Luxe Austin Homes - sellers

"Austin homebuyers gaining negotiating power"

Austin Business Journal writes, "Homebuyers in the Austin area are gaining the advantage as competition heats up among sellers.

The metro's housing inventory continues to hover around the six-month mark and new listings have increased 43.6% year-over-year to 17,662 active home listings, according to Unlock MLS’s latest market report. However, the median sale price of a home in Austin in June was flat at $450,000 compared to the same time last year.

“We’re not 100% in a buyer’s market, but we’re pretty close,” said Brandy Wuensch, 2025 Unlock MLS and Austin Board of Realtors president. “Buyers definitely have more power to negotiate and get a lot more favorable terms from sellers in terms of closing costs.”

Sellers are having to become more…

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"Buyers Are Gaining Market Power as Mortgage Rates Dip Another Week"

Realtor.com writes, "The sour outlook from consumers, and the consistent "wait-and see" policy from the Federal Reserve, helped push interest rates lower, including mortgage rates dipping to 6.77% for a 30-year fixed home loan. The dip was housing-friendly but small, so its impact will be modest.

Inflation, which showed the Fed’s preferred gauge, rose 2.3% in the year even as the index excluding food and energy prices edged a bit higher. Consumer confidence slipped in June, and while consumer sentiment improved, both measures remain at a concerningly sluggish level. 

The April Case-Shiller home price index showed regional divergence, with price gains strongest in Northeast and Midwest markets, like New York City, Chicago, and Detroit. Southern…

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"Austin-area home sales decline in May as inventory rises"

Austin Business Journal writes, "The housing market in Austin showed more signs of slowing in May, with sales dropping and inventory rising.

The number of listings came in at 5,716, equating to five months of inventory, according to the latest report from Unlock MLS. Sales numbered 3,021 in May — a 3.8% year-over-year decrease — although 4,515 sales were pending, a 16.1% year-over-year increase and the most reported so far in 2025.

The median sales price in May registered $449,000, a decline of $1,000 from April.

Clare Knapp, housing economist for Unlock MLS and the Austin Board of Realtors, said the slowing market could motivate sellers to adjust their prices to align more with what buyers can afford and are willing to pay.

“It's not that…

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"The price-cut picture is changing as home listings rise and buyers gain leverage"

Austin Business Journal shares, "After several years of strong sellers' markets, buyers are gaining leverage in a number of housing markets across the nation — and it's reflected in both home-listing and price-cut data.

That’s according to The Business Journals' recent hottest housing markets analysis of first-quarter housing data from Intercontinental Exchange.

Of the 8,936 ZIP codes analyzed by The Business Journals, 5,788 (or 64%) posted a year-over-year increase in home listings in the first quarter. Of those, 698 (or 7.8%) recorded an increase of at least 50%.

The data revealed home listings grew significantly in many pockets of the country, underscoring observations by some market watchers that the national residential real estate…

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"Austin's housing inventory went up and sales fell in April, per report"

CultureMap Austin shares, "Austin's homebuyers are uncovering an uncertain future for the housing market, as April sales took a nearly 14 percent dip from last year and housing inventory increased by 11.5 percent.

The latest real estate report from the Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR) and Unlock MLS said Austin's April housing data closely resembles a nationwide trend of higher mortgage rates and a decline in home sales.

New home listings in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metropolitan statistical area (MSA) rose to 5,710 homes in April, adding to a total number of 13,351 active home listings. That's nearly 20 percent more from April 2024.

Only 2,484 homes in the Austin area were sold in April, and median home prices took a small 3.2 percent…

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"Here's where home prices grew the most in Q1 as affordability worsens for many Americans"

Story Highlights

• The National Association of Realtors says 83% of metro areas saw their single-family home prices grow in Q1.
• Nationally, the median single-family home price grew 3.4% in the first quarter.
• The Northeast performed the best in sales and price gains while the South lagged.

Austin Business Journal writes, "The U.S. housing market may be showing signs of softening but in most cities, single-family homes only got more expensive at the start of 2025.

A new report by the National Association of Realtors found 83% of metro areas tracked by the NAR saw their existing single-family home prices increase in the first quarter of 2025. While down from the 89% of metro areas that saw price growth in the fourth quarter of…

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"Mortgage Demand From Homeowners Recovers as Applications Rise for the Second Week in a Row"

Realtor.com reports, "Home loan applications slightly ticked up 1.1% for the second week, but are trending lower than last week when overall applications increased 11%.

The latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey shows a 1.1% increase on mortgage loan application volume on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. The refinance index decreased 0.4% from the prior week but was 44% higher than the same week one year ago.

"The most notable change in this week's data was the increase in purchase applications, which jumped 2.3% on a weekly basis and were up 18% year over year," says Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com®. "The spring housing market is picking up, and…

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"Housing market shifts to favor buyers — but they're not buying"

Austin Business Journal writes, "Like much else about the U.S. economy, tariffs and broader uncertainty are weighing on home sales amid the industry's crucial spring season.

In March, more than 375,000 homes were newly listed on the market — an increase of nearly 9% compared to the same time last year, according to Zillow Group Inc. (Nasdaq: ZG) research. But newly pending sales were flat compared to last year, despite slightly lower average mortgage rates in March 2025 compared to a year ago.

That's despite several aspects of the market — including price cuts hitting their highest point in at least seven years — shifting to favor buyers.

Inventory rose to 1.15 million homes in March, an increase of 19% from last year and the most inventory…

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"Real estate agents see shift in priorities within housing-market decisions"

Austin Business Journal shares, "A substantial number of real estate agents believe climate change is affecting homebuyer decisions, and the impact is getting stronger in certain parts of the country.

Among real estate agents surveyed in real estate firm Redfin Corp.'s 2025 Industry Survey, 39% of the respondents said they believe climate change is impacting to at least some degree consumer choices about where to live and what homes to buy. That total included 13.2% who “completely agree” that climate change was impacting choices, and 25.8% who “somewhat agree.”

The 39% total is more than the 35.8% who "somewhat disagree" or "completely disagree." The balance of the respondents did not offer an opinion on the topic.

The number of respondents…

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"Mortgage Interest Rates April 17, 2025: Mortgage Rates Swing Up After Bond Sell-Off"

Realtor.com writes, "Mortgage rates swung up on Thursday compared to the previous week, inching toward the dreaded 7% level, following the recent surge in 10-year-Treasury yields driven by investor concerns about escalating global trade tensions. 

The average rate on 30-year fixed home loans increased to 6.83% for the week ending April 17, up from 6.62% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac. It is the largest one-week increase in 12 months. Rates average 7.1% the same week in 2024. 

"The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage ticked up but remains below the 7% threshold for the thirteenth consecutive week," says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. "At this time last year, rates reached 7.1% while purchase application demand was 13% lower than…

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