Georgetown home sales dropped 30% in December 2022 compared to December 2021

Georgetown’s home sales dropped to 98 in December, marking a 30% decrease in closings from December 2021, according to monthly data from the Austin Board of Realtors.

Median prices also dropped to $399,500 for the month, compared to December 2021’s $422,000, while listings are left sitting on the market longer. Homes for sale were on the market for an average of 61 days, whereas houses spent only 15 days on the market in December 2021.

According to ABoR President Ashley Jackson, the Austin-area housing market is starting to stabilize after increased demand, activity and price increases.

“It is important to remember that we still have a desirable and sought-after market; it is just that now we are seeing our market return to a more normal level of high demand and activity than what we experienced in the years leading up to the COVID[-19] pandemic and subsequent boom in our market,” Jackson said in a news release.

With the number of sales dropping in December, Georgetown’s available housing increased. There were 3.1 months of available homes to finish out 2022, while the city had only 0.3 months of inventory in December 2021.

Even with the increase in housing, the region is still in need of new construction, according to ABoR. So when sales begin to pick up and the number of homes available shrinks, prices could go back up.

“We definitely had a couple of months where people were sitting on the sidelines, and demand has decreased somewhat considerably,” said Russ Phillips, a Georgetown real estate agent at Russ Phillips Team. “The economists that I listen to are screaming from the mountain tops that buyers need to take action, because it’s not going to get better for them.”