Luxe Austin Homes - home prices

"New-Home Sales Jump as Buyers Snag Lower Mortgage Rates"

Realtor.com writes, "more folks snapped up newly built homes last month thanks to lower mortgage rates.

The number of new homes for sale and sold in December jumped 8% compared with just one month earlier, according to a recent government report. Sales rose 4.4% year over year, according to the seasonally adjusted numbers in the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development report.

That was a reversal from November, when the number of sales fell 9% from October.

“This month’s new-home sales data suggests that eager buyers are ready and willing to jump into the housing market with each improvement in affordability,” Realtor.com® senior economic research analyst Hannah Jones wrote in her new-home sales commentary.

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"New subdivision set to rise in small community south of Austin"

Austin Business Journal reports, "hundreds of acres of housing are set to rise on the southern reaches of the Austin metro, the latest indication that it just keeps on growing.

Caldwell County commissioners on Jan. 9 unanimously approved a development agreement for a subdivision in Maxwell, potentially encompassing more than 200 acres. With the Austin area embroiled in a seemingly never-ending struggle to build enough affordable housing, the homes in this new development would be going up in one of the most affordable pockets of the region.

The subdivision, known as Schulle Farms, would be built on 227 acres off Maxwell’s Fifth Street if the development goes forward. Schulle Farm Partners LP is behind the project, although the identities of…

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"Austin housing market collected $17.5 billion in 2023 despite sales drop, says report"

Culturemap Austin writes, "Austin's hot real estate market is still trying to balance itself out after a full year of cooling prices. But even after that, it's accounting for nearly $17.5 billion in economic activity in 2023, according to the latest report from the Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR).

The final report of 2023 wrapped up the Austin-Round Rock metro area's performance and compared it to 2022's statistics. The findings show the median prices in the Austin area decreased 10.2 percent year-over-year to $450,000.

As another good sign for what's ahead for homebuyers in the coming year, 2024 ABoR president Kent Redding said housing inventory in the Austin-Round Rock MSA has increased to the highest it's been in more than eight years.

"In…

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"Texas is winning the US economy"

Business Insider writes, "Texas is becoming the poster child of the US economy.

A new Wells Fargo analysis determined that Texas is outpacing many states regarding GDP and employment growth, despite some struggles in commercial real estate.

These findings echo a Bank of America report from earlier in December that determined the Southeast's economy may outpace other regions of the US.

In 2023, Texas experienced the third-fastest growth in terms of population, increasing 1.6% between July 2022 and July 2023 — compared to 0.5% nationwide. This amounted to about 473,000 new residents, many moving from different states.

In 2023, net domestic migration — the number of people who moved into Texas from another state, minus those who moved out —…

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"Austin Housing Market About to Hit Turning Point"

Newsweek reports, "Austin, Texas, the fastest-growing large metro area at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, is set to see house prices plummet as sellers look to come to terms with buyers who are interested in purchasing homes but struggle to contend with elevated prices, analysts told Newsweek.

The city saw population growth of 5 percent between 2020 and 2022, and housing demand helped push up prices.

"There is so much in-migration of households that has been a real support for both rental and owner occupied housing markets," Brad Case, chief economist at real estate developer Middleburg Communities, told Newsweek.

That dynamic is shifting, Case suggested, as buyers balk at the high prices, which will force sellers to adjust.

"If you…

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"NAR Forecasts 4.71 Million Existing-Home Sales, Improved Outlook for Home Buyers in 2024"

Austin, Texas named top real estate market with most pent-up housing demand next year

WASHINGTON (December 13, 2023) – "NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun forecasts that 4.71 million existing homes will be sold, the housing market is expected to grow, and Austin, Texas will be the top real estate market to watch in 2024 and beyond. Yun unveiled the association's forecast yesterday during NAR's fifth annual year-end Real Estate Forecast Summit: The Year Ahead.

Yun predicts home sales will begin to rise next year – by 13.5% compared to 2023, and the median home price will reach $389,500 – an increase of 0.9% from this year.

"Metro markets in southern states will likely outperform others due to faster job increases, while markets in the Midwest will…

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"Median home prices down almost 8.4% in Austin-area year-over-year"

 Austin American-Statesman shares, "there was good news for homebuyers in the latest monthly report from the Austin Board of Realtors last week.

With rising inventory and lower prices, Central Texas' cooling housing market has provided more choices and leverage for buyers, board officials and other experts say.

Here are some key takeaways from the November report.

Median price

• Across the Austin Round-Rock region from Georgetown to San Marcos, the median price of the homes that sold in November fell 8.4% year-over-year to $424,450, indicating Austin’s housing supply is becoming available at lower price points, board officials said. They were quick to point out, however, that prices remain "considerably elevated relative to pre-pandemic…

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"Austin home sales and prices expected to drop in 2024 according to new Realtor.com report"

Austin American-Statesman writes, "soaring home prices in recent years could calm down in 2024 after a report from Realtor.com predicted a drop in both home sales and prices for the Austin-Round Rock Area. 

Specifically, the real estate website predicted home sales in the Austin metro area would fall by 11.7%, while prices would fall by 12.2% compared to both of those marks in 2023. 

Moreover, across the country, the website predicted median home prices would fall by a much smaller 1.7%. However, it should be noted that larger, and recently more expensive, markets are expected to see bigger drops in price. 

How are other Texas housing markets expected to perform in 2024?

While the Austin area is predicted to see the biggest combined…

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"Reports: Austin home prices dropping, housing demand cooling off"

"The Austin Board of Realtors says buyers are willing to enter the market, despite higher interest rates. However, Zillow says the demand for houses is cooling off."

KVUE reports, "home prices are dropping in Central Texas, and the housing market overall is cooling off. That's according to new reports from both the Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR) and Zillow.

According to ABoR's October report, the median home price in the Austin-Round Rock area is $435,000. That's a 7.5% drop from a year ago.

The report also shows residential home sales are up about 4%, which experts say shows buyers are still willing to enter the housing market, despite higher interest rates.

In October, homes spent an average of 68 days on the market,…

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"Despite challenges, international homebuyers juice Central Texas' real estate market"

Austin Amerian-Statesman shares, "Mandar and Asmita Shinde are international homebuyers from India who, after seven years of living in Seattle, now call Austin home. 

Mandar Shinde, a tech business developer for Amazon, originally came to the U.S. from Nagpur, India.

He said Nagpur has similar weather to Austin, so "it literally feels like home here."

Since January, he and his wife, both 40, have been leasing a home in Liberty Hill. They are paying $2,375 a month in rent for a three-bedroom house with about 1,900 square feet, including a study.

But by next summer the Shindes and their 4-year-old son, Jai Shinde, plan to move into a new home in Leander once the house, which Perry Homes will start building soon, is completed. They expect to…

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