Home sales in the Taylor area in February were down by 75% in February compared to the same month last year, according to the data from the Austin Board of Realtors and Unlock MLS.
Just 10 houses sold that month in the 76574 ZIP code of Taylor and the median price declined by 7.8% to $322,500. The data from ABoR, however, shows an increase in new home listings on the market and a total of 98 active listings.
Sales in the Hutto area for ZIP code 78634 hit 98 houses in February, a decrease of 14.9% from last year. The median sales price, however, skipped up 3.4% to $377,990, according to ABoR.
“Higher home prices and mortgage rates have diminished affordability for first-time homebuyers over the past few years, but February provided encouragement for these aspiring homeowners,” said Clare Losey, housing economist for the ABoR and Unlock MLS, which collects and analyzes data from the Multiple Listing Service used by real estate professionals.
“We’ve witnessed a significant surge in new listings, predominantly among more affordable and attainable homes, particularly those priced under $400,000,” Losey said. “The increase in housing options presents a promising opportunity for Central Texans who want to become homeowners.”
Sales prices in Hutto are stronger in part because inventory has remained tight at just 1.7 months of inventory. Three months of inventory or less is considered a strong seller’s market, while at least 6 months of inventory tends to lean prices more in favor of the buyer.
There was just one home sold last month in the Thrall area of ZIP code 76578 at a price of $412,000 and there are only five active listings in the mostly rural area of the county.
In and around Coupland, in the 78615 ZIP code, there were no sales in February and just seven active listings.
For Williamson County, the number of closed home sales in February was up 2% to 777, while the median sales price was up 1.9% to $423,000. The houses spent an average of 83 days on the market and available inventory in Williamson County sat at 3 months. Two years ago, before mortgage rates more than doubled, median sales prices were more than $490,000, with houses selling in an average of only a couple of weeks and only about two weeks’ worth of inventory was on the market.
Thanks in part to steep housing prices inside the Austin city limits and Travis County, the median price for the entire five-county metropolitan statistical area was $443,065 in February, up 1.2% from the same month last year.
Higher interest rates have moderated asking prices, but also slowed the pace of sales because monthly mortgage payments are considerably higher.
Caldwell County had the most affordable prices in the MSA, with the median down 9% to $299,900 in February.
Losey said that while the Taylor and Hutto area are expecting huge job growth in the coming years, available housing will lag behind the jobs themselves.
