Luxe Austin Homes - sales

"Existing-Home Sales Surge in a Positive Sign for This Year’s Housing Market"

Realtor.com writes, "This year’s housing market is off to a strong start.

Sales of existing homes, which exclude new construction, jumped 9.5% from January to February, according to a recent report from the National Association of Realtors®. That was the largest month-over-month increase in a year.

However, sales did dip a little annually, coming down 3.3% from February 2023.

The surge in monthly closings is likely due to the drop in mortgage rates, which began declining last fall. This brought more buyers into the market and, importantly, might have persuaded more homeowners to sell their properties. As most sellers are also buyers, many have been reluctant to trade a low mortgage rate for a higher one.

Mortgage rates averaged 6.87% for…

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"eXp, Compass top 2024 RealTrends Verified brokerage rankings for second year"

HOUSINGWIRE reports, "2023 was a consequential year for real estate. The market grappled with low inventory and mortgage rates that gave many homebuyers a reason to pause. According to Altos Research, 2023 inventory bottomed in April at 406,206 active listings. 

Today, there are 100,000 more homes on the market than there were in March of last year — that’s 21% inventory growth. HousingWire reports that housing inventory is on pace to grow 40% in 2024, bringing the market slightly closer to a healthy equilibrium. 

Each year, RealTrends Verified identifies the country’s most successful residential real estate brokerages, teams and agents – verifying transaction sides and closed sales volume for top-performing real estate brokerages — to give you the…

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"Mortgage rates hold steady to start 2024. Is an uptick in the housing market on its way?"

Austin Business Journal writes, "the nation's for-sale housing market is off to a mixed start this year after a 2023 that proved largely challenging for homebuyers.

Existing-home sales ended 2023 down about 19% from the prior year, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. While the number of transactions declined, prices rose in most metro areas through the end of the year, and that trend appears to be holding up early into 2024.

In fact, single-family existing-home sale prices rose in 86% of metro areas measured by the NAR — or 189 of 221 — in the fourth quarter. That's up from 82% in the third quarter.

At the end of 2023, the national median single-family existing-home price was up 3.5% from the year prior, to $391,700.

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"Austin housing market collected $17.5 billion in 2023 despite sales drop, says report"

Culturemap Austin writes, "Austin's hot real estate market is still trying to balance itself out after a full year of cooling prices. But even after that, it's accounting for nearly $17.5 billion in economic activity in 2023, according to the latest report from the Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR).

The final report of 2023 wrapped up the Austin-Round Rock metro area's performance and compared it to 2022's statistics. The findings show the median prices in the Austin area decreased 10.2 percent year-over-year to $450,000.

As another good sign for what's ahead for homebuyers in the coming year, 2024 ABoR president Kent Redding said housing inventory in the Austin-Round Rock MSA has increased to the highest it's been in more than eight years.

"In…

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"Are bidding wars over? Here's how many Austin homebuyers are paying above asking price"

Austin Business Journal writes, "while high interest rates are prompting many sellers to drop prices at a record pace nationally, 13% of homes in the Austin metro are still selling above the listing price.

That's according to a new analysis of data from Redfin Corp., which found 32% of homes nationally sold above listing price in October — up 2.7 percentage points from a year ago.

As we've noted, a variety of factors suggest the housing market is shifting to give buyers more leverage in many markets. However, prices remain significantly elevated and, in many metros, are still on the rise — just not at the rapid pace of recent years.

In the Austin metro, homes sold for an average of 97% of the listing price in October.

Housing supply and…

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"Foreign buyers boost Texas housing market"

TheRealDeal reports, "an influx of international home buyers is providing a boost to Central Texas’ housing market. 

Over a 12-month stretch that ended in March, foreign homebuyers spent $609 million in Central Texas, accounting for 3 percent of sales dollar volume in the Austin region, the Austin American-Statesman reported, citing a study by the Austin Board of Realtors. 

“The Central Texas region continues to be a magnet for international homebuyers and investors,” Ashley Jackson, president of the Austin Board of Realtors, told the outlet. “One in six new Austin-area residents come from abroad.”

India was the primary source of international homebuyers for the second consecutive year, accounting for 21 percent of transactions among foreign…

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"Homebuilders turn to incentives to draw in priced-out buyer pool"

Austin Business Journal writes, "homebuilders continue to see sales momentum — despite surging mortgage rates and persistent affordability challenges — in part because they're pulling out the stops to lure buyers and ensure deals cross the finish line.

While a growing share of buyers have been locked out of the housing market because of rising mortgage rates, persistent home-price appreciation and a lack of existing-home inventory, the current environment also is creating some tailwinds for builders that can offer more competitive financing.

Housing starts increased 7% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.36 million units, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau data.

In fact, 31%…

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"Austin-area housing inventory rises as affordability challenges mount"

Austin Business Journal reports, "the Austin metro’s housing inventory is the highest it’s been in more than eight years.

Inventory in the region hit the four-month mark in September, according to the Austin Board of Realtor’s monthly market data. Inventory represents how long it would take to sell all of the homes on the market if new listings stopped, and housing experts say six months of inventory typically represents a healthy balance between supply and demand.

While that may sound promising for a region that's experienced a dearth of new homes, it takes some pain to have the gain. The number of closed sales is notably down. ABOR housing economist Clare Losey said this could be caused by a number of factors, including high interest rates and…

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"Compass adds 630 agents, acquiring firm that did $5B last year"

TheRealDeal reports, "on the heels of its first cash-flow positive quarter as a public company, Compass is taking a big bite out of the Central Texas resi market. 

The firm has acquired Realty Austin and Realty San Antonio, an independent brokerage that posted $5.24 billion in sales last year. With the purchase, Compass expands its Texas headcount by about 630 agents and absorbs one of the region’s top brokerages. The sale price was not disclosed. 

Local leadership will stay in control of day-to-day operations, according to a news release. The Realty brokerages are led by Gabe Richter and were co-founded by Jonathan Boatwright and Yvette Flores. 

The firms said they expect Compass’ technology will help Realty Austin and Realty San Antonio get…

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"'The market is active and resilient': Austin area sees uptick in home sales"

Austin American-Statesman writes, "Resilient.

That's the status of the Austin-area housing market as of August, when it saw its first year-over-year increase in home sales since early 2022, the Austin Board of Realtors says.

In its latest monthly report, the board said 2,939 houses changed hands last month in the five-county Austin region, which extends from Georgetown to San Marcos.

The sales represented a 1.4% increase over August 2022. It was the first increase in sales in the Austin region since February 2022, before repeated interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve to ease inflation began sharply slowing home sales throughout Central Texas.

Across the Austin-Round Rock metro area, half of the houses last month sold for more than…

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