Austin’s market soars 14 percent in March

Austin is the hot spot when it comes to Texas home cost gains.

Austin area home prices soared by more than 14 percent in March, topping the nationwide increase of 11.3 percent.

Home prices across the country rose at the fastest rate since 2006, according to the latest report from Corelogic.

Housing costs in most U.S. markets have been sharply rising since last summer when record low mortgage rates and a severe shortage of inventory caused prices to spike.

The COVID-19 pandemic also unleashed a flood of new buyers seeking to ditch apartments for home ownership.

In the San Antonio area, medium home prices were up 9.7 percent from a year earlier. Houston has lagged with a 6.7 percent annual rise. Dallas-area prices were up about 10.7 percent from March 2020 levels.

“With prospective buyers continuing to be motivated by historically low mortgage rates, we anticipate sustained demand in the summer and early fall,” said Frank Martell, CEO of Corelogic.