According to the Austin Board of Realtors' last monthly report of 2022 and year-end overview, inventory rose, but so did interest rates and construction costs. Prices rose, too, reaching a new annual record for the Austin-Round Rock MSA at $503,000 (up 11.4 percent). Travis County mirrored the pattern, as median prices increased 10.6 percent to $575,000.
Demand in the MSA lagged while supply stayed the same: New listings stayed steady but 33,547 homes were sold, down 18.3 percent from the previous year, and they generally stayed on the market for 31 days, 11 days longer. This was a reversal to trends that had previously been thrown far out of balance, narrowing the gap.
“After two years of unprecedented demand, activity, and price increases, our housing market began to stabilize in 2022,” said 2023 ABoR president Ashley Jackson in a release. “Signs point to that trend continuing in 2023 even as interest rates fluctuate, so buyers need to date the rate and marry the house.”
Just in December, closed listings in the MSA declined 31.5 percent, and new listings 15.1 percent. Houses spent notably longer on the market than they did last year (a “staggering increase”), an average of 71 days as opposed to 47.
“It is important to remember that we still have a desirable and sought-after market," added Jackson. "[I]t is just that now we are seeing our market return to a more normal level of high demand and activity than what we experienced in the years leading up to the COVID pandemic and subsequent boom in our market."
