Luxe Austin Homes - homeownership

"Gen Z's regret grows over generational housing divide"

Austin Business Journal writes, "High home prices and elevated interest rates have members of Generation Z worried about missing out on the dream of homeownership — or deeply regretting having taken the plunge.

According to the BMO Real Financial Progress Index, 54% of American renters envy people their age and younger who have purchased a home. It's a dynamic that's even stronger among Gen Zers, with 63% of those respondents saying they are envious of homeowners. The Gen Z share is second only to that of millennials, who are most likely to be envious, at 67%.

"The data show that owning a home remains a key component of the American dream, but with some obstacles still facing first-time homebuyers, younger generations worry they missed their…

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"Here's how much Austinites spend renting instead of buying a home"

CultureMap Austin writes, "The affordability of homeownership seems to be a hot topic of 2025, and the cost difference between renting and buying a home in Austin adds up to more than $1,000 per month, according to a new housing cost analysis by SmartAsset.

The 2025 report, called "Renting vs. Buying: How Housing Costs Compare Across America," examined the median monthly homeownership and rent costs in 342 of the largest U.S. cities.

The study's findings revealed Austin homeowners spend a median $2,768 on their monthly housing costs, whereas renters spend about $1,764 in comparison.

Austin ranked No. 58 in the report's rankings of cities where homeownership is more expensive than renting.

This study compares median costs for each group of…

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"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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"New South Austin development offers 23 townhomes for $270,000 or less"

CultureMap Austi shares, "Applications are now open for a new affordable townhome community in South Austin slated to be completed in March.

The development, called Industry Soma, is located near William Cannon Drive and South Menchaca Road, at 1905 Keilbar Ln.

The 23 townhomes are a collaboration between developer Industry ATX and the Austin Housing Finance Corporation. Prices will range from $235,000 to $270,000, with the goal of providing the opportunity for homeownership and attracting and retaining families with generational ties to the neighborhood.

“We are grateful to support a townhome community that will provide prospective buyers with an affordable option for homeownership. Affordable home ownership is important to Austinites, helps…

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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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"There Are Now 30 Renters for Every Home for Sale in the U.S."

Realtor.com reports, "the number of homes for sale for each renter household in the U.S. remains near record lows, highlighting the supply crunch that first-time buyers face in the current housing market.

Currently, there are about 30 renter households for each available home for sale, up from less than 10 in 2006, according to Freddie Mac’s latest market outlook report.

The supply shortage dates back to the Great Recession, which dealt a major blow to new home construction. Since then, construction has slowly increased, but failed to keep pace with demand, resulting in a shortage of at least 1.5 million homes.

“Therefore, not only do people seeking to buy their first home have to navigate an expensive market, but they also have to compete…

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"Why mortgage rates may not continue to drop"

Austin Business Journal writes, "Relief on housing costs from interest-rate cuts issued by the Federal Reserve last month may not be as straightforward as some would-be homebuyers might expect. But some areas of the country are poised to feel the impacts of rate cuts more significantly than others.

A recent analysis by Realtor.com found 60.2% of homeowners in the U.S. lived in homes with a mortgage while 39.8% of owners owned their homes free and clear. But the share of mortgaged homeowners versus those who owned their homes outright vary — sometimes significantly — by state.

And, of course, areas with a higher share of homeowners that have a mortgage are more likely to be affected by rate movement than those where more people own their homes…

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"Housing affordability got worse in Q2 — and homeownership costs hit a new high"

Austin Business Journal reports, "Homes across America remained unaffordable for many prospective buyers in the second quarter, with single-family home and condo prices less affordable during that three-month period compared to historical averages in 99% of the nation's counties.

That's according to a recent analysis by Attom Data Solutions LLC, which looked at housing data from U.S. counties with a population of at least 100,000 and that had at least 50 single-family home and condo sales in the second quarter.

The analysis also found that expenses for existing homeowners on median-priced homes are on the rise. Those costs consumed 35.1% of the average national wage in the second quarter, a high point since 2007 and meaningfully higher than the…

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"Home sales are up in Austin thanks to stabilizing housing prices, new real estate report says"

CultureMap Austin writes, "Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown experienced its highest year-over-year increase in home sales this past April, illustrating a growing optimism in the metro area's housing market. That's according to the latest real estate report from Unlock MLS and the Austin Board of Realtor (ABoR).

More than 2,700 homes were sold in April across the Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown MSA, which is a 5.9 percent increase from this time last year. Median prices landed at just under $470,000 in a 1.1 percent increase year-over-year. There were 10,808 active home listings on the market, which is nearly a 32 percent jump from April 2023.

"Despite the higher rate environment, the uptick in affordable inventory in the $300,000 range is allowing more…

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"Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth Tipped as Top U.S. Housing Markets for 2024, Texas Cities Bracing for Surge in Homebuying Interest"

Hoodline.com writes, "the sizzling property markets of Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth are tipped to be the nation's hottest in 2024, with the National Association of Realtors (NAR) planting them atop their forecast for burgeoning housing demand.

Amid a landscape punctuated by rising prices and competitive bidding wars, Texans in these metros might find themselves in an increasingly tight squeeze to land that dream home.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the NAR, paints a picture of a local housing market where mortgage rates, although not at their historic highs, continue to shape the playing field.

In an interview with NBC 5 DFW, Yun pointed out that as companies converge on Dallas-Fort Worth, bringing in a slew of new residents, the price tags…

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