• Sales volume is down almost 5% year over year (YOY, down for the 17th straight month), while active listings are up almost 15% YOY.
• Mean and Median pricing is up 2.5% and down 0.3% YOY.
• Months Inventory is continuing to climb from 3.2 months last month to 3.3 months currently. This should continue to climb into December, then drop, and then climb again into April.
• Interest rates at par for most owner occupants ticked above 7% this past month.

• The 7% threshold was psychologically important for buyers in my opinion. Last summer when rates ticked above 5%, the market was dead for a solid 45 days or so. I saw this same thing happen again when rates hit 7% a few weeks back. Activity just seemed to fall off a cliff. My take is that this pattern will continue until it doesn't (when we finally see the straw that breaks the camel's back). Will that trigger be UAW striking? Price of oil? China falling apart? Something else?
• I believe I closed four buy/sell deals since my last update. Those were:
• A nice home in Prestonwood Forrest that I formerly did property management work for (multiple offers, went over asking price)
• My first assumable FHA loan (2.875%), previously posted here in Cypress (multiple offers, also went above asking price). The lender (not someone who posts here) tried to tell me that "we don't do assumable loans." That's funny, their loan docs and Uncle Sam said they do. I had to put on my Karen wig but got it escalated and turns out they do actually do assumable loans. But the three regional VP's that it took to get it done all said that none of them had ever done a loan assumption in their entire careers. Work with someone who will fight for you. This one wouldn't have gotten multiple offers and gone over asking price if we hadn't. And finally, even in this market, you can find good deals!
• A very nice home in Oak Forest. Nothing overly crazy here, but I represented the buyer and I think they got a really good deal!
• And finally, my flip in Timbergrove. Demo days are good for the soul!

• The Lack of Supply is still real, but homes are sitting for longer. I've put two charts chart below to put it in perspective but we are not seeing as many active listings. In Aug 2019 - we had 1,235,000 active homes for sale. For August 2023 - we had 669,173
• Bryan's Inventory has increased to 3.2 months vs 1.8 months in 2022. College Station has increased to 2.5 months vs 1.8 months in 2022. The Days on Market (between listing and selling) for Bryan is 80 days, or 9 days higher than Aug 2022.
• For College Station, the DOM is 62 days vs 58 days in Aug 2022. Current National Average is 46 days for Aug 23 vs 41 days in Aug 22. Here's the kicker though - In August 2019, the median for DOM was 59.
• Home Prices across the Brazos Valley are up ~2.2% since last year.

• Active Listing Count in US
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Link: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=191dc
• Median Days on Market in US
• 
• Link: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=18rz3

• Currently feels like there are two types of homes on the market right now. The ones that are turnkey and move in ready with minimal work move fast from going under contract to closing. The other homes are those that might need some work, have obvious deferred maintenance, etc.
• But both these homes are priced the same and the value is just not there on the second bunch, but sellers are struggling to lower their price expectations.

• I am working with two different sets of first time home buyers and I am a loving every second because they are trusting us to help guide them through. It's been great being able to walk through these properties and potential deals trying to help educate them! Really feel like we are teaching them fish instead of just giving them a fish.
• My wife and I have spent a couple Sunday afternoons to walk through a variety of new builds across the Brazos. Lots of interesting differences between all these homes, but the common theme I've noticed is the higher priced homes compared to their peers are missing some quality touches that lower priced peers have. Things like basic appliances, cabinetry pulls, flooring, etc.

Quote:

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"Austin's current housing market allows for potential home buyers to be picky," Ashley Jackson, 2023 ABoR president, said. "With housing inventory increasing across Central Texas, buyersespecially first-time home buyerscan take their time searching for a home that checks all their boxes. When compared to the past two years of highly competitive market activity, this is both a welcome reprieve and perfect opportunity for buyers looking to enter the market. Now is the time to take advantage of the increase in leverage that buyers now have."

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• Median sales price is down 7% YOY. It's been working out very well for those first-time homebuyers that were priced out in the previous years. My last 4 business deals have all been first-time buyers. They all got a great deal!
• Pending sales are up 2% YOY. Buyers are still buying with these interest rates. I honestly don't see rates dropping back to 3-4% anytime soon.
• Active listings are up 12% and new listings are up less than a 1% YOY. This has pushed inventory up to 3.8 months. It's still considered a seller's market, but buyers are getting better deals with more inventory.
• I'm currently helping on Ag with an investment deal in Lampasas, TX and I currently have a listing in Liberty Hill.
• It's been a GREAT year for me and my clients have saved an average of $6,476 on their home purchases or listings.