Luxe Austin Homes - affordability

"Share of first-time homebuyers hits record low as affordability challenges persist"

Austin Business Journal shares, "First-time buyers hit a record low share of the homebuying market last year, another sign that affordability continues to make homeownership out of reach for many.

Only 24% of homebuyers surveyed by the National Association of Realtors said they were purchasing a home for the first time — a substantial drop from the 32% who said the same the year prior. Meanwhile, baby boomers were the largest cohort of homebuyers last year, making up 42% of all homebuyers.

The survey took place in July and included buyers who purchased a primary residence between July 2023 and June 2024. Results were released earlier this week.

Rising home prices, high mortgage rates, limited supply and competition with all-cash buyers…

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"Greater Inventory Brings Home Buyers Back to the Real Estate Market"

Realtor Magazine writes, "As the spring thaw sets in, new housing momentum is “flashing encouraging signs” for the market, says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

A notable uptick in housing inventory nationwide may be pulling the real estate market out of a long winter hibernation.

Total existing-home sales, which account for completed transactions for single-family homes, townhomes, condos and co-ops, rose 4.2% month over month in February, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Thursday.

“Home buyers are slowly entering the market,” even as mortgage rates and home prices appear frozen at elevated levels, says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “More inventory and choices are releasing pent-up housing demand.” 

Existing-home…

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"Why Is Everyone Moving to Texas?"

House Beautiful writes, "Texas is hot these days. To be fair, Texas is usually pretty hot, but the real estate and rental market? Sizzling. Lately, it seems as though everyone is moving to Texas, picking up stakes all over the country to relocate to the Lone Star State. But why? What is this sudden draw, and will it last?

According to a recent report by real estate news site Redfin, the three most affordable cities for renters in the country are Dallas, Houston, and Austin, and all three metropolitan areas are actually improving in these fields. Austin, in particular, has the most favorable rental affordability rating in the country, with renters in the city earning a median income of just over $69,000 per year. A full 25.1 percent more than they…

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"A solution to housing affordability in Austin?"

Austin Business Journal writes, "Build-to-rent neighborhoods cropping up all around Austin could be one solution to the metro’s crisis-level shortage of affordable housing, some experts contend.

Developers like Arizona-based NexMetro Communities and Empire Group of Cos. have build-to-rent projects set to open here soon. The neighborhoods — which consist entirely of single-family homes built for rental use — are largely in the suburbs, such as Empire Group's projects in Hutto and NexMetro's projects in Liberty Hill and Georgetown.

Empire Group partner Randy Grudzinski said the model is intended to address affordability by offering something between renting an apartment and owning a home.

Build-to-rent homes "allow people to have an interim…

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"What are Austin’s cheapest neighborhoods for renters?"

KXAN Austin writes, "After Real estate experts reported in December Austin had the largest rent decrease between 2023 and 2024 of the country’s largest metros, new insight from Rent.com data is revealing which capital city neighborhoods are cheapest for renters.

Rent.com pulled average rental data and annual change data for Austin from February 2025 figures, with all neighborhoods included listed on the apartment search engine’s rental market trends dashboard.

Rent.com’s analysis revealed the average rental prices in Austin included $1,261 for a studio (up 14% year over year), $1,387 for a one-bedroom apartment (down 4% year over year) and $1,713 for a two-bedroom unit (down 3% from this time in 2024).

Looking at the proportions of rental units…

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"Austin leads the nation for developing private affordable housing"

CultureMap Austin writes, "Most people like a bargain, particularly money-conscious renters in the Austin area, where rents continue to be stubbornly high. According to RentCafe, the average Austin apartment rent recently stood at $1,691, compared with the statewide average of $1,449. Fortunately, rent relief is on the way: Austin is a hotspot for affordable housing, according to a new study.

The report from data provider Yardi Matrix shows the Austin metro area leads the nation for the number of “fully affordable” apartments and other multifamily housing units under construction by private real estate developers (not by government agencies). Austin ranks first on the list with 2,717 units under construction, followed by Miami with 2,687 and Los…

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"More listings add much-needed housing inventory, but some homes are sitting on the market longer"

Austin Business Journal writes, "The first few weeks of 2025 have brought an uptick in home listings, but whether housing inventory currently on the market is priced to sell remains to be seen.

New for-sale listings rose 7.9% in the four-week period ending Feb. 2 compared to the same timeframe a year earlier, according to data from Redfin Corp. (Nasdaq: RDFN). Despite the increased inventory, pending sales were still down 8.1% year over year.

Some of the pending sales slowdown could be seasonal or related to economic uncertainty, but mortgage rates and high home prices — including among newly listed inventory — are also keeping many would-be buyers sidelined.

Inventory is beginning to accumulate, and some homes are taking longer to sell, largely…

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"Austin suburbs are some of the top U.S. hot spots for new rental homes"

CultureMap Austin shares, "A new rental report has revealed Texas is leading the nation with the highest single-family home rental construction growth, and Austin is among the top 10 U.S. metros building the most new homes for rent.

The analysis from rental listings website Point2Homes examined construction rates and building permit data for single-family homes that are "located in build-to-rent, professionally managed communities" across America. For the purpose of the study, build-to-rent communities are defined as those where a majority of homes eitherdon't share any walls with each other, or so have some shared walls but do not have neighbors above or below, or have a direct-access garage.

According to the report's findings, Austin's rental…

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"Elevated prices, interest rates will continue to curb housing affordability in 2025"

Austin Business Journal reports, "Homebuyers and sellers in the Austin metro likely will see little change in prices and inventory in 2025.

That's because median sales prices are likely to hover around the $450,000 mark reported in December 2024, and interest rates are expected to stay high, according to Clare Knapp, housing economist for the Austin Board of Realtors and Unlock MLS. It's a combination that's considered unaffordable for many first-time homebuyers, which means the onus is on homebuilders to build more homes with lower price tags to help move the needle on affordability in the metro.

A first-time homebuyer can typically afford to pay three times their income for a home, putting many in the market for a home in the $300,000 to $400,000…

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"Millennials desperate for affordable homes are willing to make surprising concessions"

Austin Business Journal reports, "Few millennials believe their generation can afford a home, and some are so desperate for an affordable purchase they would be willing to buy a home with serious defects.

According to a new survey of millennials by Clever Real Estate, just 21% of millennials believe their generation can afford a home, a substantial decline from 52% who said the same in early 2024. Additionally, 96% of respondents said they have concerns about purchasing a home, with 44% saying they're worried about finding an affordable home — up from 35% in 2024.

The report notes that the median home price is about $420,000, but 68% of millennials who want to buy a home in 2025 want to spend less than $400,000. That's up from 57% who planned to…

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