Attainable Home Pricing Is the Key to Attracting More Buyers in Central Texas in August: Chuck Farr’s September 2024 Newsletter
Welcome to the doorstep of Fall (the equinox just happened days ago) on this last day of September, friends, homeowners, tenants, prospective buyers, and real-estate investors!! This month’s newsletter will be shorter than usual as yours truly took a rare trip abroad in mind-bending Scotland “on holiday” as they say in the UK. I discovered places you can scarcely imagine, a new favorite coffee concoction (called a “flat white”), and an island I shall never forget called Skye. Driving on the left side of the road was interesting. Sometimes you just need to get away from everyday living and work.
In the News: According to the Austin Board of REALTORS® and their service, Unlock MLS:
“In August, active home listings in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA housing market increased by 15.4%, while the median home price dropped by 4.4% to $439,990, according to Unlock MLS’ Central Texas Housing Report. While these factors indicate more opportunity for buyers, home prices need to decrease further to significantly impact sales growth across the region.
“‘Buyers currently have more leverage in this market than previous years and it’s important for sellers to price their homes attainably to reflect current market conditions and attract more buyers,’ Clare Knapp, Ph.D, housing economist for Unlock MLS and the Austin Board of REALTORS®, said. ‘While the Federal Reserve may start cutting rates in September [the Fed did drop interest rates this month by 50 basis points], don’t expect a meaningful decline in mortgage rates. Even if rates drop to 6% [they currently sit at between 6.5% and 7% at today’s writing], it would only provide a modest 2% boost in buyer purchasing power. In today’s market, a moderation of home prices—rather than interest rates—is what will drive sales.’
“Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA
2,591 – Residential homes sold, 10.4% less than August 2023.
$439,990 – Median price for residential homes, 4.4% less than August 2023.
3,781 – New home listings on the market, 4.1% less than August 2023.
12,334 – Active home listings on the market, 15.4% more than August 2023.
2,583 – Pending sales, 3.1% more than August 2023.
4.9 – Months of inventory, 1.1 months more than August 2023.
$1,494,659,395 – Total dollar volume of homes sold, 11.0% less than August 2023.
93.3% – Average close to list price, compared to 94.2% in August 2023.”
Just as a reminder for folks in the Austin MSA area, if you had bought a house in 2018 at the median price of $305K, its value would have increased to $502K by the May 2022 peak. Median price for the MSA is now $440K, so you would have still done well investing in Central Texas real estate. Some say that regardless of the timing of when you enter and exit a real-estate market, it is always a good time to buy real estate. Check the latest Central Texas Housing Report for more details and data for the city of Austin and surrounding counties.
Issues of this and previous newsletters are located on the Blog tab of my website at www.chuckfarr.com.
