Luxe Austin Homes - housing

"Are bidding wars coming back to the housing market?"

Austin Business Journal shares, "although the spring 2023 housing market has little resemblance to the frenzied 2021 buying and selling season, there's evidence some markets and types of houses are starting to become more competitive, owing mostly to a lack of inventory.

Forty-eight percent of homes sold nationally during the four weeks ending April 30 went under contract within two weeks, down from 51% a year earlier but up from 46% a month prior, Seattle-based Redfin Corp. (Nasdaq: RDFN) recently found.

While demand for housing among buyers exists, a key reason for increased competition for certain homes is because inventory remains extremely tight. Owners who locked in record-low mortgage rates during the pandemic are hanging onto their…

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"Have Home Prices and Mortgage Rates Both Peaked? A Hopeful Look Ahead"

Realtor.com writes, "America’s home prices are still rising, currently hovering at a median of $430,000 in April. But at long last, these sky-high housing costs seem poised to fall, perhaps as early as this month.

That’s according to a new report from Realtor.com®, which found that April’s listing prices had ticked up a mere 2.5% compared with a year earlier. That’s the slowest yearly price growth seen since April 2020, when COVID-19 quarantines forced the real estate market to grind to a halt.

Once markets opened up again, the pandemic unleashed a steep and unprecedented ascent in home prices, culminating in a record-setting high of $449,000 last June. But the latest data suggests that this raging seller’s market might have finally reached its…

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"New incentives bolster burgeoning Bee Cave entertainment district"

Austin Business Journal reports, "the Bee Cave City Council on April 25 approved $3.25 million in incentives that will help build a road to service a growing entertainment corridor in the city that includes the revamped Backyard in Bee Cave project — on track to open next year.

During the last month, City Council has worked to clear the way for developers of a 28-acre site north of State Highway 71 and immediately west of Bee Cave Central Park to start work on what they say will be a mixed-use project that includes housing and dining options. That includes the extension of a road, Willie Way, that will also service a 35-acre site at 13801 Bee Cave Pkwy. that will house the long-anticipated revamp of the music-venue-centered mixed-use Backyard in…

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"Roughly 1 in 4 Homes for Sale in Austin and Seattle Cost Less Than They Would Have a Year Ago"

Redfin News reports, "one-quarter of homes for sale in Austin, TX (25.8%) have lower estimated monthly housing payments than they would have if they had been for sale a year ago. That’s a higher share than any other major U.S. metropolitan area Redfin analyzed and more than triple the nationwide share of 7.1%. 

Seattle is close behind, at 23.6%, followed by San Francisco (18.8%), New York (18.3%) and Pittsburgh (15.6%).

This is according to a Redfin analysis of U.S. single-family homes, condos/co-ops and townhouses for sale as of April 11, 2023. We estimated what a homebuyer’s monthly housing payment would be on those homes using the Redfin Estimate of the homes’ value in April 2023 and the average U.S. mortgage rate in March 2023. To estimate what…

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"Even in a constrained economy, North Austin is epicenter of Central Texas' growth"

Austin Business Journal writes, "of all the great parts of this great city, I’m going to say North Austin is in the middle of it all — literally and figuratively.

Take a look at our metro on a map. It’s top heavy — always has been. The bulk of the action is far north of the river and downtown, and every indicator we have says it will continue to be that way in our lifetimes. The Domain area, aka Austin’s second downtown, is the geographic center of the developed Austin metro area, thanks to Williamson County’s housing boom. Downtown Austin is actually on the southern end of our built-out metro.

A new center of gravity

Some experts have told me that The Domain area could eventually eclipse downtown Austin in size, weight and height. That…

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"How the 2023 spring housing market is shaping up"

Austin Business Journal reports, "the spring 2023 housing market is off to a different start than its 2021 and 2022 counterparts but several factors are converging to make it not quite a typical pre-pandemic market, either.

Total existing-home sales fell 2.4% from February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.44 million in March, the National Association of Realtors said in a report last week. Year-over-year, sales activity fell 22%.

But while demand for housing has slowed in the wake of mortgage-rate increases that began late spring last year, inventory remains constrained, thanks to a persistent housing shortage and fewer people putting their homes on the market after locking in a low interest rate during the pandemic.

"The housing…

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"U.S. New Home Sales Surge 9.6% in March as Home Buyers Turn to Builders"

Realtor.com writes, "a lack of inventory has pushed U.S. home buyers to purchase new homes, prompting a surge in sales in March.

The strength in new home sales was also driven by a massive jump in sales in the Northeast. And overall, new home sales are trending higher as buyers have a low number of options with previously owned homes.

U.S. new home sales rose 9.6% to an annual rate of 683,000 in March, from a revised 623,000 in the prior month, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. That’s at the highest level since last year.

The number is seasonally adjusted, and refers to how many homes would be built over an entire year if builders continue at the same pace every month.

The jump was better than what economists on Wall Street…

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"Hays County home market values up 16% from 2022"

Community Impact reports, "the Hays Central Appraisal District released its preliminary appraised property values April 13 and began mailing out appraisal notices to Hays County residences April 18. The overall market value within Hays County increased by 24%, or $13.54 billion, from 2022.

The preliminary data indicates a 16.11% increase in residential market value across Hays County, or an estimated $111,000 increase from 2022.

The county also saw a 31% increase in the value of commercial and industrial properties from last year; multifamily residential saw a 28% increase compared to 2022.

More than 5,200 new homes were added to Hays County's appraisal roll for 2023, according to the report, as well as 26 new commercial buildings. There was an overall…

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"More inventory signals stabilizing Austin housing market, says latest report"

CultureMap Austin writes, "in what looks like signs of normalizing for both homebuyers and sellers, the Austin-Round Rock metro area now has three months’ worth of housing inventory with active listings soaring to over 8,000.

The latest housing market report from the Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR) stated nearly 4,400 homes hit the market in March, which is a 6.6 percent year-over-year increase from last year. While pending and completed home sales in Austin decreased by about 19 and 25 percent, respectively, there was a spike in both new and active listings.

2023 ABoR president Ashley Jackson said in a press release that the past quarter has “ushered in a sweet spot for both buyers and sellers” exploring the current market.

“There are three…

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"Solana Ranch developer says 50K could eventually live in huge community near Jarrell"

Austin Business Journal writes, "when asked why his company was interested in building in Central Texas, DMB Development LLC CEO Brent Herrington rattled off a long list of reasons.

"Beyond the economic opportunity, we love that Central Texas is a place people feel drawn to for lifestyle reasons, a place people choose rather than settle for," Herrington said in an April 18 email. "I grew up in Texas and have a real appreciation for the unique, quirky culture of the greater Austin area. I love the natural beauty, the dynamic blend of people and cultures, the creative vibe, the live music scene, and, of course, the food."

That helps explain why his Arizona-based development firm aims to transform more than 7,000 acres near Jarrell, north of Austin…

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