“July’s housing market activity underscores the resiliency within the MSA’s market,” Ashley
Jackson, 2023 ABoR president, said. “We now have a direct year-over-year comparison of when our
market began stabilizing, and the big fluctuations we’ve previously seen have started to even out.
Potential buyers who have been on the fence about purchasing a home should know interest rates
are settling, and now is the time to act. Working with an experienced REALTOR® is the best thing
you can do because they can help you make quick and confident decisions.”
In July across the Austin-Round Rock MSA, sales dollar
volume dropped 7.2% to $1,668,708,916, while homes spent
an average of 59 days on the market, up 37 days from July
2022. The median price also dropped 10.3% to $462,000
and new listings fell 23.7% to 3,884 listings. Active listings
increased 12.8% to 9,663 active listings while housing
inventory increased 1.0 months to 3.7 months of inventory.
Clare Losey, Ph.D., housing economist for ABoR, weighed
in on the recent rise in sales and provided an update on
what is expected for the latter half of the year.
“With a rise in pending sales and closed sales remaining consistent, this further indicates that
buyers are becoming more accustomed to the higher interest rate environment and understand
that elevated mortgage rates may continue. We are seeing a year-over-year decline in median
sales prices, as buyers cannot afford the same price points with these higher rates. Looking ahead,
the odds of Central Texas experiencing a recession continue to decline with each passing month.
Despite mortgage rates rising, Austin’s economy–which is fueled by a strong labor market–
continues to outperform national expectations.”
Losey added that although the market is steady, affordability remains a constraint.
“In 2023, the median family income in the Austin-Round Rock MSA is $122,300. This means buyers
generally can afford a home priced between $300,000 to $400,000, however, less than 40% of
homes sold in the Austin-Round Rock MSA in July of this year alone fall into this price range.
ABoR’s July housing market data stresses not only the strong, ongoing housing demand in our
region, but also the critical need for more housing stock at all price points.”
