Austin housing sales skyrocket in 2021 as median price nears $500,000
March 23, 2021 | Front Porch Realty
Austin Housing Sales Sky-Rocket in 2021 Photo of Downtown Austin Tx
February Austin Housing Sales in 2021 Take Massive Leap
Even with the snow and ice causing massive power outages the Central Texas real estate market still takes leaps and bounds. Last month, despite a near apocalyptic winter storm that thrashed central Texas, Austin’s median home price in the Austin city- limits hit $491,000 breaking last years record.
February’s median home price was a galactic leap up at by over 24% compared to February 2020 home sales. According to the Austin Board of Realtors Central Texas Housing Report Austin housing sales broke a new yearly record.
This trend continued in Travis County where the median price for residential homes increased by 25% to $470,000. Austin housing sales include the five-county region which includes Travis, Hays, Bastrop, Williamson, and Caldwell — Also showing February’s median home price hit an all-time high of $395,000.
While Austin Housing Sales Sky-Rocket Volume Drops
“Until we have more supply, the lack of inventory and prices rising nationwide are going to present challenges for homebuyers everywhere,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist and senior vice president of research at the National Association of Realtors. “Although it’s not visible, mortgage rates will continue to rise throughout the year. Get all your documents and finances prepared early, and realize you may not buy your dream home, but it will be a worthwhile investment.”
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Austin Housing Sellers outweigh Buyers
While Austin housing sale prices sky rocketing to new highs, the snow-apocalypse caused a sever downturn in average sales volume. Austin-area home sales declined 8 percent to 2,389 sales in February.
Still, they didn’t decrease that much inside the city or county limits. Austin home sales fell 4.6 percent to 834 sales, and Travis County saw only a slight 2.3 percent decline to 1,287 sales.
“Although the winter storms slowed activity in February, this does not indicate a market slowdown. We’re still very much in a sellers’ market,” said Susan Horton, 2021 ABoR president, in the release. “Across the region, a high quantity of offers, cash offers, and requests to waive appraisals or option fees are increasingly commonplace.”
Medium Home Prices in Austin Tx
Elsewhere in the Austin-Round Rock metro, Williamson County’s median home price increased 25.9 percent to $364,950, while sales volume plummeted 25 percent. Caldwell County actually saw median home prices decrease 3.4 percent year-over-year to $199,900 and sales volume fall 28 percent, the only county to see such a trend.
But nothing could slow down shoppers in Hays and Bastrop counties, where median home prices and sales volume both continued to climb. Last month, the median home price in Hays County hit $301,000, a 7.1 percent rise over February 2020, and home sales steadily increased 9.8 percent to 313 sales. Bastrop home prices experienced a double-digit increase of 12.2 percent to $274,946 while home sales leapt 28.8 percent — the highest of any of the five counties.
