The Austin Real Estate market continues its steady march into “Seller’s Market” territory in many areas. Average sales price rose 15% from Feb 2005 to Feb 2006. We continue to encounter multiple offers frequently. There are still many homes that come on market priced a bit low given current activity. This is due to inexperienced agents not factoring in the rising market, and not properly measuring the Active/Pending ratios into the pricing equation. It all works out for the sellers though as those listings tend to attract multiple offers which drives the price up to market value. But it proves something we’ve always known – price your well prepared home at the lower cusp of the market comps and it will sell very fast for full price or better.
See the Feb Sales stats below…
Average Sales Price is up 15% – from $197,217 in Feb 2005 to $226,650 in Feb 2006.
Number of Homes sold is up 15% – 1491 in Feb 2005 to 1722 in Feb 2006
Active listings are down 11% – 8279 in Feb 2005 to 7377 in Feb 2006
Median Sales Price is up 7% – from $159,000 Feb 2005 to $169,000 in Feb 2006
Pending Sales are up 12% from 1898 in Feb 2005 to 2127 in Feb 2006
But let’s look at Pending listings as a percentage of Active listings. In Feb 2005 it was 23% (1898/8279). In Feb 2006 that jumps to 28% of total listings citywide. In some areas, Pending listings are more than 100% of Active listings.
How is that possible? If you read my overview of how Active-to-Pending ratios define a Hot Market you’ll know that some neighborhoods in Austin cannot currently supply homes fast enough to keep up with demand and therefore have more Pending listings than Actives on a regular basis. And we’re not even into the busy season yet! Those areas are appreciating faster than other areas and are the neighborhoods that appreciation-oriented buyers should be looking for.
Call Steve or Sylvia if you’d like to know more about a specific area or neighborhood in Austin.
Interesting info. I had 2 offers on houses this week, and disappointingly lost out on both due to multiple offers. I’ve been hoping for more houses to come on the market to cool things off, but am I hoping in vain? When you say “we’re not even into the busy season yet,” would you explain what months are considered the busy season? That info would help. Thanks! Love the blog!
Hi Marci,
Thanks for your comment.
Generally most people in the US move during the months of May through August when school is out, so those are busy months in real estate sales and leasing. Yes, you are hoping in vain if waiting for the Austin real estate market to cool off. We’re in for a good stretch in this cycle, barring any world events or financial crisis that affect mortgage rates.