August 2021 Market Update for Austin, TX MSA

[Bryan Noth]

August 2021 statistics have been released for the Central Texas Housing market. There was a notable decrease this month for the City of Austin and a slight decrease for the area overall.

The The City of Austin saw a change in median home price from $574,975 to $540,000, a month to month decrease of $34,975 but still a 27% increase from the previous year. The Austin-Round Rock MSA saw a change in median home price from $480,000 to $470,000, for a month to month decrease of $10,000 but still a 34% increase from the previous year.

The following infographics and data is courtesy of the Austin Board of Realtors:

Housing inventory remains virtually unchanged at 1 month for the entire MSA but the number of new listings is notably lower than it was in July. Year-over-year stats show new listings are up for the MSA by 14%, but when focusing solely on the City of Austin that figure drops to just 2%.

Looking at typical trends the real estate market tends to slow down heading into fall and winter months. This was especially true in 2020 and the decrease in available inventory exacerbated the low supply levels. As a result, home prices began to climb quickly with an excess of buyers competing for fewer available homes. The increase in inventory in July and August this year has provided relief but if inventory levels subside once again as we head into the winter months there could be a subsequent squeeze on inventory. Companies continue to expand and relocate to the region and they usually bring more residents to the area with them which creates more demand for housing.

The Austin market has done remarkably well in the face of the pandemic, both in residency and in recovery. Last month I mentioned that Austin has seen a rise in rent growth and accompanying the rise in rent are occupancy rates as well, coming in at 91.9% according to a September report from apartmentdata.com.  And with unemployment rates at 4.9% Austin is below the national average of 5.6% and the lowest in the State of Texas overall according to the Texas Real Estate Research Center.

Disclaimer: The information provided here is for educational purposes only, past performance is never a guarantee of future performance.

Additional sources:

https://www.apartmentdata.com/databases/marketlineADSonline_TXAU.pdf

https://www.recenter.tamu.edu/articles/technical-report/outlook-for-the-texas-economy