Mid-Year 2019 Austin Market Report

[David Ivy]

The Mid-Year 2019 Central Texas Housing Market Report is out from the Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABoR). Over the first six months of the year, SFR sales are down 1.6% from last in the City of Austin with the median SFR rising 3.2% over the same period to $387,100. June itself saw the median SFR sales price increase 11% year over year in the city to $420,000, spurred by continued strong demand and a cripplingly low 1.9 months of inventory. The Austin-Round Rock MSA showed a 4.3% increase in year over year SFR sales in the first half of 2019 with median prices creeping 1% higher at $315,000. In June, the median SFR price was up 3% year over year to $334,702.

ABoR president, Kevin P. Scanlan, comments on Austin's continuing decline in SFR sales: "We have seen slight dips in Austin's home sales before, but because this decrease is over the course of six months, it could be indicative of a larger trend. Austin's limited housing inventory—which dropped below two months in June—and increasing home prices have resulted in fewer sales over time. As Austin continues to be one of the most desired cities to live in the United States, the suburbs are benefiting from this demand."

Here are basic stats on single-family home sales for June 2019 for the City of Austin and the greater Austin area:

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So, the overall pattern of high buyer demand with extremely low housing inventory continues, especially at price points affordable for those making median incomes. The median four person household in Austin pulls in $86,000 annually. With the median SFR in Austin hitting the $420,000 mark last month, the majority of those households must look outside of Austin for housing that fits their needs and lifestyle.

As I highlighted in a recent post, median SFR rents appear to be finally ticking upward in the Austin area in 2019 after a few mostly flat years. Look at the year over year difference from 2018 so far for median single-family rental rates in the City of Austin:

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Here’s a chart of the median monthly rent of a single-family home in the City of Austin over the past 10 years, including 2019 thus far:

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