Realtor and Northwest Austin resident Jonathan Stilley, who is a member of the Austin Board of Realtors board of directors, recalled a recent instance of listing a client’s home on a Friday and having 74 potential buyers attend the weekend open house. The home received multiple offers by Sunday, sold for well over asking price and closed in 12 days to a cash buyer, he said.
“[The housing market] has really taken off in the past couple of years,” he said. “… It’s this perfect storm of what’s perceived as still affordable, nice amenities and short supply. We’ll see this maintained for a while unless something happens.”
Rising prices
Northwest Austin homes that are priced well in the $200,000-$450,000 range and already updated—meaning the buyer can move in without making significant upgrades—are selling the fastest and often in days, he said.“On a median home price of $330,000, give or take, on those homes from my experience, 90 percent of what I’m seeing are multiple offers if it’s prepared and priced properly,” he said.
In those multiple-offer situations, Realtor and ABoR President-Elect Brandy Guthrie said it is important to have a Realtor to guide clients through the process.
“We have a conversation with the client and provide them with statistics on what the home should appraise for and nearby [home] values and educate them in ways to submit their best offer,” she said. “That way if [the offer] doesn’t get accepted you know you put your best foot forward.”
Even for sellers, she said having a Realtor can be vital when deciding which offer to choose in a multiple-offer situation.
“If the buyers have financing, the house still has to be appraised,” she said. “If the appraisal does come in short, it does have to come to a discussion if the buyer is willing bring that [difference above the home value] to the table, and a lot of times the buyers are having to bring the difference to the table.”
Guthrie said the city needs to find long- and short-term solutions to its housing shortage. This could mean getting creative with new housing stock, such as using the city’s new rules on accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, and working to include new options in the city’s development code rewrite.
“A lot of people have only resided in Austin and have had to move to the bedroom communities for affordability and availability,” she said.
Quick sales
Sellers are also feeling the housing market crunch when trying to buy another home in Austin, Stilley said.
“Don’t think it’s going to be three or four months until you’re moving,” he said. “Your home could sell the day it hits the market. You have to start preparing if you’re going to stay in Austin.”
One positive note, Stilley said, as long as mortgages are involved, the housing market is unlikely to pick up speed because of federal regulations.
“There’s a saturation point where no matter how hot the market gets the houses can’t move any faster,” he said. “It takes time to close [on a house].”
Shavonne Martin, Williamson County Board of Realtors board president, said houses for sale in the $300,000 range typically sell the quickest and receive an average of five to seven offers, and some homes can go off the market in a matter of days. She also said competition for a house can drive its price up from $10,000-$30,000.
“This definitely isn’t a looky-loo market. You have to be serious and motivated [to buy],” Martin said. “If you see a home, you cannot sleep on it—you have to be prepared to make a decision [that day].”
Stilley said active homebuyers need to be prepared regarding their financial situation before making an offer. He said a buyer’s financial standing could make or break an offer.
“You may lose three or four houses,” he said. “It’s OK; don’t get discouraged. We’re in it every day, but for other people sometimes you need that education. You need to feel what it’s like to lose [out on a house].”
Additional reporting by Caitlin Perrone and Scott Thomas
