Luxe Austin Homes - supply

"Is Austin’s hot housing market flipping in favor of buyers?"

Yahoo Finance writes, "The frenzied homebuying days in Austin, Texas, that saw some buyers offer six figures over asking price are gone.

The Texas capital, where the average home price soared by $170,000 during the COVID pandemic, is now seeing major price corrections: The median price per square foot is down 9.5% from its pandemic peak two years ago, according to Realtor.com. As of April, the median list price stood at $557,000.

Austin’s real estate boom was driven by a sudden influx of workers, who were newly remote and suddenly more mobile thanks to early COVID office closures. They encountered a waning supply of inventory, and home prices subsequently spiked, dealing a blow to the city’s affordability.

However, as mortgage rates increase,…

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"Five questions with Austin's top multifamily developer"

Austin Business Journal writes, "Multifamily development in Austin has slowed dramatically.

In April, 29,669 multifamily units were under construction across 104 communities in the metro, compared to 50,393 units under construction in 178 communities during the same month last year, according to ApartmentData.com.

The Journeyman Group ranked at the top of ABJ's latest list of multifamily real estate developers, with 3,944 units in the works or delivered in the Austin area last year. Journeyman Group has an additional 1,613 units planned for the area.

Alliance Residential ranked second on the list with 3,089 units in 2023, while The NRP Group took the No. 3 spot with 2,442 units. Wilson Capital ranked fourth with 2,135 units and Endeavor…

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"Home prices have reached a milestone. Here's why it's a double-edged sword."

Austin Business Journal shares, "The median sale price for U.S. homes hit a record $383,725 during the four weeks ending April 21, up more than 5% from a year earlier, according to newly available data from real estate firm Redfin Corp.

The increase comes even as the supply of homes also has gone up, with 10.2% more new listings compared to the same time last year.

The record-high sale price is double what the median price was 10 years ago and up about 50% over the past five years, according to Redfin (Nasdaq: RDFN).

High interest rates have kept mortgage rates above 7%, and there's little indication from the Federal Reserve that interest rates will be measurably declining in the near term. That combination has helped push the median monthly…

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"Home Prices Soared Higher in February, Despite Increasing Mortgage Rates"

Realtor.com reports, "Home prices continue to march higher this year, despite pressure from increasing mortgage rates.

National home prices rose 6.4% annually in February, according to data from the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index released Tuesday. That was the largest year-over-year rise since November 2022.

Among the 20 cities tracked, San Diego had the highest year-over-year price jump in February, at 11.4%, followed by Chicago and Detroit, both with increases of 8.9%.

The report tracks single-family home prices across December, January, and February, when mortgage rates dipped to 6.6%. More recently, average rates for 30-year fixed mortgages jumped to 7.17% for the week ending April 25, according to Freddie Mac.

In a note,…

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"6 hot Austin-area ZIP codes for first-time homebuyers in spring 2024"

Culturemap Austin writes, Austinites looking to own a home for the first time may be in luck this year, as the housing market is finally starting to look more lucrative for buyers. The post-pandemic homebuying craze left many scared and uncertain about the possibility of becoming homeowners with prices and rates skyrocketing. However, 2024 is shaping up to be a lot more hopeful for those wanting to trade renting for owning.

According to the US News & World Report market forecast for Austin, the current housing market is favoring buyers as mortgage rates are coming down, there’s a more balanced supply and demand of both new and existing homes, and median prices have slowly dipped by 4.2 percent over the past two years. At its peak in 2022, the…

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"Phase II of the HOME Initiative could bring minimum lot sizes down to 2,000 sqft"

ATX Today reports, "Austin City Council will vote on Phase II of the HOME Initiative — a move that would reduce the minimum size of a single-family lot — as early as May.

The council passed the first phase of the HOME Initiative, which stands for Home Options for Middle-income Empowerment, in December 2023. In part, the decision increased the maximum number of units from one to three on certain single-family lots.

This new phase would change single-family lot minimums from 5,750 sqft to 2,000 sqft, something the Austin Board of Realtors said could improve home affordability moving forward.

Why is this under consideration?

Proponents say passage of the new phase could alleviate the housing shortage by allowing construction of 87 to 871 new…

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"Housing supply increases across Central Texas in March, Austin Board of Realtors says"

Austin American-Statesman writes, "With the typical busy spring buying season upon us, what's happening in the Austin-area housing market?

The Austin Board of Realtors just released its monthly housing report, which shows that there were 4,714 new home listings across the Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown region last month, 10.2% more over the prior March. The increase has led to four months of inventory in multiple parts of the Central Texas region as the market continues to stabilize, the board said.

The board said 2,563 homes sold last month, down 0.3% from March 2023. The median price last month was flat year-over-year, with half of the homes selling for more than $450,000 and half for less.

The numbers indicate that homeowners have confidence…

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"Buda's Sunfield is metro's fastest-growing neighborhood"

Austin Business Journal reports, "Buda’s Sunfield is the fastest-growing neighborhood in the metro, nabbing the top spot after leapfrogging from the No. 8 position in 2023. See the list below this article.

Scarborough Lane Development’s Sunfield, a 2,795-acre master-planned community, earned first place on Austin Business Journal’s latest list of fastest-growing neighborhoods with 470 home starts last year. The list is based on data from real estate company Zonda.

There are eight homebuilders active in Sunfield, where homes can be purchased at prices much lower than the average home in the metro.

While Sunfield’s 470 home starts was an increase over the 291 home starts reported on our 2023 list, many neighborhoods saw a decrease in home…

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"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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"Builders expect home prices, construction to increase in 2024"

Austin Business Journal shares, "Homebuilders around Texas are optimistic that new home prices will ramp up in 2024 and that construction rates will grow as well.

Zonda analyst Bryan Glasshagel presented the company's findings for the final quarter of 2023 at the housing data firm's quarterly event on March 20.

The company surveyed homebuilder division presidents around Texas, 64% of whom expect home prices to increase between 1% to 5% this year. A majority of the respondents are also anticipating increased activity in 2024, with 75% of builders surveyed expecting starts to increase an average 10% this year.

"Consumer confidence is still driving builder activity," Glasshagel told the crowd that was gathered at the Greater San Antonio Builders…

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