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The Austin real estate market has been 
since about May and I just ran the numbers for September. It's one thing to experience it anecdotally but even these numbers were shocking to me. THREAD
since about May and I just ran the numbers for September. It's one thing to experience it anecdotally but even these numbers were shocking to me. THREAD
First, know that I pulled these numbers from the MLS and the MLS doesn't capture off-market listings and some new construction. So it's not a perfect measure, but it gets about 90 percent of what's out there.
The numbers Realtors pay attention to most are things like months of inventory and number of sales. Everything is indicating we have MUCH lower inventory than this same time last year. That's been true since the pandemic hit.
Buyer demand really has not slowed down, in fact it's probably INCREASED since the pandemic hit, while a lot of sellers are waiting out the pandemic. Low inventory does nothing but drives prices up because the few houses that hit the market are being swarmed by buyers.
All of this I have experienced firsthand representing buyers and sellers this year. ALL of my sellers who are selling single-family homes are getting multiple offers, particularly when they take the time to stage and prep the house.
But what truly shocked me were the median sold price increases YOY. STUNNING! We just don't normally see these kind of double-digit increases from one year to the next. Usually it's single-digit increases, even in a really hot market.
What's driving these price increases are quite simply bidding wars. People are going tens of thousands of dollars over asking to get the house. 
Also we have historically low interest rates so going $20K over asking isn't that much of an impact on your overall monthly payment so that helps fuel the bidding madness too.
Moral of the story is: if you want to sell your house in #Austin in the next six months....now is an amazing time to do so and, duh, of course you should call me. (My advice for buyers is coming up next.)
Buyers, if you're looking in Austin and have some flexibility on timing, might want to wait until Q2 of 2021. I'm hoping the pandemic-fueled housing frenzy will chill by then as more sellers emerge from hiding.
But if you're willing to live in the 'burbs like Kyle, Leander, Liberty Hill and have a healthy budget....you won't face as much competition and now is as good a time as any to buy out there.
