I know you are probably tired of hearing how the Texas economy is exploding but it’s so strong one of my favorite economists, Neal Spelce said “it’s so strong it has triggered action not taken in 30 years!” What action? Texas State Comptroller Glenn Hegar, by law, is the state official who decides money guidelines for the legislature to follow. He made a certified revenue estimate last year in October and it was a huge increase. Well guess what? For the first time in 30 years he had to revise his estimate! Why? Sales tax revenue is up 10.5% over 2017 and oil/gas natural gas production tax revenue is up a whopping 56.1% and general revenue-related revenue is up 9.3% and the list goes on!
A nice boost to the future with state agencies getting bigger bucks thus bigger paychecks circulating through the Austin economy.
It’s not a wonder the demand (with more money in the hands of locals and 151 people moving here a day) continues for single-family homes in Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). August shattered another record according to the Austin Board of Realtors latest August 2018 Central Texas Housing Market Report. It was reported to be the highest-grossing August on record for Central Texas homes sales volume with $1.2 billion (up 11%)!!
Steve Crorey, 2018 president of the Austin Board of Realtors® said “Last month’s housing market activity shows little evidence that the market is slowing as we move into the fall. More homes are entering the market and pending sales growth remains strong year over year.” Pending sales are up 12% so September should be a good closing month!
In August single family homes sold are up 45% to 3,034 and the average number of days homes on market are up 3% to 50 days and months of inventory is 3.1% – no change. The median price is up 8% to $322,478.
Mark Sprague, state director of information capital for Independence Title (another one of my favorite go to economists) said: “So far, 2018 has shown the highest number of sales ever for the greater Austin area and we’re on track to set another annual homes sales record this year. Interest rates are expected to go up one-eighth of a point by the end of the year, and another three-eighths to a half of a point next year. Because median household income has increased nationally and locally, rising interest rates are not expected to negatively impact home sales.”
Of course different areas of town are seeing more buyer demand than others and there are pockets of homes not increasing in value like the median. Each community is different and needs to be analyzed according to their number of sales, days on market, sales price and months of inventory by a professional Realtor®, that’s where I come in.
If you are a homeowner thinking of selling, a prospective buyer or just curious about real estate in NW Austin; I welcome the opportunity to discuss our market. Let’s Talk! Contact me at 512-346-1799 or dillard@reloaustin.com. I offer professional guidance for residential home sellers and buyers.
