In the 78612 ZIP code, homes were on the market for an average of 87 days.


Source: Community Impact

Written by: Sierra Martin

Published: December 19, 2024

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