November 2017 Market Report
The November 2017 Central Texas Housing Market Report is out from the Austin Board of REALTORS®. For the second month in a row, single-family home sales increased broadly across the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area. However, single-family sales in the City of Austin were down again in November by 3.3% year-over-year (down 1.7% in October). The normalization trend continues:
Brandy Guthrie, 2017 President of the Austin Board of REALTORS® commented, “Due to rapid population growth throughout Central Texas, Austin continues to have one of the highest demands for housing in the nation. Homes sales are the strongest where price points are the lowest and where development options are available, such as parts of Williamson and Hays counties. We are seeing some slowing home price appreciation and housing inventory gains, which is normalizing us to a more stable market and aligning us with long-term historical market trends.”
Here are the basic stats on single-family home sales for November 2017 for the City of Austin and the greater Austin area:
Signs point to a strong 2018:
“The 2018 Austin-area housing market will be a lot like this year’s housing market – slower, but still very strong housing market activity,” said Mark Sprague, State Director of Information Capital for Independence Title. “However, there are multiple economic factors to watch out for going into next year. Slowing job growth in Central Texas, the impact of Hurricane Harvey on the price of building materials and housing development costs, and the overhaul of the U.S. tax plan are all factors that could hinder housing market growth and negatively impact housing affordability in the Austin area in 2018.”
The ultimate outcome of the CodeNEXT process are still largely unknown:
“2018 will be an incredibly important year in determining the future health and sustainability of Austin’s housing market and its communities,” concluded Guthrie. “Due to high home prices, stagnating job and household income growth, and ongoing development hurdles, Austin continues to lose out on economic development opportunities to surrounding suburban markets. Our city desperately needs a fresh vision and a new Land Development Code that paves the way for smart growth in both our residential and commercial sectors. The longer we wait to implement CodeNEXT, the more of a foothold housing affordability has on our region’s ability to grow in a sustainable way.”
Happy Holidays!
