February 2019 Austin Market Report

[David Ivy]

The February 2019 Central Texas Housing Market Report is out from the Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABoR). More homes were sold in Central Texas last month than any February on record and increased by 6% from February 2018. However, median single-family sales prices remained flat year over year. Inventory also continues to hover at a crippling 1.4 months in the City of Austin (2.3 months in the Austin metro). The record-breaking sales volume in February means that the spring selling season is already in full swing, a bit earlier than usual. This is supported by anecdotal evidence in my own case and those of my Realty Austin colleagues.

Kevin P. Scanlan, ABoR president, said, "We've been hearing from our members that buying and selling activity has really picked up over the past month. We're seeing a lot of development in North Austin, as major tech employers are looking for space with ample room for housing development and access to major transportation arterials. Mobility has become such a problem that employees want to live closer to where they work, if they can afford to move.”

Here are basic stats on single-family home sales for February 2019 for the City of Austin and the greater Austin area:

Though interest rate pressure has eased, affordability concerns and low housing supply continue to weigh on the Austin area market. Austin's strong economy, including unemployment below 3%, continues to generate strong buyer demand. However, the supply of housing affordable for those individuals and families making median incomes is incredibly low. Moreover, most of that supply is located away from Austin's urban core in the suburbs and beyond, putting ever increasing pressure on the area's already strained transportation network. This is also spurring growth of the Domain area as a major hub or "second downtown" and the ever increasing self-sufficiency of suburban Cedar Park and Leander. Did you know KB Homes and Brohn Homes are now building all the way out in Elgin?

“Austin has 150,000 employees in the technology industry and that number is only going to increase as major employers expand their presence in Austin,” Angelos Angelou,  of Angelou Economics, said. “We have to be aggressive in how we address this growth and ensure Austin doesn’t become unaffordable for our workforce.”