Luxe Austin Homes - residential real estate

"What To Expect in Mortgage Rates and Savings Accounts in 2025"

Realtor.com writes, "With 2025 underway and with the presidential inauguration on the horizon, speculation is rife about the direction of interest rates.

Here are some of the main outlooks for where they might be headed:

Mortgage rates

Last week, the Freddie Mac rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 6.91%, its highest level since July.

But Realtor.com® economists predict that mortgage rates will take a tumble in 2025.

According to our 2025 Housing Forecast, we will see an average mortgage rate of 6.3% in 2025.

Home equity loans and HELOCs

Home equity loan and HELOC rates are also expected to fall.

Bankrate predicts that in 2025, the average home equity loan rate will go from 8.41% to 7.9%, and the average HELOC rate will…

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"Will Homeowners Finally Sell in 2025? Here’s What the Experts Say, Amid a Glimmer of Hope"

Realtor.com writes, "The U.S. housing market crawled to a standstill last year—and while the latest projections show that 2025 is expected to bring only limited relief to buyers and sellers, there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon.

The year closed out with the strongest seasonal slump since January 2023. Homes lingered on the market for a whopping 70 days, up from 62 in November. It made December 2024 the slowest festive season in five years.

Inventory also plummeted 8.6% from November, marking the most precipitous drop in nearly two years.

Meanwhile, mortgage rates reached a six-month high, hitting 6.91% for the average 30-year fixed home loan for the week ending Jan. 2, according to the latest numbers from Freddie Mac.

On top of…

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"Zillow economist calls Austin’s housing market ‘healthy’ going into 2025"

AUSTIN (KXAN) — "A senior economist for real estate company Zillow told KXAN that the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan housing market is set to enter 2025 in a “healthier” spot than its previous “unsustainably hot” situation.

Zillow senior economist Orphe Divounguy said in a Dec. 11 interview that 2024 saw a “cooling in the housing market.” The company rated the Austin-Round Rock Metro as a buyer’s market in an October 2024 report.

“We’re in a period of transition, and we’re going to continue to see home sales continue to rebound slowly from the big trough that we had in 2023,” he said. “The big surprise at the national level was the fact that we started to see some sellers return.”

Divounguy’s prediction for the national market in 2025?…

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"Icon to create 100 more 3D-printed homes at Community First Village"

Austin Business Journal shares, "Austin-based, 3D-printing company Icon Technologies Inc. is continuing its partnership with East Austin's Community First Village, where construction is underway on more of the company's unique, printed homes.

Icon is partnering with Lennar Foundation, the charitable arm of homebuilder Lennar Corp., to build 100 homes at Community First using its industrial-scale 3D-printing technology, according to an announcement. Icon has already built 17 homes and facilities at the development, including Community First's welcome center.

Community First Village, created by Austin-based nonprofit Mobile Loaves and Fishes, provides affordable, permanent housing for people coming out of chronic homelessness. It will be able to…

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"Check out real estate trends in the Bastrop-Cedar Creek area in November"

Community Impact shares, "The real estate market continues to see action in the Bastrop-Cedar Creek area, which experienced 62 home sales in November, according to data from the Austin Board of Realtors.

Zooming in

In the 78602 ZIP code, 42 homes sold, while 20 sold in the 78612 ZIP code in November.

The median home sales price in the 78602 ZIP code over the last six months is $375,000, and in the 78612 ZIP code, median home prices were $474,998 in the same time frame.

In the 78602 ZIP code, homes were listed on the market for an average of 70 days. In the 78612 ZIP code, homes were on the market for an average of 87 days.

Source: Community Impact

Written by: Sierra Martin

Published: December 19, 2024

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"How Austin fits into Zillow's predicted housing market growth in 2025"

CultureMap Austin writes, "It looks like a few more people are about to turn their online home shopping daydreams into reality in 2025. Zillow, the famous real estate listings website, says in a press release that next year will likely bring "a gradual but bumpy decline in rates, impacting sales and price growth."

It attributes the forecast to "erratic and dramatic mortgage rate movements" throughout 2024, which will continue to affect the market. The website's housing market predictions report estimates that 2025 will see about 100,000 more sales than 2024, that home value growth will be "low and slow" at 2.2 percent, and that inventory and new listings will continue recovering from pandemic weakness.

On a local scale, Zillow's latest data…

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"Forecasts in 4 top markets a reminder that real estate is local"

Key points:

• During NAR’s annual real estate forecast summit, a panel of economists shared predictions for their markets in 2025.
• Compared to much of the country, Austin and Florida have significant inventory, while in Virginia and California, supply remains constrained.
• Regional issues including post-boom rebalancing, chronic underbuilding and job shifts will continue to impact local markets next year.

RealEstateNews.com writes, "As real estate agents and brokers prepare for 2025, they will need to consider how national forecasts — including predictions of more transactions in 2025 — apply to their local markets.

While the mantra "all real estate is local" remains in play, some trends proved fairly consistent between 2020 and…

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"First-time homebuyers flock to Williamson County"

In October, the most recent data available, the median sales price of a home in Williamson County clocked in at $420,000 compared to $510,000 in Travis County and $565,000 in the city of Austin, according to the Austin Board of Realtors’ and Unlock MLS’ latest market data.

While the more affordable inventory in Williamson County is attractive to first-time homebuyers, the job market fueled by employers such as Apple and Samsung is also a major driver of demand in the region.

Kent Redding, ABOR's 2024 president, said buyers are comparing the average sales price of a home in Austin to other areas of the metro and deciding they simply can’t afford a house in Austin — especially at a time when mortgage rates are elevated.

The average 30-year…

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"Planned 'new town' near Jarrell moving 'full speed ahead' — albeit behind the scenes"

Austin Business Journal shares, "About 18 months ago, representatives of Arizona-based DMB Development LLC unveiled initial plans for its long-anticipated Solana Ranch project near Jarrell. The effort called for billions of dollars of investment and construction of 14,000 homes and mixed-use buildings on more than 7,000 acres.

Elements of the project aren't yet visible on the sprawling site at the northern end of the Austin metro, but DMB President and CEO Brent Herrington said the company "is making tremendous progress and our current status is full speed ahead."

Split between Williamson and Bell counties, the planned development is among the most anticipated in the region. In early 2023, the Austin Business Journal first revealed plans for the…

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"Building Boom Forecast for 2025: Number of Affordable New Homes Set To Soar, but Expect Them To Be Smaller"

Realtor.com writes, "Builders are working to fix America’s critical housing shortage—and while the number of new homes is expected to top 1.1 million in 2025, expect them to be built slightly smaller.

But, homebuyers can expect them to be more affordable, too, according to the Realtor.com® 2025 Housing Forecast. This is especially good news for first-time homebuyers, who might find new homes easier to access in areas that are growing.

New construction will help ease the housing shortage

In 2025, new-home sales and single-family housing starts are expected to improve compared with other types of homes. Builders plan to construct about 1.1 million homes, which is a 13.8% increase from 2024.

Builders are working to make homes more affordable,…

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