Luxe Austin Homes - housing market

"The House You’re Negotiating on Is ‘Accepting Backup Offers’—Now What?"

Realtor.com writes,"You found the house, made an offer, and got the good news: The seller accepted. But when you check the listing a few days later, you notice it’s still marked as “accepting backup offers.” What does that mean—and should you be concerned?

In today’s competitive housing market, it’s not unusual for sellers to hedge their bets, especially during the early stages of a deal.

Here’s what to know if the home you’re trying to buy is still technically on the market.

What it means when your offer is accepted—but the listing is still open

An accepted offer is an important step, but it doesn’t guarantee that the sale will close. Between acceptance and closing, there’s a window—known as the contingency period—where several things can…

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"Austin is the best city for new college graduates in 2025"

Scotsman Guide writes, "Austin, Texas, is the best city for recent graduates this year, thanks to high beginning salaries, an abundant supply of apartments and a vibrant social scene, according to a new report from Zillow.

The real estate website’s 2025 list of the best cities for college graduates had a strong Sun Belt theme. Texas dominated the top five choices of the survey, with first-place Austin being followed by Dallas at No. 3 and San Antonio at No. 4. Rounding out the top five are Albuquerque, N.M., in second place and Charlotte, N.C., in fifth place.

Zillow’s rankings combine rental affordability and the share of rental listings on Zillow offering concessions. The report also considers the strength of the local job market and the size…

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"The National Observer: Real Estate: National housing market continues shift to buyers"

Austin Business Journal writes, "The housing market has seen a decent amount of shifting this year amid broader economic uncertainty and an uptick in inventory.

While new listings and home construction are welcome news in a market that's been starved of inventory for years, there are still a lot of challenges for both buyers and sellers.

The national median profit margin on home sales fell to 50% in the first quarter of this year — down 3.2 percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2024 and down 4.8 points from the first quarter of 2024, reports The Business Journals' Joanne Drilling. It's also down from 64% in 2022.

As I get into in today's lead story, the changing housing market has had some sellers rethink how much they list their homes…

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"Austin Home Prices Down in June"

Realtor.com reports, "In June, home prices fell substantially from the month before, with a median listing price of $617,500.

The number of listings on the market grew 5.0%, which is a smaller increase than normal for this time of the year in Austin, and homes are also selling slower than at the same time last year.

Home prices in Austin

Typically, home price per square foot in Austin tend to rise in June. But the most recent data shows that the price per square foot decreased by 3.3% compared with the month before.

So, how does this compare with the rest of the U.S.? Nationally, home price per square foot decreased 0.4%, which means price changes in the Live Music Capital of the World are lagging behind the national market.

Austin…

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"Austin homebuyers gaining negotiating power"

Austin Business Journal writes, "Homebuyers in the Austin area are gaining the advantage as competition heats up among sellers.

The metro's housing inventory continues to hover around the six-month mark and new listings have increased 43.6% year-over-year to 17,662 active home listings, according to Unlock MLS’s latest market report. However, the median sale price of a home in Austin in June was flat at $450,000 compared to the same time last year.

“We’re not 100% in a buyer’s market, but we’re pretty close,” said Brandy Wuensch, 2025 Unlock MLS and Austin Board of Realtors president. “Buyers definitely have more power to negotiate and get a lot more favorable terms from sellers in terms of closing costs.”

Sellers are having to become more…

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"Austin ranks among 20 best large U.S. cities for first-time homebuyers"

CultureMap Austin writes, "As Austin's real estate market slowly bounces back after several years of high housing prices, a new WalletHub analysis has revealed it is the 19th best large U.S. city for first-time homebuyers, and the No. 1 big city in Texas.

WalletHub's study ranked 300 U.S. cities across 22 metrics based on affordability, quality of life, and the status of each city's real estate market, including factors like active listings per capita, homeownership rates for millennials, and more. Cities were ranked overall and based on population size: Large cities with more than 300,000 residents; midsize cities with populations between 150,000-300,000 people; and small cities with fewer than 150,000 people.

Palm Bay, Florida ranked as the…

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"Buyers Are Gaining Market Power as Mortgage Rates Dip Another Week"

Realtor.com writes, "The sour outlook from consumers, and the consistent "wait-and see" policy from the Federal Reserve, helped push interest rates lower, including mortgage rates dipping to 6.77% for a 30-year fixed home loan. The dip was housing-friendly but small, so its impact will be modest.

Inflation, which showed the Fed’s preferred gauge, rose 2.3% in the year even as the index excluding food and energy prices edged a bit higher. Consumer confidence slipped in June, and while consumer sentiment improved, both measures remain at a concerningly sluggish level. 

The April Case-Shiller home price index showed regional divergence, with price gains strongest in Northeast and Midwest markets, like New York City, Chicago, and Detroit. Southern…

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"Shopping for a home? Texas city scores largest influx of new listings"

MYSA writes, "In the market for a new home? What better place than right here in Central Texas.

Two Texas cities ranked among the best in the nation for the largest price slashes within their respective housing markets, marking a real estate haven for first-time homebuyers and more experienced house hunters, according to a report from Realtor.com released on Monday, June 23. Both the South and the West led the way in the biggest cost cuts, with Phoenix ranking supreme with 31.3% of its Arizona home listings featuring a price cut.

Coming in second was Tampa with a 29.9% slash in home listing costs, with Denver trailing slightly behind at a 29.4% share of listings featuring reduced prices. In fourth place, Texas made its mark with the capital city,…

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"More international buyers are eyeing the U.S. home market. These cities are getting the most looks."

Austin Business Journal writes, "America's housing market is showing increased interest from international buyers.

That’s according to a new report from Realtor.com, which analyzed international views of for-sale listings on the Realtor.com U.S. marketplace between January and March 2025, as compared to previous quarters.

The data showed the share of home shoppers who came from outside the U.S. grew from 1.3% in the first quarter of 2020 to 1.9% during the same time this year. It was also up from 1.7% in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Cities with the most global interest

In the first quarter of 2025, Miami was the most-popular metro market for international home shoppers, with that metro area capturing 8.7% of demand from outside the U.S.…

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"Austin-area home sales decline in May as inventory rises"

Austin Business Journal writes, "The housing market in Austin showed more signs of slowing in May, with sales dropping and inventory rising.

The number of listings came in at 5,716, equating to five months of inventory, according to the latest report from Unlock MLS. Sales numbered 3,021 in May — a 3.8% year-over-year decrease — although 4,515 sales were pending, a 16.1% year-over-year increase and the most reported so far in 2025.

The median sales price in May registered $449,000, a decline of $1,000 from April.

Clare Knapp, housing economist for Unlock MLS and the Austin Board of Realtors, said the slowing market could motivate sellers to adjust their prices to align more with what buyers can afford and are willing to pay.

“It's not that…

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