2021 Real Estate Update
The Austin real estate market continues to amaze, and we wanted to share a first look at the January market statistics. We have manually ran high level numbers from the Austin metropolitan statistical area (Bastrop, Caldwell, Travis, Williamson and Hays counties). We only include single family homes as that is mostly what we deal in, so our numbers will be slightly different than those you see in the local media.
We have seen prices start to skyrocket because of our minimal inventory. At this writing there were 697 single family homes listed for sale in the metropolitan area and under 1500 when you include all types of property.
While many would consider this economic boom great for the area it also makes it extremely challenging for both buyers and sellers. Over 60% of the properties hitting the market have had more than 1 offer to choose from and many had 20+ offers. The market is extremely competitive currently.
Home Sales
Home sales in the Austin market increased by 13.3% over last year at the same time, while sold prices showed double digit increases in nearly every county. Travis county showed a 24% increase over this time last year, while Williamson and Caldwell counties showed 20+% increases over the previous year. The number of houses sold also increased in each county over last year. See the chart for additional details.
Buyers Offers / Seller Pricing
Pricing properties and finding the correct price for a property has become a challenge. We use to be able to look at the lagging data (comparable properties that sold in the previous 90 days) and come up with a listing price or offer price. Well that strategy does not work in the current market anymore as the market is moving very fast.
The difficulty when pricing for a buyer is predicting if the current demand will drive the price up over the recent 2021 sold comps, which already have a 20% (or more) premium. This requires close and efficient communication with listing agents, especially those whose property we consider a comparable. By taking a much deeper look at the comparable properties and by communicating much more with listing agents we have gathered information to help put our buyers into position to be successful in multiple offers. We would also utilize this same approach on a listing so that you could obtain the highest offer.
The above information shows what is happening with properties in the Austin market since January 1st, 2021. Currently 60.2% of properties in these major cities have received multiple offers. Here are some tidbits that I was able to pull from the data.
- 16 properties that closed in January received offers in excess of $100,000 over list price. with 1 property having an offer $325,000 over list price. This property is located in the Northwest Hills area of Austin.
- 317 properties that closed in January received offers in excess of $25,000 over list price.
- Pflugerville, so far in February is AVERAGING $41,115 over asking price on properties that have closed so far.
Patience is going to be the key if you are a buyer looking to purchase as we believe our inventory issues will continue in 2021 and will be the biggest challenge we face throughout the year. The other issue is most builders have long waitlists for lots to become available. Builders are also asking for prospective buyers to give their highest and best.
If you or anyone you know need any resources, or are looking to sell, buy or lease, please feel free to reach out as the market can be slightly different in each neighborhood. We would be happy to assist.