September 2018 Market Report

[David Ivy]

The September 2018 Central Texas Housing Market Report is out from the Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABoR). Home sales growth stalled last month in the Austin-Round Rock MSA, but home sales numbers year-to-date remain very strong. Steve Crorey, 2018 ABoR president, said, "Austin-area housing market activity has bucked the trend of a cool-weather slowdown over the last several years, maintaining much of the momentum from the summer months through the end of the year. Home sales growth declined five percent last September, so it’s good to see that the area housing market held steady in September 2018. Austin continues to be one of the fastest-growing markets and most competitive housing markets in the country."

Here are basic stats on single-family home sales for August 2018 for the City of Austin and the greater Austin area:

Austin already faces  affordability challenges (median income vs. median home price). Rising interest rates exacerbate the problem:

Lawrence Yun, chief economist and senior vice president of research at the National Association of REALTORS®, suggested that rising interest rates are partly to blame for flat sales growth in the Austin area: "Higher interest rates have cut affordability and are holding back home sales. But steady growth in jobs and income will boost housing demand over time. Increasing housing supply as reflected in higher housing permits will also help slow home price growth and help consumers."