I decided to assemble a more complete comparison of home prices in the Austin area and in the Case-Shiller indices (10-city and 20-city composites). The result? Here’s what a housing bubble looks like. Continue reading
Unlike many cities used in the Case-Shiller Index, Austin saw average home sale prices dip in December, but here’s a different view of that data. Continue reading
A couple of days ago I received some questions on one of my blogsites about my Austin Market Dashboard. It strikes me that others may have the same questions … Continue reading
While individual Austin-area homeowners have not generally seen their property values increase since the housing downturn and mortgage crisis began, a larger percentage of homebuyers have moved into much higher price ranges. That’s a real testament to the underlying strength of the Austin economy. Continue reading
Month-to-month reports of home sales in the Austin area have not been encouraging since the last tax credit program ended in June, but if you look at annualized sales and pricing things aren’t as bleak as they may seem. Continue reading
As I have discussed extensively, the Texas housing market has behaved very differently throughout this recession and housing crisis than California, Florida, Arizona, and Nevada. Only one of the metro areas in the Case-Shiller 20-city composite is in Texas, while 10 of the index cities were very hard-hit by the housing crisis. Continue reading
The Case-Shiller index of 20 major cities showed a decline of 0.8% from August to September, and 18 of 20 cities experienced declines …. but focusing on a single month-to-month change in average prices can be misleading. Continue reading
I just posted an article on my website with recommendations for home buyers during this recessionary market period. Most are good, but there are important differences between the Austin/Central Texas real estate market and the hard-hit markets that rightly get so much attention in the national press. Continue reading
“Even with several years of price declines, the typical seller who purchased a home eight years ago experienced a median equity gain of $33,000, a 24% increase, while sellers who were in their homes for 11-15 years saw a median gain of 40%.”
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Pending home sales were down in September, but the Austin metropolitan area shows signs of strength. Continue reading