Area Market Statistics
Austin real estate holds steady into summer buying season
Austin Board of REALTORS® releases April 2009 real estate statistics
May 20, 2009 - According to the latest Multiple Listing Service report by the Austin Board of REALTORS®, 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.
Jay Gohil, Chairman of the Austin Board of REALTORS®, explained, “Since the beginning of the year, sales have grown. While we are still down compared to last year, with each month the gap in sales volume from 2008 to 2009 is closing. This sales momentum, coupled with a steady stream of new listings on the market, puts Central Texas in a good position for summer’s real estate season.”
Chairman Gohil also explained why taking a closer look at April 2009 sales volume could be good news for both buyers and sellers: “Right now we have a very healthy supply of housing inventory, which is perhaps the most reliable indicator of future home price trends in Central Texas. The ‘months of inventory’ in a market is determined by dividing the number of homes for sale by the average sales over the past 12 months.”
Economists at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University predict that about 6.5 months of inventory is a balanced market, where homes are being sold and prices continue to increase at a moderate pace. In April 2009, the Central Texas market held 6.4 months of single family housing inventory, where the national average is 10 months. |
