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Hi Austin Texas, it is time for your housing update for the week of August 8, 2022. Last week I made an announcement about the market and it caught fire. Let’s dive into this weeks numbers!
market stats Highlights Include:
- As of Monday there were 9281 homes for sale in Austin Texas which is our highest inventory number of the year.
- There are 1159 new listings that came to the market up in the week prior (that’s 27 less homes than last week).
- There are 1784 home price decreases. (151 less houses had price decreases vs last week when there were 1935 decreases
- There are 152 home price increases up from 100 last week.
- There are 237 properties that fell out of contract now back to the market that is slightly up (from 224 to 237)from the previous week
- There are 509 properties that went Under Contract (499 last week)
- There are 464 Pending properties for Sale (469 last week)
- When we add up the “Under Contract” and “Pending” 973 homes are currently in the process of being purchased (968 last week)
- We saw 687 homes Sold which is down from the previous week (202 less).
- 219 were withdrawn which means they are no longer for sale (down from last week slightly).
- 130 homes had listings that expired ( down from last week when 148 home listing expired). Expired means that the house was for sale for a specific period and that it did not sell. It is currently off the MLS. This tells us that Sellers and their Agents who are not following the market closely did not adjust for the market.
- 124 Homes are now on hold. (14 more homes on hold vs last week).
Consumers are still thinking they need 20% down to buy a home.
Money is cheap to borrow for your mortgage. It’s less than 6% to borrow right now. You don’t need 20% downpayment to buy a house and you’re missing out on home ownership. You can’t save faster than the speed that our home values are increasing. In otherwords, house values will continue to rise and you can’t save fast enough to get to that higher percentage as a down payment.
Mark: Sellers Holding Off – now what?
Given the inventory numbers hovering at around 9281 homes, Sellers are finding more homes for sale in most price points. There’s no sign of a housing market crash in Austin Texas. Our market is becoming more balanced.
A well priced move-in ready house will sell for more. Bidding wars are still a thing if you price your home to sell.
Austin is remains a Seller’s market based on pent up Buyer demands courtesy of our growing jobs market.
What Does This Market Mean If You’re a Buyer?
Even with all the homes currently for sale, demand continues. It is no longer about who can buy a home for the most amount of money. It’s about negotiations and that’s a skillset. And, you want a stron negotiator on your side.
Waiting on Housing Prices to Come Down?
Inflation, mortgage rates and housing prices all equally impactful when you’re determining how much house you can afford. How much our lifestyle costs us each month has a direct impact on affordability. And, many people may need to shift their expectations about how much house they wish to afford and how much house they can afford. Interest rates will go up and down. And, when they go up in future, you’re going to wish you bought sooner. Interest rates may drop in future. And, when they do you can re-finance. It’s really that simple.
So, let’s get our Home Purchasing hats on.
Our economy in Austin is driven by macro-economic factors. We don’t live on an island and determine how much Whole Foods is charging for almond milk or how much the local gas station is grabbing us for at the pumps each day. What we can control is our monthly expenses by balancing those factors with our mortgage, insurance and other factors for living our best life.
Let us end with this about the Austin Texas housing market. There are opportunities for buying and selling in every market.
Our hyper-local data is key to understanding what is happening here in the Austin area. Listening to global trends or what’s happening in your cousin’s city or neighborhood 500 miles away is irrelevant to buying and selling homes in Austin Texas.
Austin has pent up Buyer demand that is not going away. Tech companies like Amazon, Apple, Canva, Google, Oracle, Samsung $17B Semi-Conductor, SpaceX, Tesla… Keep making job announcements. Austin is seeing our sales prices up and more Sellers ready to sell.
Next week we’ll have another Austin housing market update for you.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on this Austin Texas housing market, the economy and what you’re experiencing as you consider where you are living, loving, working and playing in Austin Texas
I’m Jennifer S. Goodman Living in Austin Texas. I’m Mark Karetskiy, Mortgage Lending.
Thanks so much for tuning in, we’ll catch you next week.
Want to talk about real estate? Please feel free to call or text at 512.548.4568
