Last April, the coronavirus pandemic brought the Greater Austin area’s real estate market to a standstill. Roughly one year later, the market is not only showing strong recovery, but also experiencing double-digit growth in sales.
This is according to the Austin Board of Realtors April Central Texas Housing Report released May 18, which reported a 37% year-over-year increase in residential home sales through the five-county Austin-Round Rock metropolitan statistical area.
“Although striking at face value, last month’s housing market activity demonstrates not only a strong recovery since last spring, but significant growth beyond that recovery,” 2021 ABoR President Susan Horton said in the report.
The same holds true for Austin’s Lake Travis-Westlake area, which encompasses cities such as Lakeway, Bee Cave, West Lake Hills and Rollingwood in western Travis County.
In April, the region saw a 61.8% spike in residential property sales compared to the previous year. Median prices also increased by 39.8%, and the price per square foot increased by 47.3%.
Homes spent an average of 20 days on the market compared to 49 in April 2020. Housing inventory slightly increased in the Lake Travis-Westlake area from 0.5 months to 0.7 months of inventory, and the region currently has 214 active listings.
Still, in April 2020, the region had approximately 2.9 months of overall housing inventory and more than 745 active listings.
“Austin-area housing inventory was slightly higher in April than in March, and the pace of home price appreciation month to month is slowing, indicating that the rush on the housing market at the beginning of the year could be easing,” Horton said. “While the homebuying process continues to be complex and it’s common to submit several offers before one is accepted, there is hope and optimism for the months ahead.”
