From
2020
until
the
middle
of
2022,
the

Austin
metro
area
was
turning
heads
for
its
massive
influx
of
homebuyers
and
its
exponential
home
price
growth.
In
early
March
2020,
prior
to
the
onset
of
the

pandemic,
the
90-day
average
median
list
price
for
a
single-family
home
in
the
area
was
$357,000.
By
late
May
2022,
this
figure
had
risen
to
$650,000,
according
to
data
from


Altos
Research.

What
ensued
next
was
a
rapid
cooldown,
which
saw
the
median
list
price
fall
by
more
than
$100,000
by
mid-February
2023
to
$533,000.

“April
and
May
of
2022
is
when
we
felt
the

first
slowdown,”
said
Scott
Michaels,
an
Austin-based


Compass
agent.
“Looking
at
the
number,
2023
was
the
lowest
year
in
the
past
28
years
for
sales,
so
it
was
a
bit
of
an
oddity
compared
to
what
we’d
seen
in
the
second
half
of
2020,
all
of
2021
and
the
first
half
of
2022.”

While
Austin
has
made
headlines
in
recent
months
for
the
number
of
homebuyers

looking
to
move
away
from
the
metro
area,
local
real
estate
professionals
say
that
buyer
demand
remains
strong.

“Interest
rates
have
come
down
a
little
bit
and
kind
of
settled.
We
aren’t
seeing
the
volatility
we
were,
and
I
think
that
has
made
buyers
a
little
more
willing
to
make
the
leap
and
purchase
a
home,”
Cash
said.
“Then,
obviously,
spring
is
kind
of
your
traditional
selling
season,
so
there
are
more
buyers
typically
in
the
spring,
plus
not
as
many
people
pulled
the
trigger
last
fall,
so
we
have
that
pent-up
demand.”

Michaels
also
noted
that
his
business
is
still
seeing
a
steady
stream
of
out-of-town
buyers.

“We
are
still
seeing
people
move
from
all
over
the
country,
whether
it
is
first-time
or
move-up
buyers
within
Austin
or
people
from
Dallas,
Houston,
and
then
feeder
markets
like
California,
New
York,
Chicago,
and
we
are
seeing
quite
a
few
from
the
Seattle
region
right
now,”
Michaels
said.

Agents
highlight
the
stability
of
the
Austin
metro
area’s
median
list
price,
which
has
hovered
around
$550,000
since
early
November
2023,
as
evidence
of
the
still-strong
level
of
demand
in
the
market.

“Overall,
things
are
kind
of
continuing
from
where
they
were
in
2023
with
a
very
modest
change
in
the
median
sales
price.
And
closed
sales
were
also
up
about
1%,
so
overall
just
a
little
bit
more
of
the
same,”
said
Clare
Losey,
housing
economist
for
the

Austin
Board
of
Realtors.

“What
we
saw
during
the
COVID
pandemic
was
just
really
unsustainable
over
a
long-term
basis.
We
had
artificial
demand
that
was
induced
by
the
pandemic
itself
—
low
interest
rates,
work
from
home,
vacation
homes
—
and
it
really
drove
demand
that
we
otherwise
would
not
have
seen
if
the
pandemic
had
not
happened.”

Additionally,
Austin’s
median
list
price
has
remained
stable
even
as
inventory
has
risen
drastically
from
the
troughs
it
reached
in
the
spring
months
of
2021
and
2022.

As
of
March
22,
2024,
the
90-day
average
median
number
of
active
single-family
listings
in
the
Austin
metro
area
was
6,895
—
up
from
an
all-time
low
of
1,070
listings
in
April
2021.
In
November
2023,
this
figure
actually
surpassed
its
pre-pandemic
level
at
8,527
listings.

“I
think
we
are
pretty
balanced,”
Cash
said.
“Technically
we
are
still
in
a
seller’s
market.
I
feel
like
the
market
we
are
in,
from
an
inventory
standpoint,
feels
similar
to
last
year.”

According
to
Losey,
much
of
the
new
inventory
coming
on
the
market
in
Austin
is
suitable
for
first-time
homebuyers.

“It
is
going
to
be
a
more
popular
homebuying
season
for
first-time
buyers,”
Losey
said.
“There
is
just
more
inventory
on
the
market
that
is
within
the
most
affordable
price
range,
meaning
homes
priced
under
$300,000.
In
February,
we
saw
an
overall
uptick
of
45%
in
new
listings
on
a
year-over-year
basis,
but
we
saw
a
27%
increase
in
homes
prices
under
$300,000.”

Even
with
the
uptick
in
inventory,
agents
say
they
are
still
seeing
properties
receive
multiple
offers
and
go
for
more
than
the
asking
price.

“I
occasionally
see
houses
go
for
over
ask,
but
not
like
they
did
during
the
pandemic,”
Cash
said.
“A
house
may
go
for
$10,000
or
$20,000
over,
and
the
multiple
offers
are
like
two
or
three
offers
and
not
the
15
to
20
offers.”

Michaels
added
that
properties
in
popular
neighborhoods
that
are
priced
correctly
are
still
going
within
the
first
week
they
hit
the
market.

“If
you
are
in
an
area
where
there
is
more
inventory
on
the
market,
it
may
tend
to
sit
a
little
bit
longer,”
Michaels
said.
“If
it
is
priced
at
a
higher
price
point,
it
may
also
sit
a
bit
longer
because
your
buyer
pool
is
smaller,
so
that
is
a
challenge
for
more
of
the
luxury
properties
that
are
going
up.”

While
the
Austin
housing
market
may
have
cooled
down
from
its
post-pandemic
heyday,
local
professionals
remain
bullish
about
the
future
of
their
metro
area
and
housing
market.

“Austin
is
just
one
of
the
premier
areas
of
the
country
where
people
want
to
live
or
relocate
to
for
a
variety
of
reasons,”
Michaels
said.
“There
is
great
job
growth,
it
is
a
vibrant
city,
there
are
beautiful
rolling
hills,
the
lakes,
but
also
people
are
just
sick
of
sitting
on
the
sidelines
and
waiting
for
a
market
shift.
They’ve
been
waiting
for
almost
two
years
now,
so
they
are
just
ready
to
pull
the
trigger
and
make
the
jump,
and
we
are
here
for
them.”