In the first half of 2020, Austin area home sales experienced an overall decrease from the year before. While the decrease in home sales activity may not come as a surprise, the rebound in home sales in June came as a welcome change of pace and gives real estate experts hope for a strong year of sales in 2020. An exceptionally high spike in home sales in some counties of the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) are signs that the suburbs may recover faster than the City of Austin. The new numbers were released in the latest real estate sales report from the Austin Board of REALTORS® and highlight the growing trend of buyers seeking housing outside of the crowded city centers for affordability and increased inventory.
“Our latest real estate sales report shows that home sales in the suburbs are rebounding faster than in the city proper,” said David Brodsky, broker/owner of David Brodsky Properties, a boutique Austin real estate brokerage specializing in providing expert consultative real estate services. “Buyers are gravitating to areas where there’s more inventory and at more affordable price points.”
Strong home sales performance in the suburbs also helped bolster the regional real estate sales statistics and mitigate the effect of the coronavirus on the overall Central Texas housing market. Throughout the five-county Austin-Round Rock MSA, June residential home sales increased 9.3% year over year to 3,969 home sales. The region’s overall increase in home sales in June were largely the result of huge spikes in sales in Hays and Caldwell Counties, while Williamson and Bastrop Counties contributed more modest sales increases in June.
James Gaines, the chief economist for the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, shared some perspective on the recent sales numbers.
“There are plenty of unknowns in the months ahead, but June home sales across the MSA being up 9.3% YoY was tremendous when considering the strength of 2019. And while home sales declined throughout the Austin-MSA during the first six months of 2020, we are still on track for a strong year,” Gaines said.
Gaines also pointed out that while the overall increase in June residential home sales is a welcome sign of a recovering real estate market, critically-low inventory is still a concern.
“Extremely low inventory is one of the factors that affect overall sales dollar volume while simultaneously creating a very competitive and tight market. Homebuilders aren’t building quite as many new homes and sellers were hesitant to list their home during the shelter in place orders. Even if we end up with a 3 to 4% decline in sales in 2020, that would still be a strong year for the region.”
Austin-Round Rock MSA
June Home Sales Numbers
- Residential home sales increased 9.3% year over year to 3,969 sales
- Median sales price increased by 4.6% to $340,000
- Sales dollar volume also increased 13.1% to $1,674,070,282
- Pending sales increased by 33.7% to 4,737
- Housing inventory declined 0.9 months to 1.8 months of inventory
2020 Midyear Sales Report
- Homes sales in the Austin-Round Rock MSA declined 5.2% year over year to 17,043 home sales in the first half of 2020
- Sales dollar volume declined 1.9% to $6,897,765,107
- The median price increased 4.9% to $325,200
- New listings through June declined 7.5% to 22,744 listings
- Active listings dropped 19.2% to 5,616 listings
- Pending sales slightly increased 2% to 20,389 sales
City of Austin
June Real Estate Sales
- Home sales in the City of Austin were down 5.3% from last June to 1,163 sales
- Sales dollar volume inched up by 0.2% to $588,734,242
- The median sales price increased 3.3% to $407,000
- New listings decreased 5.3% to 1,448 listings
- Active listings tumbled 26.4% to 1,520 listings
- Pending sales jumped 21.7% to 1,478 sales
- Housing inventory decreased 0.4 months to 1.6 months
2020 Midyear Statistics
- Home sales in the first half of the year decreased 13.6% year over year to 5,291 sales
- The median sales price rose 9.7% to $406,000
- Sales dollar volume decreased by 6.2% to $2,621,719,744
- New listings dropped 9.7% to 7,498 listings
- Active listings declined 21.8% to 1,398 listings
- Pending sales also fell 8.9% to 6,201 sales
Travis County
June Real Estate Numbers
- Home sales in Travis County decreased 0.8% year over year to 1,935 home sales in June
- Sales dollar volume rose by 4.3% to $980,584,301
- Median sales price increased 3.5% to $398,250
- New listings declined 8.1% to 2,165 listings
- Active listings dropped 31.9% to 2,626
- Pending sales jumped 22.3% to 2,313 sales
- Housing inventory fell 0.8 months to 1.7 months of inventory
Midyear Market Report
- Home sales in Travis County decreased 10.3% year over year to 8,452 home sales in first half of 2020
- Sales dollar volume dropped 6.5% to $4,078,268,052
- Median sales price rose by 7% to $385,000
- New listings decreased 10.8% to 11,721 listings
- Active listings dropped 24% to 2,572 listings
- Pending sales also fell 5.3% to 9,976 sales
Williamson County
June Real Estate Sales
- Home sales in Williamson County increased 16.1% year over year to 1,352 home sales in June
- Sales dollar volume jumped 21.9% to $458,305,463
- Median sales price increased 4.9% to $304,090
- New listings increased 2.1% to 1,400
- Active listings tumbled 35.1% to 1,615 listings
- Pending sales spiked 41.7% to 1,605 pending sales
- Housing inventory fell 1 month to 1.6 months
Midyear Sales Statistics
- Williamson County home sales declined 3.6% year over year to 5,767 home sales in the first half of 2020
- Sales dollar volume remained flat at $1,877,370,936 during the same time period
- Median price increased 2.8% to $291,920
- New listings decreased 4.8% to 7,325 listings
- Active listings dropped 19.2% to 1,803 listings
- Pending sales increased 6% to 6,958 pending sales
Hays County
June Home Sales Statistics
- Hays County home sales jumped 38.6% year over year to 535 homes sold in June
- Sales dollar volume shot up by 48.6% to $193,556,186
- Median price rose by 6.6% to $287,265
- New listings decreased 13.6% to 419 listings
- Active listings fell 31.6% to 690 listings
- Pending sales spiked 60.6% to 604 sales
- Inventory dropped 1.2 months to 2.0 months
Midyear Real Estate Performance
- Hays County home sales rose 12.2% year over year to 2,137 sales in the first half of 2020
- Sales dollar volume rose 19.6% to $754,871,620
- Median sales price increased 4.9% to $278,995
- New listings slightly fell 0.5% to 2,679 listings
- Active listings declined 10.8% to 822 listings
- Pending sales jumped 21.2% to 2,592 pending sales
Bastrop County
June Real Estate Report
- Bastrop County home sales increased 7.4% year over year to 116 home sales in June
- Sales dollar volume climbed 16.2% to $33,337,768
- Median price increased 14% to $268,000
- New listings dropped 0.7% to 148 listings
- Active listings fell 20.4% to 288
- Pending sales jumped 52.3% to 169 pending sales
- Inventory decreased 1.1 months to 3.0 months
Midyear Home Sales Statistics
- Bastrop County home sales increased 2.7% year over year to 539 sales in the first half of 2020
- Sales dollar volume increased 12.6% to $150,584,845
- The median price increased 9.9% to $256,000
- New listings declined 3.1% to 804 listings
- Active listings rose 2.8% to 328 listings
- Pending sales increased 14.2% to 677 sales
Caldwell County
June Real Estate Sales
- Caldwell County home sales spiked 40.9% year over year to 31 sales this June
- Sales dollar volume jumped 58.8% to $7,577,358
- The median price saw a 7.2% gain to reach $204,239
- New listings dropped 17.4% to 38 listings
- Active listings decreased 23.6% to 81 listings
- Pending sales increased 53.3% to 46 sales
- Housing inventory fell 1.2 months to 3.2 months
Midyear Market Report
- Caldwell County home sales increased 5% year over year to 148 sales in the first half of 2020
- Sales dollar volume increased 21% to $36,639,286
- Median sales price climbed 4.5% to $209,000
- New listings dropped 8.5% to 215 listings
- Active listings declined 1.1% to 89 listings
- Pending sales increased 21.6% to 186 sales
If you’re considering buying or selling a home this year, reach out to David Brodsky Properties for a personalized, one-on-one consultation about your real estate goals. While home sales are heating up this year, it’s important to be well-prepared for this unique market. A trusted real estate strategist will help you develop a sound strategy for success in real estate this year.