Austin housing price gains are increasing. The average Sold Price for a home in Austin this August is up 13% from August a year ago. The Median Sold Price is up 8%. Average Days on Market is 60 days. Last month (July 2006), average prices were up 8% from a year earlier. August is showing the strongest monthly jump in price gains so far this year. See charts and stats below for overall numbers and a breakdown by MLS area.
July 2006
|
August 2006
|
August 2005
|
Yr % Change
|
|
# Sold |
2583
|
2529
|
2566
|
-1%
|
Avg List Price |
$254,346
|
$256,508
|
$226,966
|
+13%
|
Median List Price |
$182,000
|
$189,000
|
$174,950
|
+8%
|
Avg Sold Price |
$247,675
|
$249,472
|
$221,030
|
+13%
|
Med Sold Price |
$179,900
|
$185,000
|
$170,632
|
+8%
|
Avg Size SQFT |
2123
|
2144
|
2102
|
+2%
|
Median SQFT |
1933
|
1948
|
1927
|
+1%
|
Avg $ per SQFT |
$117
|
$116
|
$105
|
+10%
|
Avg Days on Mkt |
59
|
60
|
67
|
-10%
|
Median Days on Mkt |
35
|
36
|
45
|
-25%
|
Below is a breakdown of August Sales (Houses Only – no condos, townhomes, etc.) by Austin MLS Area. There are a couple of things to note when looking at this data. First, small sample sizes cannot be trusted. Some areas don’t have enough sales for the data to be reliable, which explains some of the large swings in the percentage of increase or decrease. Second, overall numbers can mask the micro trends of an MLS Area.
For example, I know for a fact that some parts of Area SW (the 78739 and 78749 zipcodes) have much higher appreciation than the numbers below indicate. Filtering out those zipcodes, there is actually a pocket of area SW that decreased in value over the past year looking only at August 2006 compared to August 2005.
Finally, New Home sales (new builder neighborhoods) skew the data somewhat due to the fact that no resale home is ever going to be a brand new home, and builders often do funny things with their pricing that inflate the final sales number, such as granting generous incentives to buyers on upgrades. Some areas that look strong overall are actually having a tough time selling resale homes because of competition from new home sales.
The point is, we look at trends over several month’s time and never rely on a single month’s data to make decisions regarding which areas might be best for purchasing.
Of the 55 MLS Areas below, 45 are showing an increase in average sales price over the same month last year. This is a trend that happens every month, so I think the overall upward climb of Austin real estate prices is the real deal.
July 2006
|
August 2006
|
August 2005
|
Change
|
||||
MLS Area
|
# Sold
|
Avg Sold
|
# Sold
|
Avg Sold
|
# Sold
|
Avg Sold
|
% +/-
|
Area 1A
|
30
|
$506,562
|
33
|
$514,505
|
33
|
$439,840
|
+17%
|
Area 1B
|
65
|
$489,654
|
58
|
$452,601
|
60
|
$400,521
|
+13%
|
Area 1N
|
67
|
$302,439
|
66
|
$275,110
|
73
|
$268,865
|
+2%
|
Area 2
|
53
|
$225,084
|
57
|
$211,172
|
50
|
$198,410
|
+6%
|
Area 2N
|
39
|
$138,066
|
42
|
$141,950
|
30
|
$118,019
|
+20%
|
Area 3
|
30
|
$172,809
|
48
|
$178,864
|
48
|
$180,366
|
-1%
|
Area 3E
|
12
|
$103,886
|
8
|
$110,286
|
9
|
$95,054
|
+14%
|
Area 4
|
34
|
$312,904
|
25
|
$295,264
|
28
|
$311,494
|
-5%
|
Area 5
|
56
|
$164,706
|
42
|
$147,306
|
29
|
$121,403
|
+21%
|
Area 5E
|
8
|
$130,084
|
16
|
$104,632
|
16
|
$102,780
|
+2%
|
Area 6
|
31
|
$358,819
|
26
|
$304,029
|
31
|
$250,396
|
+21%
|
Area 7
|
9
|
$351,550
|
9
|
$377,643
|
10
|
$352,300
|
+7%
|
Area 8E
|
30
|
$779,086
|
25
|
$879,649
|
32
|
$614,656
|
+43%
|
Area 8W
|
45
|
$954,309
|
50
|
$654,014
|
48
|
525,335
|
+25%
|
Area 9
|
8
|
$143,589
|
10
|
$169,904
|
5
|
$148,300
|
+15%
|
Area 10
|
160
|
$156,093
|
145
|
$155,390
|
133
|
$139,561
|
+11%
|
Area 11 |
35
|
$108,229
|
23
|
$117,713
|
24
|
$95,527
|
+19%
|
Area BA |
36
|
$139,704
|
36
|
$150,614
|
44
|
$135,066
|
+12%
|
Area BL |
5
|
$243,892
|
6
|
$259,400
|
3
|
$120,600
|
+115%
|
Area BU |
19
|
$238,826
|
27
|
$221,205
|
24
|
$283,452
|
-22%
|
Area BW |
18
|
$137,571
|
15
|
$170,148
|
10
|
$164,475
|
+3%
|
Area CC |
21
|
$119,159
|
22
|
$150,439
|
20
|
$105,950
|
+42%
|
Area CL |
239
|
$175,646
|
251
|
$179,093
|
257
|
$165,630
|
+8%
|
Area EL |
16
|
$117,480
|
13
|
$146,231
|
15
|
$131,154
|
+12%
|
Area FC |
0
|
0
|
1
|
$74,900
|
0
|
0
|
N/A
|
Area GP |
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Area GT |
93
|
$205,727
|
114
|
$221,930
|
101
|
$197,803
|
+11%
|
Area HD |
51
|
$349,232
|
48
|
$407,219
|
35
|
$320,689
|
+27%
|
Area HH |
117
|
$166,062
|
95
|
$186,041
|
73
|
$159,464
|
+17%
|
Area HS |
19
|
$168,670
|
15
|
$186,351
|
14
|
$204,536
|
-9%
|
Area HU |
34
|
$147,822
|
55
|
$147,426
|
32
|
$155,651
|
-5%
|
Area HW |
28
|
$212,072
|
35
|
$310,255
|
29
|
$229,902
|
+35%
|
Area JA |
17
|
$193,728
|
19
|
$213,900
|
8
|
$182,643
|
+17%
|
Area LC |
4
|
$182,000
|
3
|
$102,800
|
1
|
$239,000
|
-57%
|
Area LH |
13
|
$266,490
|
18
|
$319,470
|
16
|
$217,410
|
+47%
|
Area LL |
3
|
$512,666
|
11
|
$176,739
|
16
|
$270,200
|
-35%
|
Area LN |
68
|
$314,767
|
50
|
$326,114
|
56
|
$301,817
|
+8%
|
Area LS |
100
|
$466,725
|
85
|
$466,254
|
99
|
$391,201
|
+19%
|
Area MA |
26
|
$154,280
|
40
|
$147,064
|
25
|
$132,760
|
+11%
|
Area MC |
4
|
$157,187
|
3
|
$97,333
|
1
|
$84,000
|
+16%
|
Area N |
60
|
$168,430
|
45
|
$189,510
|
65
|
$162,752
|
+14%
|
Area NE |
48
|
$151,533
|
34
|
$145,872
|
43
|
$139,777
|
+4%
|
Area NW |
90
|
$232,937
|
77
|
$226,834
|
102
|
$214,688
|
+6%
|
Area PF |
177
|
$154,475
|
161
|
$168,371
|
143
|
$140,018
|
+20%
|
Area RN |
50
|
$462,914
|
56
|
$530,065
|
57
|
$402,222
|
+32%
|
Area RR |
295
|
$202,557
|
288
|
$197,685
|
350
|
$191,283
|
+3%
|
Area SC |
16
|
$238,734
|
18
|
$200,443
|
13
|
$163,884
|
+22%
|
Area SE |
8
|
$94,106
|
10
|
$103,637
|
17
|
$100,858
|
+3%
|
Area SV |
12
|
$140,608
|
16
|
$158,809
|
14
|
$112,269
|
+41%
|
Area SW |
129
|
$266,453
|
157
|
$242,614
|
153
|
$229,041
|
+6%
|
Area TC |
20
|
$97,496
|
16
|
$105,601
|
24
|
$83,555
|
+26%
|
Area W |
26
|
$511,651
|
37
|
$529,305
|
36
|
$421,878
|
+25%
|
Area WE |
2
|
$64,750
|
2
|
$145,875
|
5
|
$80,000
|
+82%
|
Area WW |
4
|
$178,375
|
2
|
$120,000
|
4
|
$91,937
|
+31%
|
Area OT |
5
|
$91,234
|
6
|
$181,583
|
2
|
$129,500
|
+40
|
What’s up with Pfluggerville? Up 20% with a pretty good sample size…
Hi Leo,
I’m not sure about Pflugerville. I know existing homes in certain areas of PF are not moving at all. I talked to an agent last week with a listing there that hasn’t even been shown once after 3 weeks on the market. It’s priced right and in good shape, only 3 years old. The new subdivision across the street is paying Buyer Agents 8% and giving buyers $15K in incentives/upgrades. I’ll have to dig around in the data some to see what the increase can be attributed to. There may be a more expensive new subdivision that’s pulling the average up with their solds. I’ll have a look when I get time.
Steve
… Just talked to another agent I know. She says Falcone Point, Star Ranch, and Blackhawk are the subdivisions that are selling in higher ranges and probably pulling the prices up.
Steve, I think I found out what the deal is, and it confirms your suspicion. Just dug up the stats from MLS and here’s what I get:
Aug 2006
avg. $/sq.ft. = 81.1 median=78.9
avg sq.ft = 2148 median=2102
avg build yr= 1998 median=2000
Aug 2005
avg. $/sq.ft. = 87.7 median=78.14
avg sq.ft = 1837 median=1722
avg build yr= 1996 median=1999
And there you have it, a 17% jump in average house size and a 7.5% decline in average $/sq.ft. Those builders are flooding the neighborhood with ever bigger and bigger homes in order to justify higher and higher prices. And with the incentives they give, no wonder everyone buys.
Any idea what hot new subdivisions exist in Austin right now? Other than Avery, Steiner, Falcon Pointe, and Circle C, what other subdivisions are experiencing price increases? I haven’t seen a price increase at ShadowGlen (though I heard from my builder that they are going to increase their prices at the end of the month), but I’ve been checking out Pioneer Crossing as a possible spot for relocating my mother in law. She is looking for a new home (She’s more interested in picking all her options and wants to live no more than 20-25 minutes from us) and her price range is $150-$200K.
As usual, always great info for us out-of-town investors – thanks for sharing. Also, why doesn’t the Statesmen publish this information on their website any longer? Thanks again.
BTW, your “Avg $ per SQFT $0.68” under July 2006 is wrong. I’m sure it’s a typo…
> BTW, your “Avg $ per SQFT $0.68″ under July 2006 is wrong. I’m sure it’s a typo…
Yep, it was a typo. I fixed it. Thanks for pointing it out.
Hi Mark,
> Any idea what hot new subdivisions exist in Austin right now? Other than Avery, Steiner, Falcon Pointe, and Circle C, what other subdivisions are experiencing price increases?
Generally, follow the good schools and expensive land. There is nothing but 200 miles of cheap, flat farmland east of Austin while much of the land west and SW of Austin is subject to environmental restrictions and is more difficult and expensive to develop. I’m really amazed at where Dripping Springs is compared to 10 years ago. I think it’s becoming an affluent, higher end area.
Steve
> why doesn’t the Statesmen publish this information on their website any longer?
I don’t know. They started their “This is Austin” section recently, which is full of info. Maybe they dropped the stats in conjunction with that. Here is the link. Maybe the stats are buried in there somewhere, but I haven’t seen them.
http://www.austin360.com/lifestyles/content/lifestyles/tia/2006/index.html
There are couple new subdivisions in and around Southwest Parkway area that are really nice. I don’t know whether they are appreciating fast or not, but the homes and condos there are fastly approaching or surpassing $300k. For some reason, I hate Circle C. It’s too big and it’s still building. The HOA there are notoriously militant and it’s residents are mostly young professionals. The very curved age distribution made that place more homogeneous, which is not a good thing, in my opinion. On the other hand, it’s one of those “master planned” communities that has a lot of amenities. Seems like a big plus for a lot of parents.
I think the local media are trying to not bring up the hype of austin real estate. Many people will make a lot of fast cash by jacking up the price in short time, however, soon the the demand will not be able to keep up and the market will crash. In the end, majority of the people will be hurt. After all, according to Statesman, Austin’s job growth is actually the weakest among all major cities with 20% of the companies plan to hire and 21% of companies plan to lay off people.
anyone have any opinions how the new AMD plant will impact property values for developments such as Lantana? for example could traffic become an issue down the road possibly effecting property values?
> opinions how the new AMD plant will impact property values
Hi Scott,
I think overall average prices will be going up as a result of additional higher income earners entering the Oak Hill housing market. I don’t think additional traffic will be a major factor.
Steve