# Austin Housing Market Report: December 2019, 2019 in Review: A Genuinely Normal Year

> The Austin metro median sale price was $320,000 in December 2019, +5.8% year over year, with homes selling in 43 days and 1.9 months of supply. 2019 in Review: A Genuinely Normal Year, what the numbers mean if you are buying or selling in Austin.

Mike Vilece · January 15, 2020
Canonical page: https://theaustinlocalgroup.com/blog/austin-housing-market-december-2019/

At **1.9 months of supply**, December 2019 was a seller's market across the Austin metro. Active inventory stood at 5,197 listings, down 13.3% year over year. The share selling above asking was 17%.

## Austin market statistics, December 2019

| Metric | December 2019 |
| --- | --- |
| Median sale price | $320,000 (+5.8% YoY) |
| Median price per sq ft | $158 (+5.9% YoY) |
| Homes sold | 2,779 (+18.4% YoY) |
| New listings | 1,579 |
| Active inventory | 5,197 (-13.3% YoY) |
| Months of supply | 1.9 |
| Median days on market | 43 |
| Sale-to-list ratio | 98.3% |
| Sold above asking | 17.1% |
| Listings with a price cut | 18.9% |
| 30-year fixed rate (avg) | 3.72% |

## 2019 in Review: A Genuinely Normal Year

The metro median finished the year at $320,000, up about 5.8% year over year, with mortgage rates near 3.7%. Council passed the land development code rewrite on first reading December 11 by a 7-4 vote. By any historical standard this was a healthy, unremarkable market.

## What changed since November 2019

The median rose $15,000 from November 2019, a 4.9% move. Time on market lengthened by 2 days, to 43. Active inventory shrank by 742 listings, to 5,197. The share of homes selling over asking gave up 2.0 points, to 17.1%.

One month is noise. The reason to read it anyway is that direction shows up in inventory and days on market well before it shows up in price, so the months where those two disagree with the headline number are the interesting ones.

## Where this month sits in the cycle

| | December 2019 | November 2019 | December 2018 | Since Oct 2016 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Median sale price | $320,000 | $305,000 | $302,595 | range $255,626–$332,327 |
| Median days on market | 43 | 41 | 53 | range 16–58 |
| Active inventory | 5,197 | 5,939 | 5,992 | range 4,660–7,969 |
| Months of supply | 1.9 | 2.4 | 2.6 | lowest since Oct 2016 |
| Sold above asking | 17% | 19% | 14% | range 14%–30% |
| 30-year fixed rate | 3.72% | 3.7% | 4.64% | range 3.44%–4.87% |

The right-hand column is the range this series has covered since October 2016. No forecast in it, just where December 2019 falls against every month that came before it.

## If you are buying in Austin right now

1.9 months of supply is a seller's market, but not a chaotic one. Good homes priced correctly move in the first weekend; anything still sitting after three weeks has a reason, and finding out what it is before you offer is the whole job.

The average home sold for 98.3% of asking, so roughly 1.7% under list was the normal outcome, not an insulting one.

**The payment math.** At $320,000 with 20% down at 3.72%, principal and interest runs about **$1,181 a month**. Add roughly $533 for property taxes and $213 for insurance and you are near **$1,928 a month** all in. Texas has no state income tax and this is where the state collects instead, budget the tax line from day one, not as an afterthought.

**If you are selling:** you have the leverage, and the mistake available to you is overpricing into it anyway. Homes were selling in 43 days. A listing that sits three weeks in this market has told every agent in town that something is wrong, and you will end up taking less than if you had priced it right on day one.

## Neighborhood in focus

**Hyde Park (78751).** North Loop, North University. Known for craftsman bungalows, established. It fits buyers who want an established neighborhood with long-term value.

The metro numbers above are an average of a very unequal city, Hyde Park does not move in lockstep with Kyle or Leander, and the gap between ZIPs widens in exactly the months the metro looks calm. There is a longer, more honest write-up at [/neighborhoods/hyde-park/](/neighborhoods/hyde-park/), including what is wrong with it.

## On in Austin, December 2019

| When | What | Why it matters to a listing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mid to late December | **Armadillo Christmas Bazaar**, Palmer Events Center | Runs to Christmas Eve at the Palmer. Adds to the Zilker-area congestion the Trail of Lights is already causing. |
| Mid-December | **Trail of Lights**, Zilker Park | Roughly two weeks of nightly closures around Zilker. Barton Springs Road and the 78704 approaches are slow every evening it runs. |

## What is coming next

Second and third readings early in the new year, and a legal challenge from property owners claiming they were entitled to individual notice and protest rights.

## Common questions

### Should I buy in Austin or in the suburbs?

The honest trade: Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, Pflugerville, Georgetown, Kyle and Buda will get you meaningfully more square footage and, in Round Rock ISD, Leander ISD and Lake Travis ISD, schools that rate as well or better than most Austin ISD zones. What you give up is proximity, and in Austin proximity is the scarce good. The drive from Leander to downtown at 8am is not the drive you tested on a Sunday. Check the MUD rate before you compare prices; a suburban house can carry a higher monthly cost than a more expensive central one.

### I am moving to Austin from California. What actually surprises people?

Four things, in order of how much money they cost. Property taxes, which run roughly 1.8-2.5% and have no Proposition 13-style cap beyond the 10% homestead limit. Homeowners insurance, which is among the highest in the country because of hail. Summer utility bills in an underinsulated house. And foundations: much of the region sits on expansive clay that moves with drought and rain, so watering your foundation is a real practice here and a structural engineer's report is money well spent on any older slab home.

### How much do I need to earn to buy a median-priced Austin home?

At $320,000 with 20% down at 3.72%, the all-in monthly payment is roughly $1,928 including estimated taxes and insurance. At a 30% housing-to-income ratio that implies household income around **$77,000**. Lenders will approve you well above that; whether you should go there is a different question. Property taxes are estimated at 2.0% of value, verify the actual rate for the specific address, because a MUD can push it past 3%.

### When is the best time of year to buy a house in Austin?

October through January, consistently. Austin's listing calendar runs about six weeks ahead of the national one. The best selection appears in March and April, and so does the most competition. By late fall, spring listings are six months old, sellers have adjusted their expectations, and days on market runs 30 to 50 days longer than it did in April. You get less to choose from and far more leverage over what is left.

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*Part of a retrospective series on the Austin market, one post per month since 2016, compiled from the historical record. This edition covers December 2019; every figure is as reported for that month, and nothing in it looks past it.*

*Source: Redfin Data Center metro market tracker: single-family, Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro, not seasonally adjusted. Mortgage rates are the monthly average of the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey 30-year fixed rate. Payment, tax and insurance figures are estimates for illustration and are not a quote. Median sale price is not a guarantee of value for any specific property.*

*Written by Mike Vilece, a licensed Texas real estate agent with Compass in Austin. If you want the version of this that applies to your street and your budget, [ask me directly](/#contact).*

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