# Austin Housing Market Report: February 2022, The Last Month of the Old Market

> The Austin metro median sale price was $504,710 in February 2022, +26.2% year over year, with homes selling in 33 days and 1.4 months of supply. The Last Month of the Old Market, what the numbers mean if you are buying or selling in Austin.

Mike Vilece · March 15, 2022
Canonical page: https://theaustinlocalgroup.com/blog/austin-housing-market-february-2022/

In February 2022, **57% of Austin-area homes sold for more than the asking price**. The median sale was $504,710, up 26.2% year over year. Homes took a median of 33 days to sell. That made it an extreme seller's market.

## Austin market statistics, February 2022

| Metric | February 2022 |
| --- | --- |
| Median sale price | $504,710 (+26.2% YoY) |
| Median price per sq ft | $254 (+28.8% YoY) |
| Homes sold | 2,221 (+15.1% YoY) |
| New listings | 2,412 |
| Active inventory | 3,099 (+12.4% YoY) |
| Months of supply | 1.4 |
| Median days on market | 33 |
| Sale-to-list ratio | 103.6% |
| Sold above asking | 56.8% |
| Listings with a price cut | 7.3% |
| 30-year fixed rate (avg) | 3.76% |

## The Last Month of the Old Market

Fifty-seven percent above list, 33 days on market, 1.4 months of supply, median up 26% year over year. That is the same market Austin has run for two years. The variable that has changed is rates, at 3.9% and climbing, and nothing in these numbers reflects that yet.

## What changed since January 2022

The median rose $18,720 from January 2022, a 3.9% move. Time on market shortened by 2 days, to 33. Active inventory shrank by 28 listings, to 3,099. The share of homes selling over asking gained 9.0 points, to 56.8%.

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

| | February 2022 | January 2022 | February 2021 | Since Oct 2016 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Median sale price | $504,710 | $485,990 | $400,000 | highest since Oct 2016 |
| Median days on market | 33 | 35 | 30 | range 16–58 |
| Active inventory | 3,099 | 3,127 | 2,757 | range 2,660–7,969 |
| Months of supply | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.4 | range 0.9–3.8 |
| Sold above asking | 57% | 48% | 59% | range 14%–75% |
| 30-year fixed rate | 3.76% | 3.45% | 2.81% | range 2.68%–4.87% |

The right-hand column is the range this series has covered since October 2016. No forecast in it, just where February 2022 falls against every month that came before it.

## If you are buying in Austin right now

At 1.4 months of supply there is no version of this where you take your time. Be fully underwritten before you tour, not pre-qualified, underwritten, with income and assets already verified. Decide your ceiling in writing before you see the house, because you will be asked to decide in a day.

57% of homes sold above asking. Assume list price is a starting bid, and ask your agent what the last five comparable sales actually closed at versus what they were listed at.

The average sale closed **above** asking, at 103.6% of list. Offering under list was, statistically, not a strategy that month.

**The payment math.** At $504,710 with 20% down at 3.76%, principal and interest runs about **$1,872 a month**. Add roughly $841 for property taxes and $336 for insurance and you are near **$3,050 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 33 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

**Westlake (78746).** Rollingwood, Lost Creek, Rob Roy. Known for eanes ISD, Hill Country views, luxury. It fits families prioritizing schools, and runs $800K to $5M+.

The metro numbers above are an average of a very unequal city, Westlake 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/westlake/](/neighborhoods/westlake/), including what is wrong with it.

## On in Austin, February 2022

| When | What | Why it matters to a listing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mid-February | **Austin Marathon**, Downtown / central | Road closures across downtown and central Austin from before dawn until early afternoon. The one Sunday of the year not to schedule a central open house. |

## What is coming next

The Fed raises rates March 16. Giga Texas opens April 7.

## 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 $504,710 with 20% down at 3.76%, the all-in monthly payment is roughly $3,050 including estimated taxes and insurance. At a 30% housing-to-income ratio that implies household income around **$122,000**. 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 February 2022; 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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