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The Austin Texas housing market saw 800+ homes go under contract last week. And, that’s not all. We are now closer to 9200 homes for sale which is off our high of 10,000 homes. As we head into the last few weeks of 2022, Austin is seeing a lot of activity in the housing market. And, while there may be a dip in house prices, we are still having bidding wars and over-all values are still well above pre-pandemic levels.
We’ll have November final numbers in a week or so which will give us a rear-view mirror look at prices vs a year ago. Will we be below, flat or above last years media sales price? Do you have a “best guess”?
The Austin-San Antonio Corridor
Will Elon Musk bore a tunnel between San-Antonio and Austin to create a commuter route between these two growing cities? The corridor is a hotbed of opportunity for commuters who wish to drive in from towns like New Braunfels and San Marcos to either city.
While our Austin-San Antonio geography covers twice the distance between cities like our friends up in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex, we are growing quickly. San Antonio and Austin are hotbed destinations for tech companies and those they employ. And, our layoffs, thus far, have been minimal vs some other cities that house tech giants Meta (Facebook), Tesla, Google, Samsung and others.
JP Morgan $1 Billion Fund May Destroy Atlanta Housing – Will They Come to Austin?
If the housing market is crashing, then why is JP Morgan announcing a $1Billion partnership for build-to-rent houses in Atlanta? It begs the question that when Wall Street companies are buying into the real estate market and building new homes, why are we a single family residential property owners concerned with the housing market??
Next to insurance, homeownership is the greatest vehicle for to create wealth.
Austin is seeing a proliferation of Builders building rental communities, thus eliminating the ability for people to purchase these homes and further erode our housing market shortage. Austin needs more homes to keep up with demand. And, Builders are looking to make a profit. Can’t blame them. However, we need more new home construction here. We’ve not been able to keep up with demand for years. Prayers for Austin that JP Morgan doesn’t bring their Wall Street wallets to our streets.
If we stop buying houses, then builders stop building them.
Property Values Soar Austin Investors Pass Along Sky High Taxes To Renters
Austin real estate investors are patting themselves on the backs as their assets values have increased at double digit values annually these past few years.. While homestead taxes are capped annually at a 10% increase, there’s no ceiling for investment property taxes.
The 2022 property taxes bills have been issued. And, those investors are now turning to their lease holders to pass along that property tax increase in hopes of collecting rent rates to pay taxes on their asset..
So, what happens when an investor of a single family home has a tax increase of $3600 in 1 year after 12 months and their tenants are locked in at last year’s rate? Investors are going to need to take a loss and cover the delta between taxes owed and rental incomes or raise their rates substantially. And, how many renters can afford or will choose to afford a $300/month+ rent increase?
If we think homeownership is expensive, take note that a mortgage is a fixed rate. After likely taking a lease hike last year and now being asked for another rate hike, what is it worth to a renter to have a fixed annual monthly payment? At lease with ownership, you’re creating equity for yourself instead of someone else.
As for Investors, how are they supposed to create wealth when our city is so deeply in their pockets that the door is swinging open for Wall Street to come in a buy up property with the likes of the Blackrock and Blackstone’s of the world?
If you’re considering buying an investment property in Austin Texas, then you’re going to want to know your numbers and insure that you can collect enough rent or strategically take losses on your balance sheets.
Can You Buy a House For Less Than 6%?
There are temporary buy downs that will allow you to buy down your mortgage rate up to 3% less than the posted mortgage rate.
The 3:1 Mortgage Buy Down Rates and 2:1 Mortgage Buy Down Rates and Permanent Buy Downs on the Jennifer S. Goodman YouTube Channel HERE.
Between your real estate dreams and reality is an action plan designed with you at the center. We’re here to empower you. So you can live your best life in Austin Texas. And, when you dream bigger or farther, we’ve got you there too. My trusted network of exceptional professionals spans the globe for that reason. We talked almost daily. With your interests at the forefront.
The Austin Housing Market Numbers At A Glance
Homes are selling in Austin, Texas.
- As of Monday morning there were 9,216 homes for sale in Austin Texas. Let’s get in the numbers and the housing market conditions because the media around the globe is having a field day creating story and boosting their ad revenues.
- There are 584 new listings that came to the market up in the week prior.
- There are 1058 home price decreases (316 less houses had price decreases vs last week).
- There are 144 home price increases up from 98 last week which tells me Sellers are starting to understand the effects of mortgage rates and economic forecast.
- There are 154 properties that fell out of contract now back to the market that is down from the previous week.
- There are 359 properties that went Under Contract.
- There are 445 Pending properties for Sale.
- When we add up the “Under Contract” and “Pending” 804 homes are currently in the process of being purchased.
- We saw 565 homes Sold which is down from the previous week (169 less).
- 260 were withdrawn which means they are no longer for sale.
- 74 homes had listings that expired (down from last week when 251 home listings 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.
- 130 Homes are now on hold. (up for homes on hold vs last week).
When buying a home during a shifting market there’s a lot to think about. This can be a big opportunity if when you have clear goals, up-to-the-minute information and the right REALTOR® by your side. Want to chat? You can reach us HERE.
Mark Karetskiy is a Mortgage Lender at Movement Mortgage. You can find him at Mark10k.com.
