Homes sales in December '09 from the Austin Multiple Listing Service show that home sales increased approximately 5% compared to December '08. This is the third month in a row that we have seen a substantial increase in sales! As a matter of fact, home sales have not been at this pace since 2005. There has been a modest tend toward increased sales, as July, '09 was the only month in nearly 24 months where same month sales were not drastically down from the year before!
Obviously the Federal Tax Credit was a huge factor in motivating Austin area home buyers this in October and November, and after the credit was extended, December home sales continued to improve over 2008.
Austin's median home prices fell approximately 1%, but that is not as bad as one might expect, since so many first time home buyers jumped into the market, about 64% of homes sold were priced under $250,000.
Another HUGE statistic is that the number of homes for sale in the Austin market is actually DOWN from last year. As a matter of fact, there were approximately 5% fewer homes on the market in December, '09 than in December, '08, meaning that our real estate market remains one of the STRONGEST in the U.S.!
This is a reflection of the strength of the Austin economy. Austin’s economy is still one of the country’s best, with low unemployment and strong job growth. In addition, all indicators point to improvement!
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