Austin-area home prices hit all-time high, consistent demand indicates strong summer selling

AUSTIN, Texas - July 23, 2014 - PRLog -- AUSTIN, Texas – May 21, 2014 – According to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) report released today by the Austin Board of REALTORS®, Austin-area home prices hit an all-time high in April 2014 while home sales trends continue to keep pace with last year’s.

The median price for single-family homes rose six percent year-over-year to $239,900, and average price, while statistically unchanged from April 2013, rose slightly higher to $308,752. Austin-area home sales increased one percent to 2,479 single-family home sales in April 2014.

Bill Evans, 2014 President of the Austin Board of REALTORS­®, explained, “Austin-area home prices are rising as the strong demand of the market continues. We continue to see multiple offers on listings, often above listing price. This increasing valuation of Austin-area homes could encourage more listings to enter the market, indicating a strong summer selling season ahead.”

According to the report, Austin-area homes continued to sell at an accelerated rate, decreasing the average days on market by five days year-over-year, down to 45 days in April 2014. At the same time, monthly housing inventory decreased 0.4 months year-over-year to 2.3 months. The market also featured two percent fewer new listings, three percent fewer active listings and six percent fewer pending sales in April 2014 compared to the same month of the prior year.

“It can be tempting to think a market with high demand and rising prices is an ‘easy’ market, but that’s simply not true. Every market can be challenging and a ‘hot’ market like this one is no different,” Evans concluded. “Sellers need the best property information available to determine accurate valuations and counsel for handling complicated situations, like multiple offers. Buyers need to know immediately when new properties come on the market, so they can act fast and make informed decisions about offers. Austin REALTORS® are skilled in all of these areas and can help homeowners navigate these complicated situations.”

April 2014 Statistics

2,479 – Single-family homes sold, one percent more than April 2013.
$239,900 – Median price for single-family homes, six percent more than April 2013.
$308,752 – Average price for single-family homes, statistically unchanged since April 2013.
45 – Average number of days single-family homes spent on the market, five days fewer than April 2013.
3,481 – New single-family home listings on the market, two percent fewer than April 2013.
5,305 – Active single-family home listings on the market, three percent fewer than April 2013.
2,805 – Pending sales for single-family homes, six percent fewer than April 2013.
2.3 – Months of inventory* of single-family homes, 0.4 months less than April 2013.
$765,396,208 – Total dollar volume of single-family properties sold, one percent more than April 2013.

The following sections describe trends in other sectors of the Austin real estate market.

Townhouses & Condominiums
The number of townhouses and condominiums (condos) purchased in the Austin area in April 2014 was 322, which is 32 percent more than April 2013. In the same time period, the median price for condos and townhomes was $215,000, which is seven percent more than the same month of the prior year. These properties spent an average of 42 days on the market, the same number of days spent on the market in April 2013.

Leasing
In April 2014, a total of 1,264 properties were leased in Austin, which is five percent more than April 2013. The median price for Austin-area leases was $1,500, which is seven percent more than the same month of the prior year.

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The Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABoR) is a non-profit, voluntary organization dedicated to educating and supporting Central Texas REALTORS®. ABoR proudly serves more than 9,000 members, promotes private property rights and provides accurate, comprehensive property listing information for the Greater Austin area. Home sales statistics are released by ABoR on a monthly basis. For more information, please contact the ABoR Marketing Department at marketing@abor.com or 512-454-7636. Visit AustinHomeSearch.com (http://www.austinhomesearch.com/), a public resource on Austin real estate, for the latest news on the local housing market.