Housing Inventory Grows, Offering Buyers More Choices in High-Rate Market: Chuck Farr’s November 2024 Newsletter
Greetings to you--homeowners, tenants, prospective buyers, and real-estate investors.
Market Backchannel: The latest October Central Texas data from my local realty network shows median sold prices continuing to dwindle year over year by 2% or 3% depending on the data source. Pricing continues to stabilize across the spectrum spanning 2024, reflecting a balanced market. New, active, and pending listings are all up year over year, so we still see a healthy influx of inventory—and buyer demand is holding steady. Average days on market are now 70 (or 78 from another source). Months of inventory are just above 5 months. Fall and Winter are historically slower than Spring and Summer, and this pattern should continue into 2025.
In the News: According to the Austin Board of REALTORS® and their service, Unlock MLS:
“In October, active listings across the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA increased 9.3% to 11,599 listings bringing the total months of inventory for the region to 5.1 months of inventory, up 0.5 months more compared to October 2023, according to the latest Central Texas Housing Report released by Unlock MLS. The data coupled with the average close-to-list price ratio hovering at 92.7% indicates that buyers have more options to purchase a home they can afford in a high interest-rate environment while sellers still have some room to negotiate.
“Clare Losey, Ph.D., housing economist for Unlock MLS and the Austin Board of REALTORS®, noted that the biggest factor affecting home sales continues to be mortgage rates.
“‘Mortgage rates averaged 6.4% in October with signs pointing to them remaining in the low-to mid-6% range as we head into 2025, even with the Fed’s second rate cut last week [in early November]. Buyers waiting on the sidelines for rates to drop significantly may be in for a long wait. In the meantime, sellers must recognize that bringing buyers to the table requires a more aggressive pricing approach. Even in a more balanced market, buyers with limited purchasing power are struggling to meet current price expectations.’
“Kent Redding, 2024 Unlock MLS and ABoR president, reinforced the inevitability and long-term positive impact of the Central Texas region’s recent market correction to healthier inventory levels and more balanced conditions.
“‘News headlines that characterize the Central Texas housing market as ‘ground zero’ are an extreme over-exaggeration. It’s important to remember where we’ve come from. Austin led the state and nation in record-breaking home price growth and sales activity during the pandemic. For three years, near-zero housing inventory, numerous offers above list price and a rapid-paced market raised home prices and left little negotiating power for buyers. During this record-setting growth, ABoR and Unlock MLS consistently emphasized the unsustainability of the rapid growth, and now, our market is working to balance those extremes.’
“Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA
2,248 – Residential homes sold, 1.5% less than October 2023.
$430,000 – Median price for residential homes, 3.2% less than October 2023.
3,333 – New home listings on the market, 7.4% more than October 2023.
11,599 – Active home listings on the market, 9.3% more than October 2023.
2,344 – Pending sales, 13.0% more than October 2023.
5.1 – Months of inventory, 0.5 months more than October 2023.
$1,270,475,501 – Total dollar volume of homes sold, 1.0% less than October 2023.
92.7% – Average close to list price, compared to 93.3% in October 2023.”
As a reminder for folks in the Austin MSA area, if you had bought a house in 2018 at the median price of $305K, its value would have increased to $502K by the May 2022 peak. Median price for the MSA is now $430K, so you would have still done well investing in Central Texas real estate. Check the latest Central Texas Housing Report for more details and data for the city of Austin and surrounding counties.
Fall Home Maintenance Tips: Fall is here--and has its own home maintenance checklist in Central Texas. Here are a few items to consider during November:
· Outdoor Tasks:
o Plant and fertilize. Fall is a great time to lay down some good fertilizer on the lawn, plant trees, bushes, and perennials; they will thank you for not planting them in the blaze of summer. Fall/Winter planting allows the plants and their roots to dig in before next year.
o Rake leaves and shred to use as mulch or dispose of them based on local guidelines.
o Clean gutters and downspouts after the raking season.
· Indoor Tasks:
o Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors if you forgot to do so after setting back your clocks earlier this month.
o Have your furnace professionally inspected. If you are on a semi-annual HVAC maintenance plan, have your system serviced in the next couple of months.
o We will remind you soon about switching the direction of your ceiling fans for the Winter.
Issues of this and previous newsletters are located on the Blog tab of my website at www.chuckfarr.com.
