Austin Housing Market on Track to See Record Sales

The housing market for Austin, Texas, and its surrounding area is on track to hit its ninth year of record home sales and prices, National Mortgage News reports.

If the prediction by Jim Gaines, chief economist at the Texas A&M Real Estate Center, is correct, 2019 would mark the ninth year in a row that home sales — and the median sales price of those homes — hit all-time highs in the Austin-Round Rock metro area. The five-county area, which extends from Georgetown to San Marcos, remains one of the nation's fastest-growing regions.

"The (Austin-area) market is still very strong," Gaines said in an interview before giving his mid-year economic and housing forecast. "The biggest problem is still low inventory, particularly in the $200,000 to $400,000 price range, which is 61% of the market."

Gaines said sales across the Austin-Round Rock region continue to be buoyed by strong job and population growth. Sales are expected to be up from 2% to 5% over last year's volume, while the median sales price is projected to increase by about 2%, he said.

Read more