In July, sales decreased by 10.2% to 1,304 homes within the city of Austin, according to a report from the Austin Board of Realtors. Travis County sales decreased 12.1% to 1,954 sales.
“July 2020 established the all-time-high watermark for home sales in the region due to pent-up housing demand after several months of stay-at-home orders and increased consumer purchasing power,” 2021 ABoR President Susan Horton said in the report. “As we have moved away from the post-COVID[-19] boom, the market has begun to stabilize. The typical seasonality for the summer returned as people re-engaged in other activities, including travel."
Despite indications that the market is starting to slow, it remains hot overall, according to the report.
In Austin, the median home price rose 37.6% year over year to $574,975—a record for July. New listings decreased 3% to 1,608 listings, and active listings dropped 35.2% to 1,066 listings during the same period.
Total sales increased to $903 million, up year to year by 15%.
“Austin is always considered one of the top places to live in the U.S., but we’re losing ground due to shrinking housing inventory and affordability,” said Vaike O’Grady, regional director of MetroStudy. “With construction delays and regulatory barriers, builders and developers are having increasing difficulty getting new homes on the ground. Because of that, there’s not enough supply coming to the market to significantly impact available inventory, which further pushes prices up. Looking ahead, there will likely only be new inventory available further out in the suburbs; meaning, other submarkets may gain traction over Austin.”
