Austin's Housing Market 'Busting' as Troubling Milestone Reached - Newsweek

Housing inventory for sale in Austin, Texas, reached a new cycle high last month at 10,913, according to a recent ResiClub report, and is now 41 percent above pre-pandemic levels—a new milestone that some experts are interpreting as a bad omen for the city.

The metropolitan area of Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown Texas, had 7,727 homes listed for sale in June 2019; this is according to an analysis of Realtor.com active listing data made by ResiClub journalist Lance Lambert. By June 2020, housing inventory had dropped to 5,664; a year later, it had plunged to 2,370 homes listed for sale.

While, in June 2022, housing inventory had risen to 5,598, supply really exploded in June 2023, with 8,283 homes listed for sale. Last month, inventory was even higher, up 24 percent from a year earlier.

More From Newsweek Vault: How to Calculate How Much House You Can Afford

For Tracey Ryniec, value stock strategist at Zacks Investment Research, this boom in inventory in the Texan capital indicates that the "bubble" that grew in the city during the pandemic "is busting now," as she wrote on the social-media platform X, formerly Twitter.

Newsweek contacted Zacks Investment Research and the Austin Board of Realtors for comment by email on Monday morning.

More From Newsweek Vault: Should I Buy a House Now or Wait? How to Determine the Right Time to Get a Mortgage

For Austin homeowners concerned about affordability, this is great news. Home prices skyrocketed in the city during the COVID-19 pandemic, when an influx of out-of-state new residents looking for cheaper properties and a lower cost-of-living caused a frenzy of grueling bidding wars.

A drastic slowdown in the number of people moving to Austin after the end of the pandemic and a cooldown of its overheated market has caused dramatic price drops in the city between late 2022 and early 2024.

From November 2022 to February 2024, the city reported 16 consecutive months of falling prices year-over-year, according to real-estate company Redfin; as of March, prices started to climb back compared to a year earlier, though they remain below the pandemic peak of $667,000 in May 2022. In May 2024, according to the latest data available on Redfin, the median sale price of a home in Austin was $586,000, up 3.7 percent year-over-year.

Austin, Texas
In an aerial view, the downtown skyline is seen on March 19, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Inventory continues to grow in the Texan capital, where it reached a new cycle high last month. In an aerial view, the downtown skyline is seen on March 19, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Inventory continues to grow in the Texan capital, where it reached a new cycle high last month. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

But while home prices are climbing back in the Texas capital, options for buyers are also increasing, as overall inventory continues to grow. This is not something unique to Austin: Texas, together with Florida, is among the states that have been building the most new homes in the past couple of years in the entire country.

Given more choice, buyers are becoming more picky. The latest data from the Austin Board of Realtors (ABOR) shows that the median sale price of a home in the city was down by 6.3 percent in June year-over-year, at $450,000, while inventory had grown to reach five months.

While new listings were down 3.9 percent year-over-year, the total number of active listings were up by 25.9 percent. Sales were down by 13.4 percent, compared to a year earlier, while homes spent an average extra two days on the market from June 2023, for a total of 65 days without going under contract.

Emily Chenevert, chief executive officer for the Austin Board of Realtors, previously told Newsweek that the price "anomalies over the past two years were unsustainable" and that the city is now returning "to a more normal level of high demand and activity."

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Adblock test (Why?)



from "market" - Google News https://ift.tt/fad42Ut
via IFTTT

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

After street vendor crackdown, Corona Plaza market is a changed place - Gothamist

Image
The stretch of pavement in Queens where Liliana Sanchez used to sell aguas frescas has been empty since city sanitation police forced her to pack up her pop-up tent canopy. Her 16-year-old daughter now spends school nights and weekends busing tables to help pay rent. Across the street from Corona Plaza, sales at Alondra Cardoso’s hair salon have dipped 30%, or some $200 to $300 dollars a week, since the clientele from the former street vendor market no longer venture into her shop. Delivery worker Jorge Marin, 35, now orders breakfast from a bakery at a nearby intersection. He used to load up on tamales and yogurt and steaming cups of champurrado at the market, which expanded during the height of the pandemic. Now, at the bakery, he said he spends more for less. “It’s been dead,” Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said of the plaza since the vendors’ departure. “It’s taken the life out of the community.” The scene on a recent day in Corona Plaza, Queens, where a crack
Read more

Consumer Price Inflation, by Type of Good or Service (2000-2022) - Visual Capitalist

Image
Published 1 day ago on February 22, 2023 Consumer Price Inflation, by Type of Good or Service (2000-2022) The Consumer Price Index (CPI) provides a steady indication of how inflation is affecting the economy. This big picture number is useful for policymakers and professionals in the financial sector, but most people experience inflation at the cash register or checkout screen. Since the start of the 21st century, U.S. consumers have seen a divergence of price movements across various categories. Nowhere is this better illustrated than on this chart concept thought up by AEI’s Mark J. Perry . It’s sometimes referred to as the “chart of the century” because it provides such a clear and impactful jump-off point to discuss a number of economic forces. The punchline is that many consumer goods—particularly those that were easily outsourced—saw price drops, while key “non-tradable” categories saw massive increases. We’ll look at both situations in more detail below. Race
Read more