Best September ever for Austin real estate

Steady demand for homes pushes prices higher
Friday, October 27, 2006

        Austin, Texas, home sales set another record in September as single-family transactions rose 2.7 percent over their year-ago level, the Austin Board of Realtors reported. According to the latest Multiple Listing Service report, 2,341 single-family homes were sold last month, up from 2,280 sales in September 2005. Last month was the ninth consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains, according to statistics.

The median price of single-family properties gained 3 percent from a year ago to a September record of $167,000, up from $162,000 in September 2005. The 8,203 active single-family listings in the MLS represent a 5 percent increase from September 2005, and were up from 8,137 in August. At an average of 58 days, the amount of time these listings sat on the market decreased by 15 percent, which is the shortest amount of time single-family listings have waited to sell since September 2001, when the average was 46 days. "If you want proof that Austin is a real estate hot zone, all you have to do is look out your window," said ABoR Chairman John Rosshirt. "The construction cranes that have become fixtures around the skyline underscore the city's desirability. In North Austin, for example, the area around the Arboretum is the target of serious commercial development, and the home sales data complements that fact."

The 1N section of Austin, which encompasses ABoR's northwest Austin neighborhood, posted particularly noteworthy numbers in September. The area's single-family home sales increased 47 percent to 69 and earned a median price of $240,000, an 18 percent increase from last year. Averaging 38 days on the market, these properties sat for 40 percent less time than they did in September 2005.

The Austin Board of Realtors is a nonprofit, voluntary organization representing more than 8,500 licensed Realtors in Central Texas.

Source from: Inman News