[ad_1]
Austin remains the hottest housing market in the country, with the vast majority of its homes selling well above list prices, new data released by Redfin shows.
In total, 74% of Austin homes were sold above list price in April, the study found. In addition, the metropolitan area saw the fastest price rise in all of the United States that month.
The Austin housing market has been scorching hot since the beginning of the year as technology workers flock to the area, Redfin said. That year, 1,440 Austin homes sold for $ 100,000 to $ 299,000 above their asking price and 72 for more than $ 300,000 above what sellers said they were, data from Redfin shows.
At the same time last year, only two Austin homes had sold for more than $ 300,000 above asking price.
Austin-based Redfin real estate agent John Dawson told HousingWire it recently sold a home in Austin for $ 715,000, despite the owner listing it at just $ 565,000, he said.
“We received about a dozen offers, which is actually a small number by today’s standards,” he added. “The winning buyer also waived the rating and funding quotas and gave up cupcakes that matched the interior colors of the house, which was a nice touch since the seller is an artist and the house is unique and colorful.”
Redfin reported that the average Austin home sale price is now $ 465,000, up 42.3% over the same period a year ago. Net inflow to Austin, which relates to the number of people arriving versus those leaving, doubled in the last year, according to the study.
Austin real estate industry insiders say there aren’t nearly enough homes for all interested buyers. Jay Garrett, loan officer at the McClellan office of Supreme Lending in Austin, told HousingWire that he sees between 10 and 40 offers on houses in the city no matter where they are. Hence, he said that most of the successful bids are cash-only offers, which are preferable to sellers, as it means the property’s valuation is not too low, as is the case with a buyer in need of funding.
“When a seller has these multiple offers, they’ll look at cash offers first and may even consider a lower cash offer because they don’t have to worry about property valuation for that price,” said Garrett. “If they receive a higher offer with financing, the buyer will have to renegotiate the selling price in a revaluation to be closer to the appraised value.”
Part of the reason Austin’s red-hot housing market is because the city has become a popular destination for tech workers who can now work remotely. Many of these people can now relocate from areas like Silicon Valley and San Francisco, choosing Austin for its lifestyle, climate, and affordability, as well as the fact that many tech companies have smaller locations in the area. These people often have very deep pockets after selling their very expensive California homes, and that means Austin locals are struggling to compete with them on the few homes for sale.
Redfin’s study shows that those moving to Austin from another part of the United States have an average budget of $ 855,000, versus an average budget of just $ 650,000 for locals.
While Austin is clearly a thriving sellers’ market, Dawson advises homeowners looking to make money not to get too carried away. He said they should still be realistic about the pricing of their homes if they decide to sell.
“Some of the ‘comps’ aren’t actually comps,” Dawson said, explaining that it is not always wise to compare it to other sales in the area.
“Some cases have been extremely motivated buyers willing to pay well above the asking price to get the home they wanted,” he said. “For example, last week I sold a house for $ 635,000. But if I were to list the neighbor’s house next door, I would list it for about $ 590,000 if it’s the same because most of the listings are around here. “
[ad_2]
