Austin's housing market continues to return to normal as options increase for buyers and sellers, a new report says

The Austin real estate environment continues to normalize and become more favorable, leading to greater opportunities for both buyers and sellers.

Faith in the housing market can be seen through May's active listings, which climb to 8,960 homes, which is almost 1,000 more than in March 2023.

"Last month's housing market activity demonstrates not only a stable market, but also one where optimism for the coming months continues to grow," ABoR 2023 President Ashley Jackson said in a statement. "Real estate remains the strongest long-term investment, and having a trusted expert in your corner is essential."

Pending sales decreased slightly by half a percent, to 3,243 pending sales. Home inventory increased to 3.4 months, a slight increase from April. Homes spend an average of 65 days on the market, an increase of 49 days year over year from May 2022.

Median home prices continued to fall 15% flat to $467,500. Year-over-year completed home sales were down just 4.2% to 3,411.

ABoR's in-house economist, Dr. Claire Losey, shared her opinion on the purchasing power of homebuyers in Austin in May compared to the rest of the United States.

"Nationally, from May 2022 to May 2023, the purchasing power of home buyers decreased by eight to nine percent according to estimates due to the increase in mortgage interest rates - May's mortgage rates, at an average of 6.4 percent, were among the highest they had been all year." Dr. Lucy said. “However, in Austin, the moderation in home prices has helped moderate the decline in purchasing power. In fact, from May 2022 to May 2023, the monthly payment on the mortgage will decrease by three to four percent."

Dr. Lozzi added that 94 percent of Austin homes on the market in May sold for their list price, which proves that sellers are not unreliable in pricing their homes. This has led to buyers being "more responsive" to current prices now than in early 2023. But it's not all sunshine and rainbows when it comes to seeing those price tags.

“Context matters, and the May 2022 median home price of $550,000 was the highest median home price the Austin area has ever seen,” Dr. Lozzi said. "Relative to pre-pandemic levels, the average house price last month increased by 44 percent."

Home sales and the median price were down slightly in every Central Texas county except Hays, where prices fell 16.1% to $400,000, but home sales jumped 9.6%. Median home prices in May for Travis County were $537,000, and $439,990 in Williamson County. In outlying Bastrop and Caldwell counties, home prices fell to $369,900 and $312,000, respectively.