AUSTIN, Texas — Over the past year, the Central Texas housing market has found overall success, creating approximately $17 billion in economic advancement, according to the Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR).
Research from ABoR shows the median Austin-Round Rock housing price for 2023 was $450,000, 10.2% lower than the previous year.
The 2023 season also saw more than 30,000 sales and more than 42,000 total listings, with median sale prices lowered by approximately 1.4%.
"In 2023, the Austin-Round Rock MSA housing market MSA (metropolitan statistical area) continued its move towards a more sustainable pace," 2024 ABoR president Kent Redding said. "Housing inventory reached the highest level it's been in more than eight years and while there was a drop in closed sales and median close price, these were both symptomatic of higher mortgage rates."
However, December 2023 also saw a decrease in closed listings and homes stayed on the market for approximately 84 days compared to 75 days in the previous year.
Specifically, Austin saw 558 residential homes sold in December 2023 compared to 8.4% more in 2022, with Travis, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell counties reporting similar numbers for the 2023 year.
At the same time, new and active market listings and pending sales increased, showing overall growth despite an unpredictable market.
"Housing is the most crucial infrastructure within a community," Redding said. "Our housing market is still demand driven and the anomalies over the past three years were unsustainable. We still have a desirable and sought-after market but our community, city and elected officials must prioritize tackling the housing accessibility challenges."
As 2024 begins, ABoR housing economist Clare Losey, Ph.D., believes the market should remain relatively unchanged.
She noted that most prices are more than $300,000, meaning homes are still expensive as a whole.
Even still, if Central Texas continues in this direction, it might be yet another manageable year for the market.
Boomtown is KVUE's series covering the explosive growth in Central Texas. For more Boomtown stories, head to KVUE.com/Boomtown.