Log on to your favorite news site or pick up a local publication and there is a good chance you’ll read about the flood of people moving to Central Texas...and Austin specifically. The numbers tend to vary, over the last year I’ve read 70 people per day to 110 people per day. At one point I heard 150 people per day! The bottom line, a lot of people are moving to Austin. 
It’s a common trend, residents from 1st tier metropolitans (NYC, L.A., Chicago) are looking for 2nd tier cities as havens to ditch the expensive world of these 1st tier cities. The Austin Letter, a weekly publication by Neal Spelce, featured this trend and the migration patterns of people making their way to Austin:
“Analyzing USCensus data from 2010 to 2013 that showed Austin as the fastest-growing major metro area in the nation, BusinessWeek ranked the Top 15 Big Cities that lost residents to Austin. While seven of the 15 were from western states, guess which city sent more of its residents to Austin than any other biggie.
Chicago was #1, followed by #2 Los Angeles and #3 New York. The remainder: #4 Phoenix … #5 San Diego … #6 Tampa … #7 Naples, FL … #8 Atlanta … #9 Riverside, CA … #10 Washington DC … #11 San Jose … #12 Santa Ana, CA … #13 Denver … #14 Oklahoma City and #15 Philadelphia.
Dig through the latest data from ABOR (Austin Board of Realtors) and you’ll see the squeeze this is putting on our local real estate market. The April analysis shows 2.3 months worth of inventory city wide, tilting many neighborhoods in favor of sellers. Most economist say a balanced market between sellers and buyers is found when inventory levels are near 6 months worth of housing supply. So buyers need to be ready when “In Austin, almost 22% of homes sell within three days,” reported BusinessWeek”
As a representative of both buyers and sellers in this market, I still remind clients to pump the brakes before making rash decisions. I tell buyers we should do a “sanity check” of a homes value before rushing to make an offer. Sellers are still encouraged to complete those overdue repairs / updates, and take those extra few days to stage their home (sellers receive a 1hr consultation with a professional stager when they hire me). And despite the hot market, one should still focus on accurate pricing.
Call me if buying or selling is in your future. I can help you navigate through this turbulent market.
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