• Home

Austin Real Estate Market Update - August 2008

The average sales price for houses in Austin in August 2008 remained about level, decreasing slightly (-1.96%) to $259,500, down from $264,695 a year ago. Median sold price rose slightly (+2.05%) to $199,000. The number of failed sales efforts, or “Not Solds”, (expired or withdrawn) was 46% for August, up from 41% last month and up 33% from a year ago in August.

The “not solds” are a number I keep a close eye on, and I predict that we’ll see that number creep up over 50% by October or November. It’s almost guaranteed it will go above 50% in December, as many sellers pull homes off the market for holidays. The take-away for sellers with homes on the market this time of year is that you are competing for a limited number of buyers in an increasingly sluggish Austin market. That means proper pricing and condition are extremely important.

Days on market continues to climb also, to 63 days average on market and 43 median days on market, up from 60/39 last month and 54/34 a year ago. Those days on market number are not bad numbers though, especially if we want to compare Austin the to anywhere else in the country. But, the trend here in Austin is without a doubt that homes are taking longer to sell and fewer are actually selling. That doesn’t mean buyers are obtaining great deals, though we are seeing some of that, but, at present, that more sellers are giving up and pulling their listings from the market.

Here is a quick summary of the August stats.
• Number of homes sold is down 24% from 2,425 Aug 2007 to 1,837 Aug 2008.
• Average sold prices in Austin were down 1.96% over the same month last year to $259,500.
• Median sold price was up 2.05% over the same month last year to $199,000.
• Avg sold price per square foot is down 3% from Aug 2007 to $118 per sqft.
• Avg days on market is up 9 days (17%) from 54 last year to 63 this Aug.
• Median days on market is up 9 days (26%) from 34 days last year to 43 this year.
• Number of “Not Sold” (exp or withdrawn) is up 40% over the same month last year, to 46% of all removed listings.

Below is the chart with these stats, along with a YTD chart.

Austin Real Estate Sales Market Update
Homes only (condos, duplexes, etc. not included) compiled from Austin MLS data
	July 2008	Aug 2008	Aug 2007	Yr % Change
# Sold	1969	1837	2425	-24.25%
Avg List	$270,569	$269,807	$272,527	-1.00%
Med List	$203,385	$204,409	$199,900	2.26%
Avg Sold	$261,638	$259,500	$264,695	-1.96%
Med Sold	$199,000	$199,000	$195,000	2.05%
Sold/List %	96.70%	96.18%	97.13%	-0.97%
Avg SQFT	2170	2187	2164	1.06%
Med SQFT	1965	1986	1995	-0.45%
Avg $ SQFT	$120.57	$118.66	$122.32	-2.99%
Avg DOM	60	63	54	16.67%
Median DOM	39	43	34	26.47%
# Expired	525	721	503	43.34%
# Withdrawn	870	857	691	24.02%
Not Sold	1395	1578	1194	32.16%
Not Sold %	41.47%	46.21%	32.99%	40.06%

Below is the year to date numbers.

Austin Sales Market YTD Update - August 2008
Homes only (no condos, duplexes, etc) - Data from Austin MLS
	Jan-Aug 08	Jan-Aug 07	Yr % Change
# Sold	14476	17911	-19.18%
Avg List	$263,625	$262,249	0.52%
Med List	$199,900	$189,900	5.27%
Avg Sold	$253,951	$255,314	-0.53%
Med Sold	$193,900	$187,500	3.41%
Sold/List %	96.33%	97.36%	-1.05%
Avg SQFT	2144	2179	-1.61%
Med SQFT	1949	1931	0.93%
Avg $ SQFT	$118.45	$117.17	1.09%
Avg DOM	65	55	18.18%
Median DOM	42	31	35.48%
# Expired	4439	2915	52.28%
# Withdrawn	5198	3876	34.11%
Not Sold	9637	6791	41.91%
Not Sold %	40%	27%	45.37%

Essentially, I’d say the Austin real estate market this year is treading water. I would again point out though that the Not Sold number is important to look at. at this point last year, the unsolds were 27%. YTD through August 2008 it’s 40% and climbing. Since those failed sales efforts drop out of the stats completely (except these that I produce), it causes the Sold stats to make the market look perhaps a bit better than it is. Heading into the end of the year, I feel safe in saying that fully half or more of current listings will be withdrawn or expired before the end of the year. Many, many sellers out there still don’t get it. On the other hand, buyers don’t fully get it either. Sellers think things are better than they really are, and buyers think the market is worse than it really is.

This article was written by fellow Dwellgo Community member, Steve Crossland of The Crossland Team.  Thanks Steve for your insight!

---

Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically each day to your feed reader.