Austin real estate sales in April is up 21%

Austin's residential sales are up 21% in April compared to last April. In March, sales were up 23%! In Lake Travis ISD which includes Lakeway, Bee Caves and Spicewood, sales are up a whopping 27% compared to last April. In March, sales were up 19%.

I know for a fact that people wanting the tax credit (first time home buyer and move-up buyers ) are waiting the last minute to buy! I found myself and my buyers in multiple offer situations!

Does this mean that we are experiencing a SHIFT in our market? Check out the graph to the right. The bolded line represents 2010. That would be awesome if the sales just keep going up! Interest rates are still in the 5% range, which is still pretty low.

Don't wait any longer to buy! When the sales get hot, what does this mean to pricing? A-HA!! Now you're thinking.

September 2009 Sales Statistics

The September 2009 Sales Statistics are out and Alamo Title in Austin reports the following:


However, these are eliminary September 2009 Data:
Units for Sale: (compared to September 2008)New listings are down 4.52%.
Pendings are up 16.63%.; Solds increased by 2.31%



As for Average Prices:
The "New Listings" average list price is down 6.43% to $301,416. In September 2008 the average list price was $322,116. The sold average sales prices decreased 1.43% to $238,763. For September 2008 it was $242,215.

In Lakeway, residential units sold are down 5% compared to last September. Overall, I think these numbers are pretty good. Do you think that the first time home buyer tax credit has a big impact on these numbers? If so, what would happen after November 30th when the tax credit is GONE? Ouch!

The statistics above have been obtained from Alamo Title of Austin and the Austin Board of Realtors and the information has not been verified or guaranteed.

Austin's Real Estate Market April 2009

The Austin Board of REALTORS® has reported that the volume of single-family home sales in April 2009 was 1,601, down 18 percent from April 2008, and the median price was $189,000, up one percent over the same time period. In Lakeway or homes under the Lake Travis ISD, single-family homes sales in April 2009 is down 14% compared to April 2008.

The outlook for Austin is getting better as the sales have increased and the gap between the months have started to close in. With the current low interest rates (4.5-4.75% 30 year fixed) and the 8K stimulus for first time home buyers, we hope that this continues. It was mentioned in my office that over 50% of the buyers in the current market are first time home buyers, wow!

We hope that more enlightening news about our real estate market continues. Let's see what May brings us!