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News reports about the national economy and the national real estate market should be the starting point for analysis, not the end. Of course, we are susceptible to some national trends, but we also have our own local and regional strengths. Just like some companies fail while others thrive in difficult times, local and regional economies have comparative advantages and disadvantages, and optimism for the Austin/Central Texas area has been widely reported. Continue reading
Much of what I have written about the “state of the market” in and around Austin has focused on resale homes. New construction is obviously an important part of the market, and it’s a great barometer for confidence in the local economy, job growth, investment opportunities, etc. Continue reading
There is a difference between comparing employment from month to month, and comparing to the same month in a previous year. The Austin metro area gained jobs on a month-to-month basis for 8 of the 12 months from February 2009 through January 2010. Continue reading
While Austin has certainly felt the effects of the recession, I see good news in the TWC data. Admittedly, I am a “glass is half full” kind of guy, but I can’t figure out how to interpret that actual data negatively! Continue reading
We all read and hear so much bad news about the national real estate market that keeping a realistic perspective about the Austin/Central Texas area is difficult. The average sale price in December 2009 was about 4% higher than in January 2008, and the median price increased about 2% during that same two-year period. Continue reading
Two months of consecutive decline is worrisome, and even Austin and Central Texas participated in this weakness. As always, I the movement of the Austin Metro real estate market on my AustinMarketDashboard, and the decline is visible there, as is the usual price weakness that accompanies weak demand. Average home prices in Austin have now been below the long-term trendline for more than a year. Continue reading
In my opinion, continued artificial support will only make the correction worse when it does happen, so we should allow the market to seek its own course, with minimal external manipulation. Continue reading
Austin and Central Texas remain in a very strong position, not only to weather the continuing national economic storm, but to attract new growth and jobs and investment even as the rest of the country works through a very difficult recovery. Continue reading
Even with sales soft, however, Austin area prices have held their own, and continued to increase slowly in some important market segments. Continue reading
Austin is still in a much better place than the states that saw the most serious declines in home values over the past couple of years. Here too, though, this problem will likely get worse before it gets better. Continue reading
Bill Morris on Austin Real Estate 