AUSTIN AREA ‘UBER-HOT’ HOUSING SALES RISE 3%
$305,000 median price is second-highest level ever, board reports.
Central Texas home sales rose just over 3 percent in April and the median price of those sales hit $305,000 — the second-highest level ever, the Austin Board of Realtors said Tuesday.
The median also set a record for an April.
To date, the all-time high for the median home-sales price was set in August 2016, when it reached $363,190, the board said.
“After a slow beginning to the year, increases in single-family home sales, homes on the market and housing inventory across the region in April indicate that the Central Texas housing market is ramping up for a strong summer selling season,” Brandy Guthrie, president of the Austin Board of Realtors, said in a written statement.
The region’s job and population growth continue to fuel strong demand for housing, but low inventory has been pushing prices higher for some time, experts say.
The board reported 2,640 home sales in April for the Austin metro stretching from Georgetown to San Marcos. That’s a 3.2 percent increase over April 2016, the board said.
In the city of Austin, there were 827 home sales, up 2.2 percent over April 2016, the board said. Austin’s median price increased 4.1 percent to $370,600.
At the county level, home sales were up 8.6 percent year-overyear in Williamson County and 3.3 percent in Hays County. Travis County, however, saw a 2.1 percent decline.
Single-family home prices remain most affordable in Hays and Williamson counties, but that’s also where home prices are rising the fastest, the board said.
In April, the median sales price in Hays County increased 7.1 percent to $267,500, while the median rose 7 percent in Williamson County to $275,000.