The median Austin-area listing spent 27 days on the market in June 2021. The median sale was $490,000, up 42.0% year over year. The share selling above asking was 74%.
Austin market statistics, June 2021
| Metric | June 2021 |
|---|---|
| Median sale price | $490,000 (+42.0% YoY) |
| Median price per sq ft | $235 (+44.5% YoY) |
| Homes sold | 3,711 (+3.2% YoY) |
| New listings | 4,391 |
| Active inventory | 4,760 (-2.7% YoY) |
| Months of supply | 1.3 |
| Median days on market | 27 |
| Sale-to-list ratio | 108.5% |
| Sold above asking | 74.1% |
| Listings with a price cut | 13.8% |
| 30-year fixed rate (avg) | 2.98% |
A $345,000 House Is Now a $490,000 House
Q2 Stadium opened June 19 for Austin FC's first home match. The median hit $490,000, up 42% year over year. A house that sold for $345,000 in June 2020 was worth $490,000 twelve months later, and nothing about the house had changed.
What changed since May 2021
The median rose $17,150 from May 2021, a 3.6% move. Time on market lengthened by 1 days, to 27. Active inventory grew by 586 listings, to 4,760. The share of homes selling over asking gained 0.5 points, to 74.1%.
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
| June 2021 | May 2021 | June 2020 | Since Oct 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | $490,000 | $472,850 | $345,000 | highest since Oct 2016 |
| Median days on market | 27 | 26 | 22 | range 16–58 |
| Active inventory | 4,760 | 4,174 | 4,891 | range 2,660–7,969 |
| Months of supply | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.4 | range 0.9–3.8 |
| Sold above asking | 74% | 74% | 26% | range 14%–75% |
| 30-year fixed rate | 2.98% | 2.96% | 3.16% | 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 June 2021 falls against every month that came before it.
If you are buying in Austin right now
At 1.3 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.
74% 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 108.5% of list. Offering under list was, statistically, not a strategy that month.
The payment math. At $490,000 with 20% down at 2.98%, principal and interest runs about $1,648 a month. Add roughly $817 for property taxes and $327 for insurance and you are near $2,792 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 27 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/, including what is wrong with it.
On in Austin, June 2021
| When | What | Why it matters to a listing |
|---|---|---|
| June 2021 | Public events, cancelled | Austin's public event calendar did not run in its usual form. Large gatherings were restricted from mid-March 2020, and the festivals, races and street closures that normally shape a month here were cancelled, moved online or held at reduced size. |
What is coming next
Tesla's Giga Texas is nearing completion in Del Valle. Samsung is publicly evaluating sites for a large chip fab, with Taylor in Williamson County among them.
Common questions
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.
What is the average home price in Austin?
The median single-family sale across the Austin metro in June 2021 was $490,000. Median is the more useful number than average here. A handful of Westlake and Tarrytown sales pull an average upward in a way that tells you nothing about what you will pay. Note also that the metro figure covers Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell counties; the City of Austin proper runs meaningfully higher, and the suburbs meaningfully lower.
Is Austin a buyer's market or a seller's market?
In June 2021, an extreme seller's market, 1.3 months of supply, with 74% of homes selling above asking. The rough convention: under about 3 months favors sellers, 4 to 6 is balanced, and above 6 favors buyers. Since October 2016 this metro has ranged from 0.9 months in December 2020 to 3.8 in January 2019.
What is a MUD district and why does it matter?
A Municipal Utility District is a taxing entity that finances water, sewer and drainage infrastructure in developments outside city utility service: common in Leander, Kyle, Buda, Manor and parts of Pflugerville and Dripping Springs. It levies its own rate on top of city, county and school, and can add a full percentage point or more to your effective tax rate. MUD rates typically decline as the district's debt is paid down, but that takes decades. It is the most common surprise in a suburban Central Texas closing, and it is disclosed, read the MUD notice.
Part of a retrospective series on the Austin market, one post per month since 2016, compiled from the historical record. This edition covers June 2021; 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.