Luxe Austin Homes - market update

"Buyers are snatching up starter homes"

RealEstateNews.com shares, "While the market remains tepid overall, starter homes are drawing more interest as mortgage rates trend lower and inventory rises.

Pending sales for starter homes jumped more than 10% in July year-over-year, according to the latest Redfin report, reaching the highest level in nearly two years. That's in stark contrast to pending sales for all other tiers, which fell by between 6-10% over the same time period. 

Sale prices of entry-level homes were also up, but increased at a slower pace than other home segments, a sign that inventory and demand are more balanced in the lower price tiers. Redfin defined starter homes are those with a sale price in the 5th-35th percentile. 

Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar…

29 Views, 0 Comments

"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…

197 Views, 0 Comments

"Seller’s Market, Buyer’s Market, ‘Nobody’s Market’? The Weird State of Housing Right Now"

Realtor.com writes, "today’s housing market has everyone wondering: Is it still a seller’s market, or has the power dynamic finally shifted in favor of buyers?

Try neither.

Uncertainty about the future of inflation, the economy, mortgage rates, and more have seized up the market—and wrenched power away from buyers and sellers alike.

“Today, real estate is ‘nobody’s market,'” notes Realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale in her analysis of housing data for the week ending Feb. 4. “The number of homeowners deciding to sell continues to lag, but inventory and time on market continue to climb, reflecting still-hesitant buyers.”

We’ll break down what the latest real estate statistics mean for homebuyers and sellers in this latest installment…

215 Views, 0 Comments

Austin’s real estate is 'inching' toward normalcy as market shows signs of stabilizing

Knock on wood—real estate professionals are saying Austin’s housing market showing signs of stabilizing as local inventory hit two months for the first time since 2019.

Austin Board of Realtors CEO Emily Chenevert said after two years of pandemic-fueled prices, “we're inching our way toward something that feels more normal,” during the 2022 Central Texas Housing Summit—which brought industry professionals and economists together—on Tuesday.

Still, housing is one of Austin’s biggest fallbacks despite a diverse local economy, growing infrastructure investments, multiple nearby universities and a healthy job market. Stable housing falls in tandem with affordability, Austin Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Laura Huffman said.

“So what could…

240 Views, 0 Comments

The Fed raises rates by 0.75%: Its inflation battle continues

The Fed raises rates by 0.75% and improves its inflation-fighting credibility

As expected, the Federal Reserve today raised rates by 0.75%, its largest increase in 28 years, bringing the federal funds rate to around 1.50%. Of note, Fed Chair Jerome Powell highlighted in his comments that the FOMC's primary focus currently is on bringing down inflation in a "clear and convincing" manner over the next few months.

The markets welcomed this rate hike as a signal of credibility in the Fed's inflation-fighting mandate and a step in the right direction toward bringing interest rates back to more neutral territory. The S&P 500 headed higher by over 1.0% on the back of this move, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq was higher by over 2.0%. Chair Powell did note…

238 Views, 0 Comments

Austin home prices climb to new records despite sales slowdown in October

Although home sales in the Austin metro area tapered off in October, the region remains on track for a record-breaking year, according to the Austin Board of Realtors.

ABoR says home sales in the region slid 12.1 percent last month compared with October 2020. However, the median sale price in the area rose 24.7 percent year over year to an October record: $455,000. This is also a slight uptick from the September 2021 median home price of $450,000 in the Austin-Round Rock market. 

“We are beginning to see a glimpse into what buyers and sellers can expect in our housing market moving forward,” Susan Horton, president of ABoR, says in a news release. “More new listings are hitting the market, a trend that we have seen continuously for the past…

363 Views, 0 Comments