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Austin Market Update: The Trends are In!

By
Real Estate Agent with Copeland Group Realty

By DeeinAustin

You may already know that I was a Global Project Manager at Apple, Inc. back in "the day". When you're analyzing a business or managing projects, Microsoft Excel is your friend because you can use it to understand long-range and short-term trends. I decided to dust off my old Excel skills and analyze the Austin real estate market each quarter from here on.

My team gathered all of the available Austin MLS data from 1999 to present, which is through September.

WHAT DID THE TRENDS SHOW?

First, keep in mind that this is MLS data. I only pulled Single Family homes and Condos since many of them will be listed in MLS. Duplexes, lots and commercial property is often sold through other methods, so the data may not be as accurate as it could be for products, but we have it available for those of you interested. That said, below are the top trends.

  • The Austin real estate market really took off in 2005. The lowest point was in 2001 with 2000 and 2003 being rocky.
  • 2006 was by far the best year for Austin sellers.
  • Due to the mortgage market downturn in August, you can see that September 2007 closings dropped like a rock.  
  • October data is not out yet, but the market seemed much better than September since both sellers, buyers and lenders were adjusting. November should be even better as new lending opportunities open up.

MY OPINION

Best_buy Bottom line...Anyone who doesn't buy within the next 6 months may regret it. I'm not stock analyst, but I do know that the key to buying good stock is picking a surefire winner that has had a slight setback for understandable reasons.

I have the raw files, so can answer just about any question on the Greater Austin real estate market since 1999, including duplexes, lots, etc. Feel free to post your questions here. If other folks seem interested, I can add the chart to the next market update slideshow.

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