June 2013 MLS Stats

For this month’s post, I’d like to provide a little commentary on the recent rise in mortgage rates. This might not be “Muy Popular” but there are silver linings to the more than one point increase in rates from May to late June/July 2013. Justification for my madness is as follows:

• We are still talking about 4.75%. My first mortgage in 2003 was a stratospheric 6.3%.
• The higher rates will loosen up underwriting standards and more people will be eligible for mortgages. How? Banks have already seen a sharp drop in applications for refinance and will look to new higher rate mortgages to maintain profitability.
• Less Refi’s will help add clarity to the mortgage/housing numbers. Banks will actually loan money to new buyers and not just to people that already have homes. Refi’s are good for the economy but cloud the recovery a bit.

Austin-area housing inventory drops to 2.9 months in June 
Mid-year results show increase in sales, drop in days on market.

Austin Board of REALTORS® releases real estate statistics for June 2013 and mid-year 2013:

AUSTIN, Texas – July 22, 2013 – According to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) report released today by the Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABoR), Austin-area year-over-year housing inventory fell to 2.9 months in June, a decrease of 1.5 months from June 2012. Mid-year statistics for 2013 reinforced a strong demand for the market, including a 19 percent increase in home sales and 25 percent less days on the market compared to the first six months of 2012.

Cathy Coneway, 2013 Chairman of the Austin Board of REALTORS®, explained, “While the Austin-area real estate market is strong, Austin’s housing inventory has reached a critical level. If the cost of development in the area does not decrease, Austin residents will not have enough housing options and availability necessary to meet growing demand.”

According to the report, homes spent 43 days on the market, which is a decrease of 16 days from one year prior. The market featured eight percent more new listings, 22 percent fewer active listings and 16 percent more pending sales in June 2013 compared to the prior year. This is on par with mid-year results, which show a five percent increase in new listings, 25 percent fewer active listings and 17 percent more pending sales than the first six months of 2012.

The total dollar volume of single-family properties sold was $841,090,524, or 15 percent higher than the same month last year. Year to date, total dollar volume increased by 31 percent, totaling $3,838,604,341 for the first half of 2013. This is already 62 percent of the total dollar volume of home sales for all of 2012.

In June 2013, 2,767 single-family homes were sold in the Austin area, which is eight percent more than June 2012 and the most home sales in June since 2007.

The median price for Austin-area homes increased to $235,000, which is eight percent more than the same month in 2012. Year to date, median price is $224,000 or nine percent more than the first six months of 2012.

Coneway added, “While it seems like home sales slowed in June compared to earlier in the year, this month marks the highest level of home sales for June in the last six years. That combined with the fast pace of home sales in the area means buyers will greatly benefit from using a REALTOR® who has access to the most up-to-date information in the MLS, and sellers will gain maximum exposure for their listing with it in the MLS.”

June 2013 Statistics

• 2,767 – Single-family homes sold, eight percent more than June 2012.
• $235,000 – Median price for single-family homes, eight percent more than June 2012.
• 43 – Average number of days single-family homes spent on the market, 16 days fewer than June 2012.
• 3,613 – New single-family home listings on the market, eight percent more than June 2012.
• 6,046 – Active single-family home listings on the market, 22 percent fewer than June 2012.
• 2,812 – Pending sales for single-family homes, 16 percent more than June 2012.
• 2.9 – Months of inventory* of single-family homes, 1.5 months less than June 2012.
• $841,090,524 – Total dollar volume of single-family properties sold, 15 percent more than June 2012.

2013 Mid-Year Statistics

• 13,159 – Single-family homes sold, 19 percent more than the first half of 2012.
• $224,000 – Median price for single-family homes, nine percent more than the first half of 2012.
• 19,018 – New single-family home listings on the market, five percent more than the first half of 2012.
• 5,426 – Active single-family home listings on the market, 25 percent fewer than the first half of 2012.
• 15,667 – Pending sales for single-family homes, 17 percent more than the first half of 2012.
• $3,838,604,341 – Total dollar volume of single-family properties sold, 31 percent more than the first half of 2012.

The following sections describe trends in other sectors of the Austin real estate market.

Townhouses & Condominiums
The volume of townhouses and condominiums (condos) purchased in the Austin area in June 2013 was 318, which is 20 percent more than June 2012. In the same time period, the median price for condos was $199,000, which is six percent more than the same month of the prior year. When compared to June 2012, these properties spent 33 percent less time on the market, or an average of 41 days.

For the first half of 2013, 1,495 Austin condos were sold, which is 23 percent more than this time last year; the median price was $195,000, or eight percent more than 2012; and condos spent an average of 57 days on the market, 30 percent less time than the first half of 2012.

Get more on my blog.