Aaron Farmer, 2016 president of the Austin Board of Realtors, called 2015 the best year on record for Austin real estate.[/caption]
Single-family home sales and prices set new records in 2015 in the Austin area, according to data from the Austin Board of Realtors.
ABoR’s 2016 President Aaron Farmer said a number of factors led to a strong year for real estate demand, including the region’s continued job and population growth.
“It was probably one of the best years on record ever,” Farmer said. “I heard someone sum it up that when people talk about the good ol’ days in Austin, these will be the good ol’ days of Austin real estate. We had such a strong demand out there—not a speculative bubble—because of the shear number of people moving to Austin area."
However, he said low-housing inventory, rising home prices and increased development costs are contributing to critical affordability levels. In 2015, the median price for a single-family home in the Austin area increased by $30,000, or 9 percent, over 2014.
During the annual Greater Austin Housing Forecast on Jan. 13, Farmer said only about 12,000 to 13,000 new home starts are estimated for 2016.
“That’s just a drop in the bucket for our inventory,” he said.
A low inventory of available homes—only 2.2 months compared with a balanced inventory level of 6.5 months as recommended by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University—is a concern for affordability, he said. Inventory is measured by dividing the number of active listings by the average sales per month of the prior 12 months.
To help with affordability, Farmer said streamlining the process for permitting on new homes and renovations could help.
“At a city level, the city needs to make it easier for homebuilders and people wanting to remodel their house,” he said. “It’s very difficult to get anything built in the city of Austin.”
Farmer said speculating on how 2016 will shape out is difficult, especially given that it is an election year, which tends to affect interest rates and the stock markets. He said he does expect the year to still be strong for home sales and prices.
“If it’s a little bit slower this year than last year, I don’t think it would be bad for our market,” he said.
Data from the Austin Board of Realtors indicates the median price of a single-family home went up 10 percent in December 2015 to $270,000.[/caption]
December 2015 statistics
2,390: Single-family homes sold, 5 percent more than December 2014
$270,000: Median price for single-family homes, 10 percent more than December 2014
$348,904: Average price for single-family homes, 13 percent more than December 2014
57: Average number of days single-family homes spent on the market, one day more than December 2014
1,646: New single-family home listings on the market, 6 percent more than December 2014
5,214: Active single-family home listings on the market, 3 percent more than December 2014
1,601: Pending sales for single-family homes, 1 percent less than December 2014
2.2: Months of inventory of single-family homes, unchanged compared to December 2014
$833,880,560: Total dollar volume of single-family properties sold, 19 percent more than December 2014
Austin-area 2015 statistics
29,068: Single-family homes sold, 5 percent more than 2014
$263,900: Median price for single-family homes, 9 percent more than 2014
$333,558: Average price for single-family homes, 8 percent more than 2014
49: Average number of days single-family homes spent on the market, two days more than 2014
36,810: New single-family home listings on the market, 4 percent more than 2014
6,044: Active single-family home listings on the market, 5 percent more than 2014
29,839: Pending sales for single-family homes, 5 percent more than 2014
$9,695,852,178: Total dollar volume of single-family properties sold, 13 percent more than 2014
Aaron Farmer, 2016 president of the Austin Board of Realtors, called 2015 the best year on record for Austin real estate.[/caption]
Single-family home sales and prices set new records in 2015 in the Austin area, according to data from the Austin Board of Realtors.
ABoR’s 2016 President Aaron Farmer said a number of factors led to a strong year for real estate demand, including the region’s continued job and population growth.
“It was probably one of the best years on record ever,” Farmer said. “I heard someone sum it up that when people talk about the good ol’ days in Austin, these will be the good ol’ days of Austin real estate. We had such a strong demand out there—not a speculative bubble—because of the shear number of people moving to Austin area."
However, he said low-housing inventory, rising home prices and increased development costs are contributing to critical affordability levels. In 2015, the median price for a single-family home in the Austin area increased by $30,000, or 9 percent, over 2014.
During the annual Greater Austin Housing Forecast on Jan. 13, Farmer said only about 12,000 to 13,000 new home starts are estimated for 2016.
“That’s just a drop in the bucket for our inventory,” he said.
A low inventory of available homes—only 2.2 months compared with a balanced inventory level of 6.5 months as recommended by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University—is a concern for affordability, he said. Inventory is measured by dividing the number of active listings by the average sales per month of the prior 12 months.
To help with affordability, Farmer said streamlining the process for permitting on new homes and renovations could help.
“At a city level, the city needs to make it easier for homebuilders and people wanting to remodel their house,” he said. “It’s very difficult to get anything built in the city of Austin.”
Farmer said speculating on how 2016 will shape out is difficult, especially given that it is an election year, which tends to affect interest rates and the stock markets. He said he does expect the year to still be strong for home sales and prices.
“If it’s a little bit slower this year than last year, I don’t think it would be bad for our market,” he said.
Data from the Austin Board of Realtors indicates the median price of a single-family home went up 10 percent in December 2015 to $270,000.[/caption]
