Austin Board of REALTORS® releases real estate statistics for May 2015
After setting a record in April, single-family home sales dipped two percent to 2,767 home sales in May, according to the May 2015 Multiple Listing Service (MLS) report released today by the Austin Board of REALTORS®.
Single-family home prices remained high, both setting a record for the month of May and increasing at a rapid rate that is outpacing historical appreciation, which is typically four percent annually according to the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. The majority of homes entering the market continue to be priced outside of an affordable price range for many residents, with only 25 percent of single family housing options in Central Texas below $200,000.
Barb Cooper, 2015 President of the Austin Board of REALTORS¬®, explained, “Affordability remains an issue across the region, identifying a need for Central Texas to address the “missing middle” with an influx of diverse housing stock.”
According to the report, the median price for Austin-area single-family homes increased nine percent year-over-year to $271,000 in May 2015, while average price increased seven percent to $348,201 during the same time frame.
New listings for single-family homes decreased three percent year-over-year to 3,865 listings, while active listings increased by six percent to 6,323 listings in May 2015. Pending sales remained unchanged at 2,936 pending sales compared to the same time frame last year.
A combination of a slight decrease in home sales and an increase in active listings caused inventory levels to rise in May 2015. Austin-area housing inventory increased 0.1 months year-over-year to 2.7 months in May 2015, a figure still well below the 6.5 month level the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University estimates as a balanced housing market.
“Unfortunately, the majority of single-family homes can no longer be developed within the region in an affordable price range for most homebuyers. Creating conditions that allow for housing options for all of our residents, such as medium-scale housing options, will help increase housing affordability, improve the tax base and potentially provide income for homeowners,” said Cooper. “Equally important, this type of housing stock allows for greater density and helps residents to live close to where they work and go to school.”
May 2015 Statistics
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2,767 – Single-family homes sold, two percent less than May 2014.
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$271,000 – Median price for single-family homes, nine percent more than May 2014.
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$348,201 – Average price for single-family homes, seven percent more than May 2014.
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42 – Average number of days single-family homes spent on the market, two days more than May 2014.
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3,865 – New single-family home listings on the market, three percent less than May 2014.
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6,323 – Active single-family home listings on the market, six percent more than May 2014.
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2,936 – Pending sales for single-family homes, unchanged from May 2014.
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2.7 – Months of inventory* of single-family homes, 0.1 months more than May 2014.
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$963,472,167 – Total dollar volume of single-family properties sold, five percent more than May 2014.
The following sections describe trends in other sectors of the Austin-area real estate market.
Townhouses & Condominiums
The volume of townhouses and condominiums (condos) purchased in the Austin area in May 2015 was 299, a 15 percent decrease from May 2014. The median price for condos was $231,000, which is eight percent more than the same month of the prior year. When compared to May 2014, these properties spent approximately the same amount of time on market, or an average of 41 days.
Leasing
In May 2015, a total of 1,569 properties were leased in Austin, which is seven percent more than May 2014. The median price for Austin-area home leases was $1,600, seven percent higher than in May 2014.