Luxe Austin Homes - pricing

"Homebuyers can afford to be picky as Austin housing inventory rises"

CultureMap Austin shares, "The latest real estate report from Unlock MLS and the Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR) has revealed housing inventory is still on a steady rise in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA, creating more choices for potential homebuyers as they navigate a high interest rate market.

Residential home sales dipped by a mere 1.5 percent year-over-year from October 2023, amounting to 2,248 closed sales in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA. Median prices have also dropped to $430,000, or 3.2 percent less than this time last year. More than 3,300 new home listings were added on the market — a 7.4 percent increase from 2023 — bringing the total number of active home listings to 11,599.

According to Unlock MLS and ABoR housing…

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"Austin metro's hottest housing markets ranked"

Austin Business Journal shares, "Neighborhoods on the shores of Lake Travis, in Round Rock and in Driftwood are among the hottest housing markets in the Austin area.

That's according to The Business Journals' inaugural hottest housing markets ranking, which is based on third-quarter listing and sales data from Intercontinental Exchange Inc.

The ranking is intended to emphasize sales and pricing momentum in individual ZIP codes, using a weighted formula that includes quarterly and year-over-year comparisons. Only ZIP codes with complete data were included in the analysis. You can read more about the methodology at the bottom of this story.

Using those criteria, Austin’s 78726 ZIP code was found to have the most momentum in the metro. Located…

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"Top 10 Roadblocks for the Real Estate Market in 2024"

Realtor Magazine writes, "global unrest, economic uncertainty and eroding home affordability are among the top issues facing the real estate industry over the next year, according to The Counselors of Real Estate’s annual report, “Top 10 Issues Affecting Real Estate(link is external).” Each year, CRE surveys 1,000 real estate experts to gauge the emerging issues that could have the most significant impact on all housing sectors, particularly the commercial market.

“This past year has been challenging for some and opportunistic for others as the economy, office market and innovation continue to evolve and impact the market,” says CRE Global Chair William McCarthy. “Additionally, the housing shortage and infrastructure issues continue to cause…

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"Mortgage Rates Go Up—Right as the Housing Market Melts Down"

Realtor.com writes, "as much of the country swelters under a heat dome, the housing market is experiencing its own meltdown.

Mortgage rates jumped to 6.81% for a 30-year fixed-rate loan for the week ending July 27, according to Freddie Mac. That’s up from last week’s average rate of 6.78%. And the welcome run of median home prices declining for 42 days flatlined for the week ending July 22.

“The annual decline in the median listing price evaporated, with prices tying year-ago levels this week,” says Realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale in her analysis.

What’s keeping home prices so high—and is there any way for homebuyers to find some sweet relief from the punishing real estate market this summer? We’ll break down what this latest real…

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"The Housing Market Has a ‘Chicken and Egg’ Problem—but Buyers Have Finally Hatched the Perfect Workaround"

Realtor.com writes, "anyone who’s tried to buy or sell a home lately is no doubt painfully aware that today’s real estate market has slowed down considerably—but why?

A new Realtor.com® report sums it up as the “chicken and egg” problem. Allow us to explain.

It all starts with mortgage rates—which are about 1 percentage point higher than last year, hovering in the mid-6% range. This is a formidable deterrent not only for buyers, but also for sellers, who feel “locked in” to their current properties (along with the lower mortgage rates they got years earlier).

As a result, even homebuyers who are willing to pay high rates are finding few homes for sale, with May clocking 22.7% fewer new listings than last year.

“Many sellers report being…

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"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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"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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"What Is an Escalation Clause in Real Estate and When Should You Use One?"

Realtor.com shares, "when you’re deciding on what price to offer on a home, the situation might call for a single price or, in some cases, numerous prices via an escalation clause.

In a fast-paced, competitive market, having an escalation clause as part of your offer on a house can benefit the homebuyer and seller alike. But it does come with some downsides, so it’s important to know the pros and cons before you include one in an offer (or accept one as a seller).

Here’s what to know about an escalation clause, and when it’s a smart tactic for your real estate deal.

The basics of an escalation clause

An escalation clause is a real estate contract, sometimes called an escalator, that lets a home buyer say: “I will pay X price for this home,…

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"Mortgage rates fall for the sixth week in a row"

Yahoo Finance reports, "mortgage rates dropped for the sixth straight week, but housing activity remained muted going into the holidays.

The rate for the average 30-year fixed mortgage slipped to 6.27% from 6.31% the week prior, according to  Freddie Mac . Rates have fallen more than three-quarters of a point since mid-November after the Federal Reserve signaled that it would slow its interest-rate hikes amid cooling inflation.

Still, rates remain 3 percentage points higher than they were at the start of the year, leaving many first-time buyers on the sidelines and sellers — who haven't pulled their listings — more willing to negotiate.

“Heading into the holidays, mortgage rates continued to move down,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief…

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Finally, Mortgage Rates and Home Prices Favor Buyers—but How Long Will This Last?

Realtor.com writes, "Christmas has arrived early for America’s homebuyers! And it’s not just one gift, but two that should make them giddy.

Gift No. 1: lower mortgage rates, which have been falling for the past four weeks.

“Housing data in the week that followed the Thanksgiving holiday showed that the recent dip in mortgage rates may already be having an impact,” explains Realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale in her weekly analysis.

Gift No. 2: Home price growth “slowed notably” for the week ending Dec. 3, according to Hale.

We unwrap the latest real estate statistics and what they mean for homebuyers and sellers in our weekly column “How’s the Housing Market This Week?”

Mortgage rates dipped again

Not too long ago, it had…

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