Austin Real Estate Market Sales Update – 2006 Summary

Below are the sales stats for December 2006 as well as a 2005/2006 comparison summary. This month, on the chart directly below, I’ve added Duplex sales and Townhome sales so you can see how those track over time compared to single family homes.

2006 was a very strong year for the real estate market in Austin and I expect 2007 will be more of the same. December average sales prices were up 6.6% (less than the year as a whole), but 2006 over 2005 saw an average price appreciation of 9.5% overall, and a median price appreciation of 6.2%. Eliminating New Home sales from the stats reduced the gains somewhat, to 8.3% appreciation for average sales price of resale homes, and 5.8% appreciation for the median prices. More on that below.

In general, closer in areas appreciated much better than the further out areas, which is why we’ve tried to keep our investor buyers closer to Austin when possible.

Austin Real Estate Sales Stats

Below is the December comparison for last month and last year.

Austin Sales Stats December 2006
Previous Month and Year Comparison
All MLS Areas - Houses Only

 
Nov 2006
Dec 2006
Dec 2005
Yr % Change
# Sold
1827
1834
1864
-1.6%
Avg List Price
$245,951
$249,474
$232,872
7.1%
Median List Price
$179,900
$183,756
$175,000
5%
Avg Sold Price
$238,822
$241,558
$226,606
6.6%
Med Sold Price
$175,000

180,000

$172,132
4.6%
Avg Size SQFT
2096
2146
2105
1.9%
Median SQFT
1897
1962
1905
3.0%
Avg $ per SQFT
$114
$113
$108
4.6%
Avg Days on Mkt
68
70
72
-2.8%
Median Days on Mkt
45
48
49
-2.0%

Below is the 2005/2006 comparison summary.

Austin Sales Stats December 2006
Year to Date Previous Year Comparison
All MLS Areas - Houses Only

 
All 2006
All 2005
Yr % Change
# Sold
26,138
23,829
9.7%
Avg List Price
$245,211
$225,319
8.8%
Median List Price
$179,900
$169,900
5.9%
Avg Sold Price
$239,818
$218,976
9.5%
Med Sold Price
$176,000
$165,700
6.2%
Avg Size SQFT
2113
2084
1.4%
Median SQFT
1921
1898
1.1%
Avg $ per SQFT
$114
$105
8.6%
Avg Days on Mkt
63
94
-14.9%
Median Days on Mkt
39
59
-22%

Below is a 2005/2006 comparison summary that excludes new homes sold through the MLS. For a while, I’ve suspected that new homes skew the MLS numbers, but I’ve never known for sure to what degree. This month I decided to find out. It looks to me like the new homes sales that builders run through the MLS inflate the prices and increase the days on market of the sales stats.

Since appreciation necessarily relates to the rise in value of an existing home, and you’re home will never be sold as a new home, I believe the chart below is a more accurate representation of the price increases in Austin for existing resale homes. Including new homes, however, does show the price points that the overall market and the different MLS areas can bear at any given time, and it is in fact reflective of the average price of homes sold in an area and overall, so I’m not sure eliminating new home sales from the MLS stats would be the right thing to do either. I’ll be thinking of a good way to report this in coming months. I may just report it both ways as I’m doing this month.

Austin Sales Stats (resale) December 2006
Year to Date Previous Year Comparison
All MLS Areas - Houses Only - New Homes Excluded
 
All 2006
All 2005
Yr % Change
# Sold
20,933
18,445
13.5%
Avg List Price
$237,192
$219,603
8.0%
Median List Price
$175,000
$165,900
5.5%
Avg Sold Price
$231,647
$213,914
8.3%
Med Sold Price
$173,500
$164,000
5.8%
Avg Size SQFT
2063
2049
0.7%
Median SQFT
1878
1868
0.5%
Avg $ per SQFT
$112
$104
7.7%
Avg Days on Mkt
56
63
-11.11%
Median Days on Mkt
34
41
-17.1%

I’m not able to post the breakout by MLS area at this time. I formatted it differently, in what I think will be a much better way to present the stats, but the blog doesn’t like the code and won’t display it properly. Hopefully I’ll get that fixed soon. Meanwhile, I put it in pdf format which you can download or view by clicking here. I have more I want to say about these stats and I’ll do so later when I get the formatting issue resolved.

Update: It’s not pretty, but I have figured out how to export my excel sheet into an html format that displays properly in the blog. MLS breakdown by area is below.

MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
ALL Areas
2006
26,138
$239,818
$176,000
2,113
$113.50
63
1988
Combined
2005
23,829
$218,976
$165,700
2,084
$105.07
70
1987
Change
9.69%
9.52%
6.22%
1.39%
8.01%
-10%
1
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
Area 1A
2006
336
$475,767
$423,500
2,748
$173.13
75
1978
2005
307
$417,564
$370,000
2,730
$152.95
84
1979
Change
9.45%
13.94%
14.46%
0.66%
13.19%
-11%
-1
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
Area 1B
2006
592
$532,079
$449,950
2,167
$245.54
62
1954
2005
622
$466,095
$378,500
2,020
$230.74
60
1952
Change
-4.82%
14.16%
18.88%
7.28%
6.41%
3%
2
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
Area 1N
2006
663
$281,613
$246,650
2,199
$128.06
38
1985
2005
652
$256,226
$227,500
2,215
$115.68
49
1985
Change
1.69%
9.91%
8.42%
-0.72%
10.71%
-22%
0
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
Area 2
2006
509
$222,541
$218,000
1,389
$160.22
35
1958
2005
464
$193,472
$187,800
1,362
$142.05
40
1957
Change
9.70%
15.02%
16.08%
1.98%
12.79%
-12.50%
1
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
Area 2N
2006
396
$136,531
$129,450
1,504
$90.78
46
1973
2005
366
$125,789
$120,300
1,528
$82.32
59
1975
Change
8.20%
8.54%
7.61%
-1.57%
10.27%
-22.03%
-2
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
3
2006
392
$171,718
$155,000
1,468
$116.97
40
1960
2005
421
$154,133
$142,500
1,452
$106.15
47
1960
Change
-6.89%
11.41%
8.77%
1.10%
10.19%
-14.89%
0
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
3E
2006
132
$108,091
$106,662
1,350
$80.07
75
1995
2005
121
$96,068
$95,100
1,283
$74.88
68
1992
Change
9.09%
12.52%
12.16%
5.22%
6.93%
10.29%
3
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
4
2006
260
$303,516
$275,250
1,388
$218.67
47
1942
2005
245
$266,653
$227,000
1,396
$191.01
65
1945
Change
6.12%
13.82%
21.26%
-0.57%
14.48%
-27.69%
-3
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
5
2006
419
$152,472
$137,000
1,166
$130.77
58
1958
2005
327
$117,976
$108,300
1,172
$100.66
52
1957
Change
28.13%
29.24%
26.50%
-0.51%
29.90%
11.54%
1
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
5E
2006
113
$111,998
$107,500
1,530
$73.20
49
1995
2005
112
$98,212
$98,750
1,542
$63.69
69
1996
Change
0.89%
14.04%
8.86%
-0.78%
14.93%
-28.99%
-1
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
6
2006
309
$332,852
$295,000
1,543
$215.72
59
1958
2005
283
$272,149
$250,000
1,425
$190.98
53
1953
Change
9.19%
22.31%
18.00%
8.28%
12.95%
11.32%
5
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
7
2006
123
$356,935
$335,000
1,692
$210.95
44
1959
2005
120
$314,310
$292,500
1,682
$186.87
44
1960
Change
2.50%
13.56%
14.53%
0.59%
12.89%
0.00%
-1
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
8E
2006
286
$781,485
$609,550
3,440
$227.18
83
1986
2005
285
$697,110
$550,000
3,367
$207.04
76
1985
Change
0.35%
12.10%
10.83%
2.17%
9.72%
9.21%
1
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
8W
2006
431
$633,849
$472,000
3,343
$189.60
68
1992
2005
423
$486,980
$415,000
3,127
$155.73
66
1992
Change
1.89%
30.16%
13.73%
6.91%
21.75%
3.03%
0
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
9
2006
80
$140,004
$134,648
1,481
$94.53
51
1973
2005
83
$164,843
$143,000
1,587
$103.87
54
1969
Change
-3.61%
-15.07%
-5.84%
-6.68%
-8.99%
-5.56%
4
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
10
2006
1459
$154,402
$148,000
1,561
$98.91
32
1983
2005
1333
$138,625
$134,050
1,547
$89.61
46
1983
Change
9.45%
11.38%
10.41%
0.90%
10.38%
-30.43%
0
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
11
2006
316
$103,921
$100,250
1,311
$79.27
55
1986
2005
319
$98,812
$95,500
1,301
$75.95
61
1986
Change
-0.94%
5.17%
4.97%
0.77%
4.37%
-9.84%
0
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
BA
2006
387
$139,909
$134,000
1,759
$79.54
77
1991
2005
417
$126,251
$124,900
1,734
$72.81
85
1990
Change
-7.19%
10.82%
7.29%
1.44%
9.24%
-9.41%
1
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
BL
2006
56
$211,207
$145,000
1,796
$117.60
94
1979
2005
35
$205,278
$177,500
1,882
$109.07
102
1990
Change
60.00%
2.89%
-18.31%
-4.57%
7.81%
-7.84%
-11
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
BU
2006
199
$248,326
$181,000
2,015
$123.24
105
1975
2005
143
$208,574
$154,000
1,781
$117.11
87
1986
Change
39.16%
19.06%
17.53%
13.14%
5.23%
20.69%
-11
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
BW
2006
184
$174,831
$155,000
2,020
$86.55
74
1997
2005
144
$170,549
$138,072
2,023
$84.30
78
1996
Change
27.78%
2.51%
12.26%
-0.15%
2.66%
-5.13%
1
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
CC
2006
208
$126,448
$112,000
1,691
$74.78
103
1967
2005
188
$109,914
$104,775
1,668
$65.90
96
1973
Change
10.64%
15.04%
6.90%
1.38%
13.48%
7.29%
-6
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
CL
2006
2572
$173,301
$156,480
2,087
$83.04
58
1998
2005
2282
$161,500
$146,910
2,057
$78.51
66
1997
Change
12.71%
7.31%
6.51%
1.46%
5.76%
-12.12%
1
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
EL
2006
171
$125,768
$115,000
1,781
$70.62
89
1982
2005
169
$126,809
$115,000
1,784
$71.08
84
1986
Change
1.18%
-0.82%
0.00%
-0.17%
-0.65%
5.95%
-4
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
FC
2006
12
$174,125
$149,750
1,757
$99.10
97
1983
2005
3
$91,166
$92,500
1,377
$66.21
48
1977
Change
300.00%
91.00%
61.89%
27.60%
49.69%
102.08%
6
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
GP
2006
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
2005
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
Change
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
GT
2006
1125
$208,170
$173,000
2,100
$99.13
73
1992
2005
1105
$196,437
$165,000
2,105
$93.32
82
1992
Change
1.81%
5.97%
4.85%
-0.24%
6.23%
-10.98%
0
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
HD
2006
453
$345,501
$315,000
2,744
$125.91
89
1996
2005
405
$306,441
$274,500
2,568
$119.33
96
1997
Change
11.85%
12.75%
14.75%
6.85%
5.51%
-7.29%
-1
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
HH
2006
1025
$168,785
$146,247
2,025
$83.35
70
1998
2005
800
$158,562
$140,603
2,001
$79.24
77
1995
Change
28.13%
6.45%
4.01%
1.20%
5.19%
-9.09%
3
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
HS
2006
173
$180,516
$160,800
1,936
$93.24
74
0
2005
128
$173,098
$135,250
1,761
$98.30
73
0
Change
35.16%
4.29%
18.89%
9.94%
-5.14%
1.37%
0
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
HU
2006
565
$145,354
$135,063
1,869
$77.77
68
2003
2005
354
$139,790
$130,000
1,832
$76.30
81
2001
Change
59.60%
3.98%
3.89%
2.02%
1.92%
-16.05%
2
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
HW
2006
318
$254,286
$199,450
2,025
$125.57
90
1979
2005
292
$223,292
$180,000
2,002
$111.53
95
1982
Change
8.90%
13.88%
10.81%
1.15%
12.59%
-5.26%
-3
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
JA
2006
162
$205,916
$183,250
1,915
$107.53
78
2000
2005
87
$186,391
$164,500
1,852
$100.64
98
1998
Change
86.21%
10.48%
11.40%
3.40%
6.84%
-20.41%
2
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
LC
2006
31
$160,761
$120,000
1,855
$86.66
77
1986
2005
19
$135,298
$113,500
1,943
$69.63
95
1978
Change
63.16%
18.82%
5.73%
-4.53%
24.46%
-18.95%
8
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
LH
2006
185
$254,962
$228,500
2,190
$116.42
82
1997
2005
148
$243,773
$219,000
2,270
$107.39
99
1994
Change
25.00%
4.59%
4.34%
-3.52%
8.41%
-17.17%
3
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
LL
2006
70
$279,745
$171,250
1,736
$161.14
101
1954
2005
66
$236,427
$173,700
1,882
$125.63
95
1982
Change
6.06%
18.32%
-1.41%
-7.76%
28.27%
6.32%
-28
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
LN
2006
573
$314,742
$262,000
2,485
$126.66
94
1997
2005
537
$280,424
$227,000
2,446
$114.65
94
1996
Change
6.70%
12.24%
15.42%
1.59%
10.48%
0.00%
1
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
LS
2006
937
$443,980
$337,000
2,759
$160.92
91
1996
2005
886
$420,650
$318,000
2,748
$153.07
104
1995
Change
5.76%
5.55%
5.97%
0.40%
5.13%
-12.50%
1
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
MA
2006
351
$151,998
$133,022
1,898
$80.08
83
2002
2005
255
$142,349
$127,551
1,810
$78.65
95
2001
Change
37.65%
6.78%
4.29%
4.86%
1.83%
-12.63%
1
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
MC
2006
51
$96,105
$86,000
1,707
$56.30
110
1965
2005
11
$84,018
$73,900
1,343
$62.56
85
1963
Change
363.64%
14.39%
16.37%
27.10%
-10.01%
29.41%
2
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
N
2006
519
$174,895
$170,195
1,893
$92.39
41
1991
2005
537
$165,645
$164,900
1,920
$86.27
60
1992
Change
-3.35%
5.58%
3.21%
-1.41%
7.09%
-31.67%
-1
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
NE
2006
410
$142,739
$140,000
1,746
$81.75
64
1989
2005
383
$138,093
$137,627
1,753
$78.78
84
1989
Change
7.05%
3.36%
1.72%
-0.40%
3.78%
-23.81%
0
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
NW
2006
883
$232,864
$192,500
2,307
$100.94
44
1988
2005
891
$216,972
$179,500
2,307
$94.05
51
1987
Change
-0.90%
7.32%
7.24%
0.00%
7.32%
-13.73%
1
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
PF
2006
1570
$165,970
$149,900
2,020
$82.16
67
1998
2005
1352
$144,508
$137,500
1,955
$73.92
67
1997
Change
16.12%
14.85%
9.02%
3.32%
11.16%
0.00%
1
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
RN
2006
522
$504,515
$432,250
3,364
$149.97
81
1999
2005
493
$447,830
$391,320
3,232
$138.56
82
1999
Change
5.88%
12.66%
10.46%
4.08%
8.24%
-1.22%
0
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
RR
2006
3069
$196,989
$170,410
2,283
$86.29
61
1996
2005
2843
$184,409
$160,003
2,247
$82.07
71
1996
Change
7.95%
6.82%
6.50%
1.60%
5.14%
-14.08%
0
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
SC
2006
183
$197,476
$175,000
2,187
$90.30
74
1996
2005
150
$186,187
$161,290
2,228
$83.57
84
1994
Change
22.00%
6.06%
8.50%
-1.84%
8.05%
-11.90%
2
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
SE
2006
176
$114,513
$111,425
1,693
$67.64
55
1998
2005
110
$104,247
$104,600
1,592
$65.48
61
1996
Change
60.00%
9.85%
6.52%
6.34%
3.29%
-9.84%
2
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
SV
2006
120
$154,204
$125,250
1,817
$84.87
94
1975
2005
94
$128,485
$115,500
1,690
$76.03
85
1970
Change
27.66%
20.02%
8.44%
7.51%
11.63%
10.59%
5
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
SW
2006
1353
$254,626
$242,000
2,410
$105.65
39
1997
2005
1345
$225,924
$213,000
2,360
$95.73
61
1996
Change
0.59%
12.70%
13.62%
2.12%
10.37%
-36.07%
1
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
TC
2006
205
$106,495
$93,500
1,572
$67.74
77
1972
2005
207
$97,817
$95,500
1,550
$63.11
89
1970
Change
-0.97%
8.87%
-2.09%
1.42%
7.35%
-13.48%
2
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
W
2006
365
$530,366
$335,000
3,089
$171.70
78
1994
2005
350
$430,001
$310,950
2,901
$148.23
69
1993
Change
4.29%
23.34%
7.73%
6.48%
15.83%
13.04%
1
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
WE
2006
30
$110,925
$77,675
1,670
$66.42
92
1965
2005
33
$97,135
$79,500
1,595
$60.90
92
1964
Change
-9.09%
14.20%
-2.30%
4.70%
9.07%
0.00%
1
MLS Area
Year
# Sold
Avg Sold
Med Sold
Avg SQFT
Avg PSF
Avg Days
Year Blt
WW
2006
25
$190,846
$179,900
1,973
$96.73
113
1982
2005
27
$148,484
$114,000
1,698
$87.45
87
1976
Change
-7.41%
28.53%
57.81%
16.20%
10.61%
29.89%
6

14 thoughts on “Austin Real Estate Market Sales Update – 2006 Summary”

  1. Steve, great info as usual. So what is the best determinant as to what is happening with an area with regard to appreciation? Is ‘avg sold price’ better than ‘med sold price’ or ‘$ per sq ft’ better to understand what is going on with an area? Thanks

    Reply
  2. Hi Scott,

    All the data has to looked at together. That’s why I tried to create a chart that allows that. For example, if an area has rising prices, but the avg square footage is also rising and the price per sqft is staying the same or falling, then the rising prices don’t necessarily mean what they might first appear to mean.

    The Austin Statesman led off there main real estate market article yesterday with “Hutto is Hot” because the number of sales is up 60% over last year. But when you look at the numbers, that’s only a couple hundred additional sales (354 to 565). Big deal – one new subdivision alone could generate 200 new sales in a year. That doesn’t make “Hutto Hot”. It is a growing, emerging area, but not what I would call “hot” when you look at the other numbers.

    Anyway, that’s my take on it and how I look at these stats – sort of all together and in context. No one piece of data can tell the whole story.

    Steev

    Reply
  3. Hey Steve, Are you seeing any softening in price for the areas that offer homes in the >$400k price range? Someone mentioned it to me that it might be happening.

    Reply
  4. The data doesn’t suggest any softening in that range at all. Look at the MLS area breakdown and the areas that had average prices of $400K+ in 2005, and you see that those areas are all up in 2006, some by quite a bit.

    Reply
  5. I have a feeling appreciation by area won’t be accurate for a while. The MLS areas are being changed right now and I’ve noticed some listings are ‘stuck’ in their old areas. Specifically: RR, 4, 10, SW and 1B have all been split up or remapped and some current and past listings are in the incorrect areas.

    Also, I’ve noticed that excluding minor outlying areas of the MLS system will show a greater drop in solds and and a somewhat higher avg. price. I think areas like Hutto, Manor and Bastrop have a lot of turnover but not much appreciation due to the constant foreclosures.

    Reply
  6. What are your thoughts on Pflugerville’s appreciation potential in the next 2-3 years with all the upcoming commercial plans? We’re interested in properties in the 180K-220K range with the potential for some great appreciation, but could use a bit of help finding it. Thanks!

    Reply
  7. Hi Charles,

    I personally wouldn’t buy in Pflugerville, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t work out for you. To me, there’s just too much new construction going on there and nearby, and properties can be hard to lease. You also have to deal with IH35.

    For $180K to $220K, I’d stay in South, SW, or West Austin. If you need help, contact us.

    Thanks
    Steve

    Reply
  8. HI CK,

    Sorry, I don’t have a 2004/2005 comparison. But I do know the market was just starting to come out of a 4-year flatline in 2005, so there wouln’t be anything exciting to see.

    Steve

    Reply
  9. What are your thoughts on the Onion Creek area, SE of Austin? We own D.R. Horton homes in a newer sub-division called Crossing at Onion Creek. We purchased around $80-$85 per sq/ft in June 2005. I was considering a 5 year hold and then 1031 into other properties. What are you feelings about that area over the next several years?

    Reply
  10. Hi SpiecksForIt,

    A quick look into the current activity there shows 15 Active, 4 Pending and 11 sold the first 3 months this year. Not too bad, but not great either. Hot areas have more Pendings than Actives at any given time. When Pending/Active numbers are about even, that’s a good strong market. When there are a lot more for sale than Pending, as in this case, it means Buyers have a lot to pick from.

    Lowest/Highest list prices so far this year are $129K/$245K. Avg sold this year so far is $175K with price per square foot ranging from $80 to $114.

    If you send me your property addresses (from our contact page) I’ll be happy to run a CMA for you and let you know what the current values are for your particular homes.
    Steve

    Reply

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