Luxe Austin Homes - home prices

"What Is a 5/1 ARM? (And Should You Get One To Snag a Lower Mortgage Rate?)"

Realtor.com shares, "housing costs have skyrocketed as of late, with median home prices near historic highs and mortgage rates hitting levels not seen in 23 years.

So, it’s little wonder that the overall affordability crunch in the real estate market has cash-strapped homebuyers exploring potentially riskier financing options with the promise of a lower mortgage rate.

Enter the 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage, or ARM. This type of loan—the most popular ARM out there—has what’s called an introductory “teaser” rate that’s lower than what you’ll get with a fixed-rate mortgage.

Locking in a 5/1 ARM for your mortgage might be suitable for specific circumstances or a terrifying financial roller-coaster ride you can’t wait to exit. If you’re…

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"The rental market’s downward slide: 5 straight months of falling rents"

The New York Post writes, "rents continued to fall around the country as more rental units hit the market.

September marked the fifth month in a row of year-over-year rent declines, with prices decreasing 0.7%, according to a recent Realtor.com® report. The median asking rent dropped to $1,747 in September. That was a $5 dip from August 2023 and a $29 decrease from July 2022, when rental prices peaked.

Renters are still paying more than pre-pandemic times, however. September 2023 rents were $338 — a whopping 24% — higher than September 2019.

The report looked at rents for studios and one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments, condos, townhomes, and single-family homes in the 50 largest metros. (Metros include the main city and surrounding towns,…

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"September data shows Austin metro housing inventory hit 8-year high"

Community Impact Austin shares, "housing inventory in the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area hit the highest levels in more than eight years in September, according to the Austin Board of Realtors’ metro data for September.

The overview

According to ABoR officials in a news release, in September, Travis County and Hays County both had more than four month’s worth of inventory while Williamson County had slightly more than three months worth. Bastrop County had the highest inventory in the MSA with five months worth.

In addition to high inventory, data shows that year-over-year home sales and median home prices dropped across the MSA—by 18.2% and 4.3%, respectively—while active listings increased by 7.8%. Homes also spent an average of 65…

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"Is the Housing Market Overvalued? What Buyers Need To Know"

Realtor.com writes, "is the housing market overvalued?

It’s an increasingly fraught question, and the answer might depend on who’s being asked.

Some real estate experts believe home prices are well above what they should be and expect them to begin coming down. Others think the high prices make sense given how many people are still in the market looking for properties, despite mortgage rates nearing 8%.

“If you look at how much income homebuyers are putting toward their housing payment, if the number is not the highest ever, it’s really darn close,” says Realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale.

No one wants to buy a home at the peak of the market—and then watch the home value trickle down.

Homes in 98 of the 100 largest housing…

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"Millions of homes are vacant in large cities across America"

Austin Business Journal writes, "there are millions of homes sitting empty across America at a time when inventory and affordability are squeezing the nation's housing market.

According to a recent analysis of U.S. Census Bureau 2022 American Community Survey data by LendingTree Inc., there are nearly 5.5 million vacant housing units in the nation's 50 largest metro areas. That puts the housing vacancy rate across those metros at about 8%.

But the reasons why millions of homes are sitting vacant at a time when the nation's housing market is starved of inventory and home prices remain high — the median price of new houses sold in August was $430,300, down slightly from $436,600 a month prior — are varied and nuanced.

The study found, on…

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"So Much for the Federal Reserve: Mortgage Rates Hit a High Not Seen Since 2000"

Realtor.com writes, "last week brought hope to the housing market when the Federal Reserve did not raise interest rates. Many predicted this would help keep mortgage rates fairly steady.

But it turns out those predictions were 100% wrong.

Instead, for the week ending Sept. 28, rates for a 30-year fixed-rate loan rose to their highest level since 2000, landing at an average of 7.31%—a substantial jump from last week’s 7.19%, according to Freddie Mac.

This latest spike in borrowing costs will likely hit today’s already shaky real estate market especially hard.

“Unlike the turn of the millennium, house prices today are rising alongside mortgage rates, primarily due to low inventory,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “These…

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"Home prices in some Central Austin ZIP codes increased in August"

Community Impact Austin writes, "August home prices in multiple Central Austin ZIP codes increased with homes in 78752 seeing the biggest jump at 38.27% year over year, according to data from the Austin Board of Realtors.

However, there was also a decrease in August home prices in some ZIP codes, including 78701, which dropped by nearly 35%.

Seven ZIP codes in the market also saw more home sales in August compared to last year, while 78751 remained consistent with 15 home sold in both August 2022 and August 2023.

Overall, homes stayed on the Central Austin market in August for at least a month. Last August, homes averaged three weeks on the market."

Source: Community Impact Austin

Written by: Brittany Anderson

Published: September 15,…

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"Home prices stabilize after historic highs in Southwest Austin area"

Community Impact Austin writes, "even as Southwest Austin remains among the most desirable and pricier areas of the metro to buy or rent, local data points to the housing market settling down after a recent burst of activity.

Movement toward a more balanced market has been underway since last year with observers crediting broader trends, such as rising interest rates, lasting inflation and more mild job growth, for spurring the changes. Every month in 2023 has seen local homes priced well below 2022 levels and taking longer to sell.

The days of new home listings drawing crowds and selling rapidly are not entirely over, some real estate experts said. Generally, they said buyers now have a better chance to explore their options thanks to narrowing…

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"Austin housing economist: forecast calls for cooling home prices, lower mortgage rates"

Shonda Novak of Austin American-Statesmant writes,  "last week, I attended the Austin Board of Realtors' second annual Central Texas Housing Summit. It was loaded with facts, figures, insights and prognostications about the Austin-area housing market. One panel featured the board's housing economist, Clare Losey; Mark Sprague, a longtime Central Texas housing market analyst with Independence Title; and Selma Hepp, CoreLogic's chief economist who gave a national economic update.

Below are a few takeaways with Losey's outlook for the Austin metro's housing market over the next several months. Losey made the comments in a weekly audio interview called "Driving It Home" that features Losey and the board's CEO, Emily Chenevert.

• Inflation will continue…

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"As Austin housing returns to pre-pandemic levels, some buyers are seeing opportunities"

Austin American-Statesman writes, "the Austin housing market is starting to look a lot more like 2019, before the pandemic sent demand and prices skyrocketing to record highs.

For the past three years, multiple offers, bidding wars and all-cash deals became the norm for those hoping to get into a home in Central Texas. Now, the picture is changing.

That's the upshot from a report on the June housing market by the Austin Board of Realtors. Here are the takeaways:

• Last month, residential home sales in the metro area declined 8.5% year over year to 3,147 closed sales while the median price dropped 9.6% to $483,000.

• New listings declined 23.6% year-over-year to 4,638 listings.

• The number of homes on the market jumped 38.4% to…

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