An influx of people moving to Williamson County has led to high demand for housing and caused the average value of a home in Williamson County to rise by nearly 10 percent in the past year.

Area real estate experts say the increase in Central Texas home prices overall has not only driven Austin residents to the more affordable Williamson County suburbs, but this year also saw nearly 8,000 more homeowners in the county protest the Williamson Central Appraisal District’s estimated value of their home.

According to the WCAD, about 32,000 people in Williamson County protested their appraised home value in 2015. This year about 40,000 people have signed up to protest their estimated home value, WCAD Chief Appraiser Alvin Lankford said.

He said it is typical for someone who has just bought his or her home to protest if the WCAD’s appraisal is higher than the sale price. The increasing property values could be a shock to other homeowners and might cause them to protest, too, Lankford said.

“Some people are astounded by the increase because they have not been keeping up [with the market], and they’re going to see a large increase year-over-year, but [the increase in value] is well-supported by what’s happening in the residential real estate market,” he said. “We are a mirror reflection of what is happening in the marketplace.”

Real estate professionals also say the Williamson County market has a low inventory of homes, which tend to sell quickly. Single-family home sales in May grew by 70.7 percent year-over-year in Leander, and sales in Cedar Park increased 9.4 percent during the same time frame, according to the Central Texas Housing Market Report released by the Austin Board of Realtors in June.

“The demand far outweighs the supply right now—that’s what we’re seeing [in the area],” ABoR President Aaron Farmer said.

Higher prices, low inventory

One factor for the rising home values is multiple offers on a house driving up its price, said Donna Ciccarelli, a Realtor with HomeCity Real Estate, which lists homes in the Austin area.

“Because our inventories are so extremely low, it’s kind of like throwing in that lonely piece of bread into the water,” she said. “You have all these catfish after the one piece, and it just churns the water up.”

Preliminary estimates show values in Williamson County increased by about 9 percent compared with the 2015 value, and 2015 was the third consecutive year the county has seen about a 10 percent increase in average market value, Lankford said.

The average market value for a single-family home in Williamson County rose from $240,103 in 2015 to $261,842 in 2016, according to preliminary numbers from the WCAD. Home values will be certified at the end of July.

“That is due to continued growth of people moving to Williamson County, which has put a high demand on housing,” Lankford said. “Therefore, with the high demand and the low supply of homes, you’re seeing an increase in prices of those homes.”

The growing population in Leander and Cedar Park also causes the low number of houses on the market to be bought fast, Ciccarelli said. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Williamson County’s population increased by nearly 86,000 people from 2010-15, an increase of 20.3 percent.

Some of those new residents now call Cedar Park and Leander home. From 2010-15 Leander grew by more than 42 percent, and Cedar Park increased by 27.4 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

According to data released by the Census Bureau in May, Leander grew 10.83 percent between July 2014-July 2015 and was named the fastest-growing city in the nation among cities with a population of more than 15,000 from 2014-15.

The competition in the housing market can be seen in the rising home prices in Cedar Park and Leander. According to the Williamson County Board of Realtors, the median home price in Cedar Park rose 3 percent to $278,000 in May 2016 compared with May 2015, and Leander prices rose 11 percent to $252,450 in that time.

Market factors

Rising housing costs in Austin have driven some residents to Cedar Park, Leander and other cities within Williamson County, Farmer said. He said residents are drawn to the area because of good schools and job opportunities created through the Toll 183A development corridor.

“Building that major highway has really helped Cedar Park and especially Leander,” he said. “Ever since [Toll] 183A opened up, that whole area has really just blown up.”

WCBoR President Shavonne Martin said she saw many people hold off on selling their homes after the 2008 recession, and now many are looking to sell in the healthier market. She said the market is benefiting both buyers and sellers because sellers can sell at high prices, and buyers are able to obtain good interest rates.

“I think never have values been high and rates been so low at the same time,” she said.

Martin said houses for sale in the $300,000 range typically sell the quickest and receive an average of five to seven offers, and some homes can go off the market in a matter of days. She also said competition for a house can drive its price up from $10,000-$30,000.

Farmer said he expects the rising population and home prices to continue in both cities.

“As long as jobs are coming to the area and people are still moving to town and there’s a great demand for housing, I think this will keep going,” he said.