Luxe Austin Homes - 2025

"Austin saw 'solid' economic activity in 2024 — here's what to expect in 2025"

Austin Business Journal writes, "When asked to sum up 2024, local economic leaders use labels like "solid," a "continuation," and "bright" — healthy, in other words, but not necessarily stellar.

That's because it was a mixed bag, with Austin continuing to search for equilibrium after huge wins in recent years, such as the successful courting of Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. to Taylor and Tesla Inc. to eastern Travis County.

Central Texas has long been a hotbed for relocations and expansions, starting largely with IBM Corp. coming to town in the 1960s, and continuing with big steps like Samsung picking Austin for a factory in the 1990s. The trend picked up steam and hit a fever pitch during the pandemic, with companies such as Oracle Corp. and…

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"Austin housing market shows promising stability in 2025, report says"

CultureMap Austin shares, "Austin's real estate market has shown progress with improving stability thanks to an increase in listings and slight reductions in prices. Stabilizing prices aside, the overall market's activity brought in more than $17 billion in 2024, according to the latest report from the Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR) and Unlock MLS.

The final report of 2024 wrapped up the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro's performance and compared it to 2023's statistics. Most notably, median prices in the Austin area declined 1.7 percent year-over-year to $445,000.

Unlock MLS' housing economist Clare Knapp, Ph.D., predicts 2025 will show similar activity to the previous year.

"2025 market activity will likely look similar to trends…

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"Mortgage Rates Rise Again, to 6.93%—but Economists Predict Housing Market Conditions Will Improve"

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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"What To Expect in Mortgage Rates and Savings Accounts in 2025"

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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"Will Homeowners Finally Sell in 2025? Here’s What the Experts Say, Amid a Glimmer of Hope"

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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"Zillow economist calls Austin’s housing market ‘healthy’ going into 2025"

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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"Forecasts in 4 top markets a reminder that real estate is local"

Key points:

• During NAR’s annual real estate forecast summit, a panel of economists shared predictions for their markets in 2025.
• Compared to much of the country, Austin and Florida have significant inventory, while in Virginia and California, supply remains constrained.
• Regional issues including post-boom rebalancing, chronic underbuilding and job shifts will continue to impact local markets next year.

RealEstateNews.com writes, "As real estate agents and brokers prepare for 2025, they will need to consider how national forecasts — including predictions of more transactions in 2025 — apply to their local markets.

While the mantra "all real estate is local" remains in play, some trends proved fairly consistent between 2020 and…

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"Building Boom Forecast for 2025: Number of Affordable New Homes Set To Soar, but Expect Them To Be Smaller"

Realtor.com writes, "Builders are working to fix America’s critical housing shortage—and while the number of new homes is expected to top 1.1 million in 2025, expect them to be built slightly smaller.

But, homebuyers can expect them to be more affordable, too, according to the Realtor.com® 2025 Housing Forecast. This is especially good news for first-time homebuyers, who might find new homes easier to access in areas that are growing.

New construction will help ease the housing shortage

In 2025, new-home sales and single-family housing starts are expected to improve compared with other types of homes. Builders plan to construct about 1.1 million homes, which is a 13.8% increase from 2024.

Builders are working to make homes more affordable,…

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"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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"Luminary condo tower downtown to begin construction and sales next year"

Austin Business Journal shares, "Downtown Austin’s next condo tower is slated to begin construction and sales in 2025, and the West 14th Street property already is generating plenty of interest.

Luminary, a 400-foot-tall condo tower from Northland Living, a development arm of Canadian hospitality giant Northland Properties Corp., will have 293 condos along with ground-floor retail space and one level of office space.

Kevin Burns, CEO of Austin-based Urbanspace, which is handling marketing and sales for the project, said there's already been more than 400 inquiries for the condos even though sales haven't officially started and prices haven't been set.

"And that’s without spending the advertising dollars," he said. "That’s just simply sending…

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