Austin Real Estate Market Trends:
Articles By Roselind Hejl

It has been said that real estate markets are very local.  This is clear to us as we work throughout Austin.  On one day we may find ourselves dealing with multiple offers, or see clients lose their favorite choice because they did not act quickly enough.  And, on another day in another part of town, we pull up a long list of homes with multiple price reductions to show a client.  Even just within the Austin region, painting with a broad brush can hide the nuances in the marketplace. 

So we looked at the market section by section.  We checked the median price for each section and counted the number of foreclosures for sale.  And, we computed the number of months of inventory for sale.  The time needed to sell current inventory – at the sales rate of the previous 12 months – reveals the state of the underlying market.  The results are posted here: Austin Market: 2009-1st Quarter

Austin as a Whole:

For the Austin area as a whole, inventory stands at 5.9 months of supply.  This medium level of inventory indicates that, overall, Austin has a balanced real estate market. 

Austin in Parts:

We reviewed 54 different geographic sections in the Austin area:

8 had less than 4 months of inventory:  Seller’s markets.  

25 had 4 – 6 months of inventory:  Balanced markets.

21 had over 7 months of inventory:  Buyer’s markets. 

Price Range:

It is clear from the data that the higher end price range has an excess of homes on the market.  Areas with many homes over $800,000 include Central and Northwest Austin, Westlake, Barton Creek, and Lake Travis.  These neighborhoods were favored by builders who built or remodeled homes for sale.  We expect to see this inventory dropping during 2009 since new starts have virtually stopped. 

Foreclosures:

On average, foreclosures are 3.7% of listings on the market – not a significant part of our market.  However, some sections of Austin have higher foreclosure levels - up to about 10%.  These include the Manor, Elgin, Bastrop and some Southeast areas.  These areas, popular with first time homebuyers, were targeted by investors several years ago.  At the same time, these neighborhoods do not have high inventory levels – indicating that the foreclosures are being absorbed quickly. 

Conclusion:

In Austin we are not faced with serious depreciation, as a result of prices that were pushed to unsustainable levels.  We are not faced with a serious foreclosure problem, generating its own downward spiral.  And, we are not faced with widespread job loss.  We are a city that people are moving to. 

We do have high inventory and slower turn-around in some popular neighborhoods where builders were counting on faster absorption.  This is true of all price ranges, and is especially noticeable in the higher end. 

For buyers it is a great time to come into the market.  Interest rates are the best in a lifetime.  This is not the time to be waiting around for a better deal.  It is the time to start shopping for a great place to live in Austin!