April residential home sales decreased across the Austin-Round Rock MSA for the second month in a row according to the Austin Board of REALTORS® April 2022 Central Texas Housing Market Report. Despite the dip, the five-county MSA was just 216 homes shy of breaking the record set for April home sales in April 2021.
“Whether looking to buy or rent, the home search process in Central Texas is a much longer and more complex process than it used to be,” Cord Shiflet, 2022 ABoR president, said. “One of the biggest mistakes REALTORS® see prospective homebuyers make is not having a game plan before beginning the search process. Are you pre-approved with a lender? Do you have a clear understanding of the home features you need, and where you’re willing to make trade-offs? A REALTOR® has the connections, contract knowledge, and market intelligence to best position you for success.”
Last month across the MSA, residential home sales declined 6.2% year over year to 3,280 closed sales as the median price rose 19.6% to a new all-time record of $550,000. Sales dollar volume grew 11.6% to $2,231,215,686, new listings dipped 0.2% to 4,653 listings, and homes spent an average of 18 days on the market, unchanged from April 2021. Active listings jumped 52.5% to 2,763, causing housing inventory to increase 0.3 months to 0.8 months of inventory as pending sales declined 5.6% to 3,630 transactions.
This marks the biggest gain in housing inventory year over year since the summer of 2017 when housing inventory increased by 0.4 months for June 2017 year over year and 0.3 months for both July and August of 2017.
“We are far from a healthy number of homes for sale in our market, so any increase in housing stock, no matter how small, is a welcome sign for people looking to buy. Our area continues to really be influenced by companies targeting the Austin area for job creation and expansion, and that relocating workforce needs a place to live. Austin continues to be a demand-driven market.”
Shiflet reiterated that in Central Texas, the best time to buy a home will always be right now.
“The ups and downs we are seeing in our market are normal, and somewhat expected considering the fast pace at which our market has moved over the past two years. If you want to begin building equity through homeownership, or if there is a specific area you want to live in, the time to plant your flag is now. This is exactly why you want to have a REALTOR® in your corner advocating, negotiating, and counseling you throughout the entire process.”
Read ABoR's full report here.
