Austin New Resale Listings Continue to Fall

Austin New Resale Listings Continue to Fall
Austin residential properties for sale (listings) dropped 17.6 percent in December compared with the same month in 2008, according to a ZipRealty Inc. report today.

The document that compares listings in 27 U.S. metros found on average the homes for sale sloped 26.3 percent year over year and 4.3 percent between November and December. The final month of last year was the largest month-to-month drop in home listings of 2009.

“Seasonality and the heavy activity by first-time home buyers in October and November, who were rushing to take advantage of the tax credit, impacted housing inventory in December,” ZipRealty President and CEO Patrick Lashinsky said.

Austin reported 6.7 percent fewer homes on the market in December than the previous month, which was more than the change in Houston and Dallas. San Antonio numbers were not available.

Dallas listed 9.1 percent fewer homes on the market year over year and 3.8 percent fewer between November and December. Houston posted 5 percent less from November to December and 11.7 percent less in December than 12 months before.

Source: Austin Business Journal : Wednesday, January 13, 2010, 12:15pm CST

2009 Austin Area Market Update - Alamo Title

While homeowners nationwide have watched their home values plummet, the Central Texas real estate market has fared much better in comparison. Economic forecasters now say a looming housing shortage will increase real estate prices within the next two years.

With the relatively healthy local economy encouraging continued population inflows to Austin, economic consultant Angelos Angelou forecasts demand to soon outstrip supply, a theory consistent with current real estate sales absorption rates (see attached).

Angelou estimates newcomers move to Austin at a rate of approximately 42,000 per year. New residents coupled with a decrease in the number of new home starts locally may lead to a shortage over the next few years, he said. Three years ago, we were building at the pace of 18,000 a year, but last year, only 8,100 were built; this year, only 6,000 new homes will be built.

Angelou said this is an ideal time to buy, and that current sellers may consider waiting for increased demand and prices in the upcoming housing shortage.
Like in January and last fall, the number of transactions per month are still down as many borrowers face difficulty securing financing and investors wait for signs of confidence in the markets. Austin-area prices remain stable and affordable, and properties are selling, on average, after just 83 days on market.

Central Texas Real Estate In Perspective

While headlines such as last week's about the latest monthly numbers for Austin home sales and prices can inspire debate about whether we are defying the national trends or following them, 2008 will see a volume of sales exceeding 24,000 homes. 2008 will represent the 4th highest total of homes sold in a year over the last 25+ years. This is lower than the last three years, however, home sales nationally are at their lowest level since 1999.

Year-to-date, 2008 is down 18% over the same period in 2007, however, the Real Estate Center's latest projection for 2008 only puts sales off 3,460 or 14% from last years total.There was an average of 4 months inventory remaining on the market in Austin during 2007 which increased to 6 months by September 2008. Nationally inventories currently represent a 10-month supply, while 4-5 months is considered typical.

Average home prices in Austin have held steady based on estimated 2008 data and median price has increased 3%. Nationally, the median has dropped 9% and in some areas of the United States, home values are down substantially more.More information on Central Texas economic indicators can be found at www.austinchamber.com.

by Beverly Kerr, Chamber Vice President of Research