You read it right!... I didn't make a typo. There is over 12 months of inventory of New Construction Homes in certain ZIP Codes in Austin, Texas! One of these Austin ZIP Codes is where I do most of my business, 78734, the Lakeway and Austin ETJ (Extra Terrestrial Jurisdiction)! No, there aren't any cute aliens living here... And if there were, they'd probably be living in Downtown Austin.
In September there was 12.9 months of New Construction Inventory including Single Family Homes, Townhouses and Condominiums, up over 2 months of inventory compared to August (according to the latest Austin Board of Realtors Monthly Local Market Report - ZIP Detail for 78734). This is a tremendous increase and builders are really feeling it!
Year-to-date, there have only been 8 New Homes sold here... the last one sold was at the end of July and I had the honor of selling it for my builder-client in this ZIP Code. Prior to that, no New Construction had sold here since the beginning of May!
The Average Price per Sq. Ft. for New Construction has held at $398 because of the lack of activity. One can only speculate on the price point that the next New Construction will sell. However, the average price for a Resale Home in 78734 in September dropped 5.4%, compared to August, to $746,667, 28 total units had sold.
The broader Austin-Round Rock MSA Housing Statistics tell a similar but less alarming story about what is "more gradually" happening in the region.
Take a look at the following illustration published by the Austin Board of Realtors, ABOR for yourself. These are the most current housing market statistics:
In the Austin-Round Rock MSA, Median Sales Prices dropped 1.7% to $452,080 in September compared to August. This is significant because it's just about where we were in March, spring, just as the housing market here was gaining momentum and subsequently made nice gains mid-spring through early summer. September also had less Closed Sales and more Inventory than March. These are all signs of a weakening market.
There were 2,387 Closed Sales in September, 552 less than August, a 19% drop!
Active Listings rose 3% in September to 10,235 units, 280 more than August.
With a 19% Closed Sales decrease and a 3% increase in Active Listings, it's no surprise that Months of Inventory for the Austin-Round Rock MSA rose another .2 of a month bringing it up to 4 Months of Inventory, something that we had seen prior to COVID-time. For home seekers, this is a blessing.
Average number of days that it might take one to sell their home rose another 5 days in September to 65 days. This isn't too bad for sellers however this is an average and I expect this number to increase (so it would be wise for homeowners to think about putting their homes on the market ASAP because I would expect the Avg. Days on Market (DOM) to increase and home values to decrease).
There are so many indicators that point to this trend...
One in particular, Interest Rates that ticked over 8% mid-October! Luckily, they had dropped by the beginning of November to 7.36% for a 30 Yr. Fixed Rate Loan according to Mortgage News Daily.
More bad news:
Pending Sales dropped 366 units, 14% in September compared to August... so it's not looking like October started ahead with lots of potential closings.
Total Sales Dollar Volume, commensurate with the drop in Median Sales Price, dropped $320 million, a 19% drop.
My take... The housing market in the Austin Metropolitan Area is slowly deteriorating. However, as this happens it presents great opportunities to buy and invest with the knowledge that at some point the market will recover!
Looking to buy or sell a home or investment property in the Austin Metropolitan Area including Lakeway, the suburbs or countryside?! I'm the Realtor for you to contact who KNOWS the market!
The Austin-Lakeway home picture at the top of this article is located at:
524 S. Meadowlark St., Austin, TX 78734 ABOR MLS# 7019814
3 Bd., 3.5 Ba., 2578 sq.ft. + Casita, Pool & Entry Courtyard
Listed at $849,000, Call me for Info!
Cary Nemeroff, Austin Lakeway ASL Realtor
(512) 409-4047
austinlakewayrealtor@gmail.com
www.austinlakewayrealtor.com
Facebook: Cary Nemeroff, Realtor
Click the "Follow" button so you don't miss my reliable, monthly Austin-Round Rock Texas MSA Housing Statistics Analysis that I post EVERY month!
Comments(4)