AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- It was another record-setting month for the Austin metro's housing market In February, with the median sales price just five dollars shy of the $500,000 mark.
The Austin Board of REALTORS released its monthly Central Texas Housing Report on Tuesday, with closed listings mounting an 11.3% increase year-over-year across the five county metro area.
“February was a very active month for our housing market as sales price records continue to be broken,” said Cord Shiflet, 2022 ABoR president. “We’re hearing from economists that last month’s numbers are a potential harbinger of a big year ahead even as our market continues to deal with insufficient supply compared to demand resulting in the steady cycle of home price increases.”
Across the MSA in February, sales dollar volume increased 34% year over year to $1,564,737,417 while new listings increased 10.4% to 2,834. At the same time, active listings decreased 4.1% year over year to 1,240 listings, while pending sales increased 20.3% to 2,967 across the MSA. This jump in pending sales indicate that March home sales growth could be equally strong as February.
Housing inventory across the five-county area increased 0.1 months year over year to 0.4 months of inventory and homes spent an average of 28 days on the market, down 4 days when compared to February 2021.
Inside the city of Austin, the median price rose 15% to $565,000, also a new record for the month of February. Closed listings were up 2.5%, while dollar volume increased 20.2% to $578,876,715. Monthly housing inventory decreased 0.1 months year over year to 0.3 months of inventory.
Travis County continued to see similar gains, with the median price rising 15.1% year-over-year to $541,050 and closed listings were up 3.9% to 1,292 sales. Total sales volume was up 17.2% to $883,994,216, with a similar 0.1 month decrease in available inventory.
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Outside of Travis County, median prices are seeing significant increases across the metro area. Williamson County saw a 32.7% rise to $479,000, while Hays County jumped 42.5% to $427,350; in Bastrop County, the median price jumped 61.4% to $443,835, while Caldwell County jumped 57.4% to $314,695.
Mark Sprague, state director of information capital at Independence Title, explained how the recent global unrest might impact housing affordability and the economy both nationally and locally.
“The uncertainty in eastern Europe has stalled rising interest rates and contributed to keeping mortgage rates domestically below 4%, which is historically low," said Sprague. "Ultimately, however, the already accelerated rate of inflation is expected to rise even further—hurting renters, buyers and builders who continue to grapple with fast-rising construction costs.”
Sprague added that the conflict in eastern Europe will ultimately have an impact on the construction supply chain, as Ukraine sits on several material reserves such as iron ore, but notes it’s better to be in Texas than anywhere else.
“Material and labor costs are on pace to rise from 4% to 5% monthly through 2023 and potentially further," said Sprague. "Although the possibility that housing inventory will continue to fall is now even more likely, strong housing demand and Austin’s diverse economy will ensure the housing market’s economic impact remains steady. This places our region in a better place than most globally.”