Austin homes sales down 25% in July 2010 from July 2009
After home sales spent most of 2010 up from 2009, the Austin market took a tumble in July dropping 25 percent from a year ago, according to a report released Thursday by the Austin Board of Realtors.
The board said the Austin real estate market appears to have experienced its summer peak early this year due to the expiration of federal homebuyer tax credits in Apri. The surge in sales offset people relocating to Austin from other more expensive markets and the correlating increased home sales through most of 2010.
Sales were down by 4 percent in June compared with a year earlier, which could show a downward trend for the rest of summer. But Realtors said summer is usually slow and they expected some form of a dramatic drop-off with the tax credit evaporating.
“To gauge trends in the real estate market, which is cyclical, we usually compare one month’s performance to the same month the prior year,” board Chairman John Horton said. “This year, however, we have the unique situation of the homebuyer tax credits that inspired many buyers to purchase homes sooner than usual. Thus, it’s more meaningful to evaluate our market from a year-to-date perspective, instead of month-to-month, to gain a clear picture.”
The volume of Austin area home sales in July was 1,518, according to the Multiple Listing Service data used in the report. The total dollar amount for single-family properties in July at $434.8 million was the first time the amount decreased this year. Last month, the amount was $553.8 million, a 6 percent increase from June 2009 and considered the year’s peak thus far.
On a more positive note for Realtors, the median price for July was $222,000, up 15 percent from July 2009 and up from June this year at $208,750. In addition, the number of days on the market decreased 3 percent to 73 days for July when compared to the same month in 2009.
So far this year, 11,260 homes have been sold in Austin, a 5 percent increase compared to the same time period in 2009. In addition, the median price year-to-date was $194,000, up 2 percent from 2009, and days on market decreased 12 percent from 2009 to 71 days.
“Looking at our market year-to-date, it’s clear that the demand for homes is still strong, based both on increases in the number of homes sold and decreases in how long it takes to sell a home,” Horton said. “We do have more active listings on the market, which means there is an ample supply of homes for prospective buyers. The stability shown in the median price of single-family homes shows Austin real estate continues to hold its value well.”
Although the federal tax credit is gone, Realtors in the Texas market still have the new Bond 77 program as a selling point. Launched in May by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs as part of the state’s ongoing first-time homebuyer program, the department is making $500 million available to eligible homebuyers for mortgage loan assistance — either through down payment assistance or by facilitating a lower interest rate.
In another report on the Austin housing market Thursday, home builders reported lower sales figures toward the end of the second quarter of 2010 as the tax credit worked itself out of the homebuying system, according to Metrostudy, a national housing data and consulting firm that maintains a database on residential construction in the U.S. housing market.
“Entering the second quarter of 2010 it was difficult to evaluate the direction of our market for homes priced below the $250,000 to $300,000 price range due to the uncertainty over the impact of the end of the tax credit.” said Eldon Rude, director of Metrostudy’s Austin region. “However, May and June’s lower new home sales figures made it apparent that the termination of the tax credit would have a material impact on new home sales in the coming months.”
Metrostudy recorded 1,821 starts in the second quarter of 2010, up 2 percent from a year ago in 2009.
“We expect starts in the lower price ranges to fall off through the end of the year as builders concentrate on closing homes remaining in inventory,” Rude said.
Read more: Austin homes sales down 25% in July - Austin Business Journal
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