March 2019 Austin Market Report

[David Ivy]

The March 2019 Central Texas Housing Market Report is out from the Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABoR). Incredibly strong housing demand, a crippling 1.5 months of inventory, and ongoing affordability concerns produced year over year declines last month in new listings, active listings, and pending sales in the City of Austin. The median sales price in Austin increased 3% over the past 12 months. Meanwhile, the suburbs in Hays and Williamson Counties continue to lure area residents with comparatively more abundant and affordable housing supply. So, in other words, last month continued the market pattern we've experienced for quite a while now.

Vaike O'Grady, the Austin regional director of Metrostudy, said, "The difference in pricing between buying in the city of Austin and the suburban counties is significant. For instance, the median price in Williamson County is around $75,000 less than within the (Austin) city limits. With more services moving to the suburbs, home shoppers are making the choice to move farther out. Employment centers are starting to follow."

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

The latest rewrite of the Austin land use code, known as CodeNEXT, has been scrapped. It's unlikely we'll see real end to the now very familiar challenges to the Austin housing market, which is supported by arguably the best job market in the country, until we get all major stakeholders on board with a code rewrite that directly speaks to those challenges. The risk is that, if this doesn't occur in time, the market itself will "sort out" the issues on its own and arrive at an equilibrium that is far from what most (or all) stakeholders would prefer.

“Austin is growing rapidly, and as we look ahead to accommodate existing and future Austinites, there needs to be a plan in place for a more affordable and sustainable city,” said Dewitt Peart, president and CEO of the Downtown Austin Alliance. “That’s why the Downtown Austin Alliance is partnering with the Austin Board of Realtors and 30 other Austin nonprofits and business organizations to advocate at Austin City Hall for a new land development code that provides enough transit-supportive housing capacity.”