Austin Market Report - September 2021

[David Ivy]

Happy Fall! The September 2021 Austin market numbers are out from the Austin Board of Realtors. The Austin market continues to stabilize and return to its typical seasonal pattern. However, September had noticeably higher sales volume compared to the pre-covid market in 2019, which could indicate our “new normal” will be stronger than the pre-COVID market. We are still in an extreme sellers market with low inventory and rising prices.

Here are the September 2021 numbers for the City of Austin and the 5-County Metro:

If you’re a buyer:

A return to normal seasonality in the Austin market means that the fall and winter months will provide more favorable conditions compared to spring and summer. Buyers experience a seller’s market year-round here, but there’s usually reduced competition with fewer buyers in the market in the fall and winter. However, the reduced competition is also met with fewer sellers in the market. Most sellers will wait until spring or summer. The sellers that do list in the fall and winter, though, usually have a healthy motivation to sell.

That said, buyers can still experience fierce competition in the fall and winter, especially at hotter price points (e.g., single-family homes $350k or less). I’ve seen three extremely competitive multiple offer situations over the past week, including a fourplex with 15+ offers. So, highly competitive offers with appraisal waivers, short option periods, high option fees, buyer paid title, fast closings, and so on are still very much the norm for winning offers on high-demand properties that are priced appropriately.

If you’re a seller:

A return to normal seasonality in the Austin market means that the fall and winter months provide less favorable conditions for sellers compared to spring and summer. However, "less favorable" is relative, as we sustain a seller’s market year round in Austin. There are fewer buyers in the market in the fall and winter. Unless you have a desirable property in a hot location or hot price point, multiple offers are not guaranteed at this time. If you can wait until the spring or early summer, you’ll find more favorable conditions in general. However, if you cannot wait, you’ll still find that the pricing gains we’ve made over the past quarters remain intact. With fewer properties on the market, you should still have no problem generating one or more offers from qualified buyers on an appropriately priced property.