Happy Thursday!

With the kids back in school and temperatures gradually cooling down, it's safe to say that fall has arrived. After the scorching summer temperatures, I'm sure many of us are ready for a change. Hopefully, mortgage rates will follow suit.

At Yesterday's meeting, the Federal Reserve chose not to raise rates, hinting at a potential rate hike later this year, as they only have two more meetings left. In this week's update, we're sharing an insightful article that delves into the future of mortgage rates, taking into account the Fed's decision. Additionally, we share the Best Week to Buy a home according to Realtor.com, and some valuable information for investors, highlighting why the current market presents the best buying opportunity in 15 months. And of course, it's that time of the month when we provide you with the official August statistics breakdown for each county, complete with informative infographics.

Exciting news on our end – we've kicked off construction for our airplane hangar project in Canyon Lake (pics below). If you're in the market for aircraft storage in central Texas, don't hesitate to reach out. As always, we're here to assist you in navigating the ever-changing real estate landscape, so please feel free to let us know how we can be of help!

INCREASE IN CLOSED SALES INDICATE CONTINUED BUYER CONFIDENCE

The housing market in Austin is offering potential homebuyers a fantastic opportunity to be selective, Inventory is the highest it's been in over a decade. With this rise in inventory throughout Central Texas, buyers, particularly those new to the market, can afford to be more patient in their search, with the ability to wait and find a property that truly meets their criteria. This shift is a refreshing change from the intense competition of the past two years, presenting an ideal moment for buyers aiming to step into the market. Now is the time to seize the advantage of this increased bargaining power that buyers are currently enjoying, it won't last too long.

City of Austin

• 858 – homes sold, 1.3% less than Aug 22.

• $541,000 – Median price, 0.7% less than Aug 22.

• 1,191 – New listings, 1.9% more than Aug 22.

• 2,879 – Active Listings, 22.8% more than Aug 22.

• 759 – Pending sales, 5.8% less than Aug 22.

• 3.9 – Months of inventory, 1.5 mo more than Aug 22

Travis County

• 1,355 – Homes sold, 1.6% less than Aug '22.

• $534,500 – Median price, 4.8% less than Aug '22.

• 1,921 – New listings, 2.4% more than Aug '22.

• 4,772 – Active listings, 17.7% more than Aug '22.

• 1,205 – Pending sales, 4.1% less than Aug '22.

• 4.1 – Inventory, 1.4/mo more than Aug '22.

Williamson County

• 971 – Homes sold, 1.7% more than Aug '22.

• $435,516 – Median price, 8.7% less than Aug '22.

• 1,241 – New listings, 14.7% less than Aug '22.

• 2,867 – Active listings, 7.9% less than Aug '22.

• 906 – Pending sales, 5.7% more than Aug '22.

• 3.2 – Inventory, 0.3/mo more than Aug '22.

Despite the challenges of higher interest rates, August showed a decent increase in home sales. This upswing, both year over year and month over month, shows that buyers view homeownership as a sound investment even in this crazy rate climate.

But despite this temporary increase in inventory, we've seen these last 18 months, in the long term the whole region still grapples with a shortage of available homes, especially those that are affordable. A big obstacle is Austin MSA's crazy high development fees, hurting developers of new home construction and slowing the growth of our housing inventory. On top of all that the uptick in mortgage rates has led potential sellers to hold their properties with mortgages they have low rates on, exacerbating the shortage of homes until life circumstances force them to sell.

HAYS COUNTY

• 417 – Homes sold, 5.3% more than Aug '22.

• $394,990 – Median price, 10.1% less than Aug '22.

• 586 – New listings, 22.3% more than Aug '22.

• 1,550 – Active listings, 33.9% more than Aug '22.

• 384 – Pending sales, 8.2% more than Aug '22.

• 4.2 – Inventory, 1.1/mo more than Aug '22.

Bastrop County

• 154 – Homes sold, 29.4% more than Aug '22.

• $339,990 – Median price, 15.0% less than Aug '22.

• 244 – New listings, 18.5% more than Aug '22.

• 586 – Active listings, 28.0% more than Aug '22.

• 146 – Pending sales, 19.7% more than Aug '22.

• 4.8 – Inventory, 1.2/mo more than Aug '22, the MSA's highest.

Caldwell County

• 42 – Homes sold, 17.7% less than Aug '22.

• $299,990 – Median price, 6.9% less than Aug '22.

• 92 – New listings, 61.4% more than Aug '22.

• 180 – Active listings, 95.7% more than Aug '22.

• 45 – Pending sales, 4.7% more than Aug '22.

• 4.4 – Inventory, 2.2/mo more than Aug '22.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE MARKET REPORT ARCHIVE