Austin Board of REALTORS® releases real estate statistics for December 2014 and 2014 year-end totals

 

AUSTIN, Texas – January 21, 2014 – According to the December 2014 and Year-End 2014 Multiple Listing Service (MLS) report released today by the Austin Board of REALTORS®, the Austin-area housing market set a record for single-family home sales volume for the month of December, as well as a record for annual home sales volume in 2014. This marked the fourth-straight year of annual home sales increases.

Barb Cooper, 2015 President of the Austin Board of REALTORS®, explained, “The Austin area experienced a strong, stable housing market in 2014, with year-end 2014 showing similar market conditions to those one year ago. Last month, the U.S. Census Bureau named Austin the third-fastest growing big city in America since 2000. That steady job and population growth has continued to drive increases in home sales volume and, combined with low housing inventory levels, home prices as well.”

According to the report, 2,283 single-family homes were sold in the Austin area in December 2014, a 14 percent increase compared to December 2013 and an all-time high for Austin-area home sales in the month of December. In 2014, home sales volume slightly exceeded 2013 levels to set a new record for the number of Austin-area homes sold in a year with 27,768 homes sold, a two percent increase from 2013.

Over the course of 2014, median price increased eight percent over 2013 to $242,500. In December 2014, the median price for Austin-area homes was $246,530, 10 percent higher than December 2013. As a result, the total sales dollar volume for single-family homes in 2014 topped $8.6 billion, an increase of more than $673 million from 2013.

Housing inventory levels remained low in 2014, despite breaking an 18-month trend of monthly decreases in the second quarter of 2014. In December, Austin-area monthly housing inventory was 2.2 months, 0.2 months higher than December 2013 but still well below the 6.5-month inventory level the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University cites as a balanced housing market.

This slow rise in housing inventory was driven by an influx of listings throughout the last half of 2014. Active listings in December 2014 jumped 12 percent year-over-year to 5,077 listings, while new listings rose 10 percent to 1,546 new listings from December 2013. Throughout the year, new and active listings each rose four percent in 2014 to 35,423 and 5,734 listings, respectively.

In 2014, homes spent an average of 47 days on the market, or three days fewer than homes sold in 2013, while pending sales increased one percent from 2013 to 28,325 sales. Homes sold in December 2014 spent three more days on the market than December 2013, or an average of 55 days, and pending sales increased 18 percent to 1,623 sales during the same time frame.

Cooper concluded, “The Austin-area housing market is consistent, but so are its challenges. More homes on the market, at all price ranges and throughout all areas of Austin, will be crucial to maintaining Austin’s affordability in 2015. As one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the U.S. we must look to our new city council for a regulatory environment that stimulates and grows housing stock in a healthy, sustainable way.”

December 2014 Statistics

• 2,283 – Single-family homes sold, 14 percent more than December 2013.
• $246,530 – Median price for single-family homes, 10 percent more than December 2013.
• $311,082 – Average price for single-family homes, six percent more than December 2013.
• 55 – Average number of days single-family homes spent on the market, three days more than December 2013.
• 1,546 – New single-family home listings on the market, 10 percent more than December 2013.
• 5,077 – Active single-family home listings on the market, 12 percent more than December 2013.
• 1,623 – Pending sales for single-family homes, 18 percent more than December 2013.
• 2.2 – Months of inventory* of single-family homes, 0.2 month more than December 2013.
• $710,200,206 – Total dollar volume of single-family properties sold, 21 percent more than December 2013.

2014 Year-End Totals

• 27,768 – Single-family homes sold, two percent more than 2013.
• $242,500 – Median price for single-family homes, eight percent more than 2013.
• $309,975 – Average price for single-family homes, seven percent more than 2013.
• 47 – Average number of days that single-family homes spent on the market, three days fewer than 2013.
• 35,423 – New single-family home listings on the market, four percent more than 2013.
• 5,734 – Active single-family home listings on the market, four percent more than 2013.
• 28,325 – Pending sales for single-family homes, one percent more than 2013.
• $8,607,385,376 – Total dollar volume of single-family properties sold, nine percent more than 2013.

The following sections describe trends in other sectors of the Austin real estate market.

Townhouses & Condominiums

The volume of townhouses and condominiums (condos) purchased in the Austin area in December 2014 was 222, which is six percent more than December 2013. In the same time period, the median price for condos was $229,750, which is five percent more than the same month of the prior year. When compared to December 2013, these properties spent five additional days on the market, or an average of 55 days.

Over the course of 2014, 3,150 Austin condos were sold, which is statistically unchanged compared to 2013; the median price was $215,000, or 10 percent more than 2013; and condos spent an average of 43 days on the market, nine days fewer than 2013.

Leasing

In December 2014, a total of 1,214 properties were leased in Austin, which is 17 percent more than December 2013. The median price for Austin-area leases was $1,450, which is five percent more than the same month of the prior year. In all of 2014, a total of 16,960 properties were leased in Austin, which is four percent more than 2013, and the median lease price was $1,480, or six percent more than 2013.

The Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABoR) builds connections through the use of technology, education and advocacy to strengthen the careers of its 11,000 members and improve the lives of Central Texas families. We empower Austin REALTORS® to connect their clients to the region’s most complete, accurate and up-to-date listings data. For more, contact the ABoR Marketing Department at marketing@abor.com or 512-454-7636. For the latest local housing market listings, visit AustinHomeSearch.com.

* The inventory of homes for a market can be measured in months, which is defined as the number of active listings divided by the average sales per month of the prior 12 months. The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University cites that 6.5 months of inventory represents a market in which supply and demand for homes is balanced.

 

Article appears on ABOR.COM website on 1-21-15. © Copyright 2015 Austin Board of REALTORS®. All rights reserved.