What Happened in Austin Real Estate for May, 2008?

The average sales price for houses in Austin increased 5.14% in May from $259,958 in May 2007 to $275,711 May 2008. Sales prices had been flat or falling since Feb 2008, but May has us heading the other way again. We continue to have a large number of “failed sales” listings though, and days on market continues to creep upward. In short, there are a lot of mixed signals in the sales data. Here is a brief summary followed by charts below.

• Number of homes sold is down 24% from 2,630 May 2007 to 2,006 May 2008.
• Average sold prices in Austin were up 5.14% over the same month last year to $275,711.
• Median sold price was up 7.01% over the same month last year to $199,925.
• Avg sold price per square foot is up 4.02% over May 2007 to $124 per sqft.
• Avg days on market is up 11 days (22%) from 50 last year to 61 this May.
• Median days on market is unavailable because our $1M/yr MLS software, MLXChange, won’t produce it this month. I’ll leave it at that before I go off on another “MLXChange Sucks” rant.
• Number of “Not Sold” (exp or withdrawn) is up a whopping 56% over the same month last year.

Austin Real Estate Market Update for May 2008
All Austin / Central TX MLS Areas – Houses Only
	Apr 2008	May 2008	May 2007	Yr % Change
# Sold	1826	2006	2630	-23.73%
Avg List	$254,318	$275,711	$259,958	6.06%
Med List	$194,935	$203,037	$189,900	6.92%
Avg Sold	$245,483	$267,231	$254,169	5.14%
Med Sold	$189,000	$199,925	$186,832	7.01%
List/Sold %	96.52%	96.92%	97.77%	-0.87%
Avg SQFT	2117	2155	2132	1.08%
Med SQFT	1924	1941	1928	0.67%
Avg $ SQFT	$116	$124	$119	4.02%
Avg DOM	63	61	50	22.00%
Median DOM	39	*	*	not avail MLS
# Expired	519	509	306	66.34%
# Withdrawn	586	599	473	26.64%
Not Sold	1105	1108	779	42.23%
Not Sold %	38%	36%	23%	55.71%
On the Market (houses) as of June 23, 2008:
12,466 = Active Res Listings in Austin MLS (12,066 last month)
10,335 = Total Single Family Homes listed (9942 last month)
1870 = Condo/Townhome/Loft/Garden Homes listed (2026 last mo.)
97 = Mobile/Manufactured Homes (97 last month)

What Happened in Austin Real Estate for May, 2008?

The average sales price for houses in Austin increased 5.14% in May from $259,958 in May 2007 to $275,711 May 2008. Sales prices had been flat or falling since Feb 2008, but May has us heading the other way again. We continue to have a large number of “failed sales” listings though, and days on market continues to creep upward. In short, there are a lot of mixed signals in the sales data. Here is a brief summary followed by charts below.

• Number of homes sold is down 24% from 2,630 May 2007 to 2,006 May 2008.
• Average sold prices in Austin were up 5.14% over the same month last year to $275,711.
• Median sold price was up 7.01% over the same month last year to $199,925.
• Avg sold price per square foot is up 4.02% over May 2007 to $124 per sqft.
• Avg days on market is up 11 days (22%) from 50 last year to 61 this May.
• Median days on market is unavailable because our $1M/yr MLS software, MLXChange, won’t produce it this month. I’ll leave it at that before I go off on another “MLXChange Sucks” rant.
• Number of “Not Sold” (exp or withdrawn) is up a whopping 56% over the same month last year.

Austin Real Estate Market Update for May 2008
All Austin / Central TX MLS Areas – Houses Only
	Apr 2008	May 2008	May 2007	Yr % Change
# Sold	1826	2006	2630	-23.73%
Avg List	$254,318	$275,711	$259,958	6.06%
Med List	$194,935	$203,037	$189,900	6.92%
Avg Sold	$245,483	$267,231	$254,169	5.14%
Med Sold	$189,000	$199,925	$186,832	7.01%
List/Sold %	96.52%	96.92%	97.77%	-0.87%
Avg SQFT	2117	2155	2132	1.08%
Med SQFT	1924	1941	1928	0.67%
Avg $ SQFT	$116	$124	$119	4.02%
Avg DOM	63	61	50	22.00%
Median DOM	39	*	*	not avail MLS
# Expired	519	509	306	66.34%
# Withdrawn	586	599	473	26.64%
Not Sold	1105	1108	779	42.23%
Not Sold %	38%	36%	23%	55.71%
On the Market (houses) as of June 23, 2008:
12,466 = Active Res Listings in Austin MLS (12,066 last month)
10,335 = Total Single Family Homes listed (9942 last month)
1870 = Condo/Townhome/Loft/Garden Homes listed (2026 last mo.)
97 = Mobile/Manufactured Homes (97 last month)

Experts: Amid rising building costs, deals on new homes won't last long

(Re-printed) from Austin American-Statesman; June 2oth, 2008
By: Shonda Novak , M.B. Taboada


Business might not be any easier for builders in the coming months.

They face rising construction costs and consumers who want better deals because they see the national housing market plummet, a local housing expert said Thursday.

For the next half of the year, builders will need to continue to be more selective about the communities they invest in and wait "until the buyers come" to them, rather than build speculative housing, said Mark Sprague, Austin partner of Residential Strategies Inc. in his midyear housing forecast to the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin.

But buyers may not be getting cheaper deals for long, he said.

With building costs on the rise, consumers need to buy now because, in order to make a profit, builders won't be able to afford the same discounts and incentives next year, Sprague said.

Local developer Dick Rathgeber agreed, noting that the costs of materials and gas are on the rise.

"There's nothing that goes into the price of a house that is going down in price," Rathgeber said. "Short of a foreclosure, (housing) prices next year are not going to be cheaper. The builder cannot afford to produce it."

Sprague emphasized that the Austin market remains one of the strongest in the country, despite the decline in local home sales.

Although median home prices are down 25 percent nationally, Texas and Austin are still seeing appreciation, Sprague said.

"We've had a phenomenal market," he said. "Austin is where everyone wants to be. We see values going up here."

Austin is "the safest investment in the world right now," he added.

Sprague said that the days of easy money are gone, making it tougher for many possible home buyers to get loans.

In April, the latest figures show that sales of existing homes fell for the 10th consecutive month, and new listings soared 20 percent to a four-year high.

But Sprague said most new lot developments have been mothballed, chipping away at excess inventory in the new-home market. He said Central Texas still has less than a six-month supply of new homes.

And with 18,000 lots available and ready to build on — "a very small number," he said — he predicts that in 18 months to two years, "we're not going to have enough lots."

He said Austin is poised to recover from the housing downturn more quickly than coastal markets because of job and population growth, though both are slower than last year.

"We're down but not out," Sprague said.

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