Austin Market Report - March 2022

[David Ivy]

The March 2022 market numbers are out from the Austin Board of Realtors. Home sales were down 5% in the metro area compared to this time last year. The median metro home price was up 22% at $521,100. With the Austin median also rising 22% to $624,000, the pricing gap between Austin and the surrounding metro has remained similar year-over-year.

Inventory remains abysmally low at 0.5 months with no obvious path for a significant increase in supply by end of year. So, Austin’s extreme sellers market with continually rising prices looks likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Even if rising interest rates, geopolitical uncertainty, high inflation, and historically high Austin home prices negatively impact buyer demand, we're starting so far in the hole with inventory than even a 3-4 month increase would still leave us in a seller's market.

Cord Shiflet, 2022 ABoR president, said the following:

"Rising home prices along with nationwide inflation and rising interest rates can seed caution in the market, so it’s important to remember that we are still experiencing a very active housing market driven by true demand, not investor speculation. More homes are being listed and sold in Austin than ever before, and people are buying those homes because they need to live in them. The Austin area has a dire need for more housing stock across all housing types and price points, so last month’s increase in housing inventory and the number of homes on the market was a welcome sign."

Here are the numbers for Austin and the greater metro area:

Mark Sprague is State Director of Information Capital for Independence Title in Texas. I’ve followed him for many years. He recently presented his economic forecast, which includes his outlook for Austin. He’s by no means a cheerleader for the Austin economy. However, he paints an incredibly positive picture for the future of the Austin economy. I highly recommend you thoroughly review his complete slide deck at this link.