Home sales

Both active listings and monthly housing inventory saw significant gains in Central Texas in April, which could indicate strong home sales activity in the summer months to come, the board said.

John Kovas, a broker with Kovas & Associates Realtors, said Austin “is the envy of the country.”

“There’s no other way to say it,” Kovas said. “We’ve all been spoiled. If I put a house on the market Friday and it’s not under contract by Monday at 5 p.m., I’m asking, ‘Am I doing something wrong?’ That’s how fast they’re moving. It’s an uber-hot market.”

One exception, however, is in the high-end category, Kovas said.

“The malaise that began descending over the luxury market, $1 million and over, in February 2016 has drifted downward, first to $750,000 and above, and now to $530,000 and above. There are very few loans being made in the $530,000 to $750,000 price range. It has gone quiet.”

In Central Austin, real estate agent Brandi Wyman said she is preparing her buyer clients “to be ready for multiple offers and competition” as the market ramps up into prime selling season.

“Compromises have to be made in a market as competitive as this one and folks need to remember to not let perfection be the enemy of the good,” said Wyman, with Turner Residential in Austin.

Tim Heyl, CEO of the Heyl Group at Keller Williams Realty in Austin, said more than half of the firm’s transactions this spring have involved multiple offers.

“Lower inventory, particularly in desirable neighborhoods, is creating a competition frenzy and short days on market,” Heyl said.

Across Central Texas, single-family sales growth is being driven in part by a surge in new home construction, particularly in Williamson County, the board said. Metrostudy, which tracks the housing market, said that in the 12 months through March new home starts rose nearly 15 percent over the prior 12-month period.

On Monday, several benchmark mortgage interest rates moved higher, but Kovas said he doesn’t foresee much impact on the market.

And Tim Beyers, a mortgage analyst for American Financing, a national mortgage banking firm, said: “In general, dropping rates are good news for buyers, but if you already locked in a rate you’re happy with — and most importantly, a price you’re happy with for the property you’re buying — this week’s minor moves shouldn’t spur you to change anything.”