While February’s winter storm disrupted Austin-area home sales, which decreased 8% during the month, sales in the heart of Austin continued to rise. In Community Impact Newspaper's Central Austin distribution area, home sales rose from 320 in January to 356 in February, up 28.1% from February 2020, according to the Austin Board of Realtors.

Median home prices in Central Austin and the broader Austin area also grew last month, with an 11.6% increase year over year to $600,000 in Central Austin and a 22.5% increase to a record high of $395,000 in the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area. In the city of Austin proper, the median price was $491,000, also a record.

“We’re still very much in a sellers’ market,” ABoR President Susan Horton said in a news release.

While demand remains high, inventory remains low throughout the area, an issue the winter storm only intensified, according to ABoR. Central Austin has enough homes to meet demand for only one month, and the city of Austin at large has even less: just two weeks of inventory. Central Austin’s inventory is slightly more robust due to the prevalence of condominiums, which are in higher supply than single-family homes.

Inventory levels remain low not just in Central Texas, but nationwide, said Lawrence Yun, National Board of Realtors chief economist.

“Until we have more supply, the lack of inventory and prices rising nationwide are going to present challenges for homebuyers everywhere,” Yun said. “Although it's not visible, mortgage rates will continue to rise throughout the year.”