The May 2024 market report from the Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABoR) shows that the median home price in the City of Austin rose 11.6% to $608,438 over the past 12 months. The greater metro area’s median price was flat over the same period with a ~1% change to $459,450. Housing inventory in Austin rose to 6.2 months, which is up by 2.7 months from May last year. Inventory in the greater metro rose to 4.9 months. Inventory is now very substantially above the extreme lows seen in recent years, when inventory in the Austin area fell below 1 month (very extreme imbalance between demand and supply) for a sustained period.

Here are the full stats for Austin and the greater metro:

Here’s a chart showing the median sales price of a single family home in the City of Austin over the past two years:

The median price for a single-family home in May 2024 was down roughly 10% from May 2022, which was the most recent pricing peak in the Austin market.

For some context, here’s a chart of the median sales price of a single-family home in Austin over the past 10 years:

As you can see, pricing Austin is still substantially above pre-pandemic levels. In fact, the median sales price of a single-family home in Austin is about 50% higher than it was in May 2020. For the 10 year period spanning May 2014 through May 2024, single-family prices in Austin nearly doubled, yielding an annualized appreciation rate of ~9.2% in that period.

A 30-year fixed rate mortgage is sitting around 7% interest, which is down a bit from recent months, but still well above where we began 2024:

The Fed monetary policy and rate decisions remain the biggest single driver of the residential real estate market overall. The Fed recently adjusted its short term projection to one quarter point rate drop for 2024, though it had earlier predicted as many as three drops. So, we can still reasonably expect mortgage rates to drop this year, but probably not by much, and at a slower pace.

What if I’m a buyer? In many ways, this is the best market for buyers in Austin in years. There are more listings to choose from now than any other time in nearly a decade. Listings are selling for roughly 95% of their list price on average. Multiple offers are now the exception, not the norm. Buyers have significantly more negotiating power. They can take time with their search and be more selective about a property’s location and condition. So, if interest rates are a buyer’s primary roadblock, then I recommend seeking opportunities to negotiate a rate buydown at a seller’s expense or looking at new construction, where builders are offering rate reductions and other substantial incentives.

What if I’m a seller? Know that there is still robust demand for Austin housing and that prices are still considerably higher than just a few years ago. However, it’s important to price for today’s market conditions. Days on market are around 57 days on average, and many listings are adjusting their asking price at least once while on the market. But properties priced appropriately can still go under contract in a matter of days, sometimes with multiple offers. Now is not the time to “test the market” with an ambitious price to “see what happens.” With the increased competition among sellers, it’s crucial to prepare a listing to stand out among the rest and work to address buyer objections prior to going on market.