Today’s big question is this: Is there an Austin real estate bubble and is the market about to shift?
I have been saying for quite some time that our Austin real estate market is due for a shift. Is it happening? The answer is….perhaps.
Funny thing about shifts in the real estate market, you can only be 100 percent sure by looking in the rear view mirror. Trends take time to develop. Market shifts in real estate don’t usually happen over night. They often take months. On the other hand, sometimes even real estate shifts happen quickly.
I am a student of the real estate market and am constantly studying the market statistics to try to stay ahead of where the market is going.
Remember when the famous Hockey star, Wayne Gretzky said, “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.”
A great REALTOR® studies the market to know where it’s going to be. An average REALTOR® is unaware of such market shifts and one day wakes up to exclaim, “What Happened?”
What are the signs of a market shift? Well, it starts with subtle changes in inventory levels, sales numbers, new listings numbers, sold listings numbers, among other things.
On the national level some telling signs are popping up.
- 30 of the top 100 largest cities are seeing a big rise in inventory (number of homes for sale)
- Mortgage applications years over year are down 9%.
Might this be a shift. It might.
Here in the Austin real estate market these numbers were just released.
- Sales are down 1.9% (Austin MLS data)
- New Listings are down 4.78%
- Sold Listings are down 19.22% (that’s a big number folks!)
Might this be a shift in our Austin real estate market? It might.
Look at the chart below. For the first time in 5 years, June’s closings dropped below the previous year. That’s a big deal!
Stay tuned and I’ll keep you posted on what’s happening. Feel welcome to give me a call at 512-516-4666.
