With August now over I’m updating my print article from the neighborhood newsletter with full-month data for August. In terms of transactions, a little ground was made up in the 2nd half of the month, but still lagging far behind previous years – down ~27% year to date compared to the same time in 2019.
Price appreciation continues to be very strong. Median list and sold prices and $ / sq ft are all still up double-digit percentages from the same period last year. And days on market are roughly flat with last year and still indicate a very strong seller’s market.
At the time my print article was due, there were already 5 transactions for the month and 10-12 under contract that appeared likely to close in August, suggesting a strong close to the summer. However, August ended with only 10 transactions, and many of those that I expected to close are still pending.
Anecdotally I have heard of difficulties closing on time due to challenges with lenders and in particular with getting appraisals done (and getting properties to appraise). It is possible that is driving some of these extended closing times and we may see a spike in September as more make their way through the process.
Looking at the Austin luxury market (homes priced $750K+) for Austin overall, the graph below compares transactions by week for 2020 vs. 2019. Week 20 (May 10-16) was a low-point and activity has been climbing ever since. You can see that the luxury market had a very strong summer which is continuing even into the weeks at the end of the summer that typically slow down.
You can also find additional analysis and updates to this article on treymcwhorter.com.
Note: All data comes from the Austin Board of Realtors’ MLS report, reflecting activity through August 31, 2020
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