AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- The housing market in Central Texas continued its record-breaking growth again in May, with the median home price reaching an all-time high of $465,000 - according to the Austin Board of REALTORS' May 2021 Central Texas Housing Report.
Compared to May 2020, residential home sales were up 48%, while the median price jumped 42.2%. Total sales dollar volume increased 116.2% year over year to $2,355,132,804, while the monthly housing inventory dropped by 1.5 months to about a half month of inventory.
"Austin’s housing market has become one of the most competitive markets in the U.S.," said Susan Horton, 2021 ABoR President. "As new companies relocate to Austin and the city’s popularity draws in new residents, the sheer demand for housing has created a critical inventory shortage, reinforcing that affordability and accessibility to housing across our region is a real concern and should be a top priority for local leaders."
ABoR's data shows homes are only spending an average of 16 days on the market, with new listings and pending sales both showing increases.
Home prices in the City of Austin are on their way up as well, with the median price up 34.9% year-over-year to $566,500 - also an all-time record. Travis County's median price for the month is just below the City of Austin, at $550,000 - a 41% increase year-over-year.
Williamson County's median home price was up 50% to $435,000, while Hays County jumped 42.5% to $380,000 and Bastrop County jumped 24% to $321,250.
Nora Linares-Moeller, executive director of HousingWorks Austin, said that even though Austin has been making steady progress, historically, Austin has been slow to expand the development of ownership opportunities that are affordable for all income levels. However, with the region’s exponential growth, Austin’s unaffordability for existing residents is exacerbated and becoming increasingly difficult to control.
“With steadily rising home prices, access to affordable home ownership has become a challenge for many Austin residents, but shrinking inventory, lot and labor shortages, and rising construction costs means it’s not an easy process to get more affordable housing on the market," Linares-Moeller said. "At this point, Austin does not have a lot of land to build single-family homes in the core, so we have to think about density, where it makes sense, and expanding missing middle housing options and income-restricted affordable units. The solution here is to be strategic about placing lower-priced homes and rentals in all parts of the city and urge our city’s leaders to continue making affordability a priority. Taking action now is imperative.”