Austin-area home sales, prices up in February

The Central Texas housing market showed continued strength last month, with both home sales and home prices continuing to rise, the latest figures show.

Across the five-county region, home sales rose 5.7 percent compared with February 2017 as 1,955 single-family homes changed hands, the Austin Board of Realtors said Thursday.

Half of the homes sold for more than $299,900 and half sold for less, marking a 3.6 percent increase in the median price last month. Housing supply remained unchanged from a year ago, with an inventory of two months based on the current sales pace, the board said.

Areas with the lowest inventory and highest demand, including the city of Austin and Cedar Park, saw double-digit percentage increases in sales prices but also experienced sales declines yearover-year, the board said. Dwin- dling housing inventory in the lower price ranges could be discouraging people from buying in those markets, Steve Crorey, president of the Austin Board of Realtors, said in a written statement.

Within Austin’s city limits, the median home price increased 12.2 percent to $367,701, while sales fell 6.7 percent. Inventory decreased to 1.3 months from 1.4 months in February 2017.

In the northwest suburb of Cedar Park, sales declined 6.8 percent, while the median price rose 12.5 percent, to $329,000.

“While wages and jobs in the Austin area haven’t increased, the local economy remains strong and continues to attract new residents and potential homebuyers,” said Mark Sprague, state director of information capital for Independence Title. “This population growth is putting additional pressure on local housing markets with already critically low housing inventories, lead-