While the market traditionally experiences a seasonal slowdown heading into the new year, sales throughout the MSA rose 23.8% year over year while median home prices increased 19.7% and sales dollar volume spiked 49.3%.
For the first time within the five-county MSA, housing inventory dropped below one month to 0.9 months of inventory.
“This near-zero level of housing inventory throughout the region is staggering, and it will put enormous pressure on home prices and the rental market,” Romeo Manzanilla, 2020 ABoR president, said in a market analysis.
Inventory remains slightly more robust in the Lake Travis-Westlake area, which held onto one month of inventory in November. Yet home sales in the western Travis County region saw increases higher than that of the total MSA.
Residential home sales saw a 59.9% year-over-year increase in Lake Travis-Westlake while dollar volume spiked by 101.3%, which represents the month's total sale prices.
Median home prices reflected a more modest increase of 11.4% compared to the same period last year, which brought the region’s median price to $640,500.
Manzanilla concluded his statement by saying while industry professionals are grateful for the market’s rapid recovery, November’s numbers should give pause.
“Central Texans who could not find a property within Austin’s city limits have historically been able to expand their searches outward to find a home,” Manzanilla said. “But, when the entire region has virtually zero inventory, its leaders must think about how such a broad lack of housing will ultimately impact Austin’s suitability as a destination for businesses and economic growth.”
