Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro housing sales continue to decline, buyers look to nearby counties

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Home sales in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metropolitan statistical area continue another month of decline compared to 2023, with total sales, new listings and pending sales down, while active listings and inventory increased.

This is according to the Austin Board of Realtors’ July 2024 Central Texas Housing Market report, which was released Wednesday. ABOR president Kent Redding said in the report that high prices are slowing sales in Austin and Travis County.

“Buyers are taking advantage of ample housing inventory and more affordably priced housing options in the market outside of Travis County. This demonstrates that when a home is priced right, buyers are ready to make a move,” Redding said.

Median prices in Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays and Williamson counties all decreased compared to July 2023, falling below the MSA’s median price of $450,000. Those counties also saw more homes sold last month than in July 2023.

Travis County also saw a year-over-year drop in median price, which sat at $525,000 in July. Despite some buyers turning to surrounding counties, Travis County still leads in homes sold and pending sales. However, it also has the lowest average close-to-list rate and in active home listings.

“Current market conditions highlight the need for consistent passage of sustainable housing policies to increase inventory across all price points in Travis County, and ABoR will continue its advocacy work to ensure those policies are enacted to contribute to the health of the market in the near and long term,” Redding said.

ABOR housing economist Clare Knapp explained that the report still shows there is high demand for homes in the area.

“With [mortgage] rates around 6.5%, only about half of homeowners in our market can afford a median priced home and only about a quarter of renters can afford a starter home,” Knapp said in the report. “Home prices across the market still need to decrease to meet market conditions and meet buyers where their purchasing power is currently. It is notable that we are seeing more first-time buyers willing to make a move this year compared to last, and that is a positive sign for our market.”

KXAN spoke with Knapp in July, who had a similar message for home sellers: Sellers need to drop prices in order to sell.

“It is going to be important for those sellers to be willing to negotiate a little bit more moving forward, especially amid such a strong uptick and active listings,” Knapp added back in July.

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