(CULTUREMAP AUSTIN) The latest real estate report from Unlock MLS and the Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR) has revealed that June saw a significant increase in the number of active home listings in the Austin metro area — continuing on a three-month high that began in April — and median sale prices are dropping to accommodate the rise in inventory.
New in the June report, Unlock MLS refers to the Central Texas region as the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metropolitan statistical area (MSA), whereas it was previously identified as the Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown MSA.
The data shows there was a 13.4 percent drop in home sales across the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA, with only 2,732 homes sold in June for a median price of $450,000. There were more than 13,200 active home listings on the market last month, and 4,364 new listings.
According to Unlock MLS and ABoR housing economist Clare Knapp, the decline in sales can be attributed to stubborn sellers that aren't budging on their home prices, which is exacerbating buyers' barriers to affordability.
"For buyers, the recent surge in active listings, plus affordability constraints for moderate-income buyers, means that they are choosing to be more selective when purchasing a home," Knap said. "The market will continue to find its footing in the latter half of the year, proving that both buyers and sellers will need to remain nimble and work closely with their realtor to find and negotiate their best option."
Central Texas housing trends in June 2024
In Travis County, 6,830 homes were sold last month, in a near 5 percent decline over last year. Median prices dropped to $520,000. Active home listings continued growing to 6,276 homes, which is nearly 30 percent more year-over-year.
Over in Williamson County, only 945 homes were sold in June, with median prices decreasing to $434,000, only $1,000 less from May. There were 1,357 new home listings on the market in a slight two percent drop from June 2023, bringing the total number of active home listings to 3,727.
Residential home sales rose by 1.7 percent in Hays County in June, totaling 413 sales. Median prices slipped nearly 8 percent year-over-year to $391,775. Active listings rose 20.4 percent year-over-year to 1,908 homes with the addition of 623 new listings on the market.
To learn more, read CultureMap Austin's full report.
Boomtown is KVUE's series covering the explosive growth in Central Texas. For more Boomtown stories, head to KVUE.com/Boomtown.