AUSTIN, Texas — The housing market is not as hot as it was, but new numbers show prices are rising in Austin.
New data shows the median price for residential homes was $593,500 in April, which is up 6% from a year ago, according to the Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR).
"Affordable inventory inside Austin is just limited, so there is demand pressure that puts pricing up," ABoR President Kent Redding.
The median price in the Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown area is up 1.1% to $469,998. However, the farther you get from Austin, you can score prices that fell from over a year ago.
"Not really in Austin proper, but some southeast Austin ... McKinney Falls, that area ... which is great for homebuyers," Redding said.
Redding said you can get a better deal in other areas. In Hays County, the median house price is $408,169. In Williamson County, it's $435,000. Bastrop County saw the median house price at $352,000.
Angelou Cavalon owns Print Austin and has been a small business owner for five years. He's been renting a townhouse for several years but wants a place he can permanently call home.
"My goal is to own a house," Cavalon said. "Or at least, [that] was my goal, but it’s too expensive."
Cavalon said it's not just the price tag, but also the interest rates.
"Your interest rate 6.5 to 7%. That's really not going anywhere, and it’s been kind of steady," Cavalon said. "And you factor in the high prices of the home."
But Redding said even with interest rates going up, it might not be a bad time to buy.
"If it does shift," Redding said. "Common sense says ... those prices are going to go back up a little bit."