Prices, Affordability and Opportunities

As we’ve wrapped up a tumultuous 2022 local area housing market, one can’t help but wonder what 2023 will bring. While there’s still a number of cities and zip codes within the area that remain more favorable to sellers, prices are dropping. We're headed towards a more neutral playing field for both buyers and sellers.

In the last 5-6 weeks interest rates have dropped from their peak of 7+%, in Oct/Nov. Now we’re at around 6%, but those rates change frequently. With the lower rates came a slight uptick in activity in pending sales and mortgage applications. The Feds are likely to continue interest rate hikes although hopefully to a lesser degree, perhaps 25 basis points as opposed to the 75 to 50 basis points of last year. Each interest rate hike causes buyers to loose purchasing power.

Sellers seem to have reconciled the need to lower their list price. Many are offering concessions to buyers that help buy down the interest rate, which helps boost the sale of their homes. With longer days on the market we are seeing multiple prices drops on a single property. That’s good news for buyers. There are some good opportunities out there. I've compiled a list of the Top 100 Real Estate Opportunities in the Austin area MLS. How is an opportunity defined, Price Drop and the Estimated Tax Value vs the Current List Price.  Below is a sample of the first page.

For the full list click:

Top 100 Real Estate Opportunities. You'll see those that represent good opportunities for buyers and investors. When you click on an MLS number you will see the complete details of that property. Please note: some of these may no longer be available. If you have any questions or would like more information, please let me know.

The looming question is the reported layoffs we’ve heard about. Most in tech, where our local area has many of those jobs. However, per the TWC our local unemployment rate is lower than the rest of the state and the country. The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce has been very aggressive in their efforts to drive new business to the area. Austin also has a robust start-up community that continues to be well funded and requires talent to grow. Another insulating factor may be the diversity of business within the metro area. We have manufacturing, healthcare and the hospitality industry all growing. 2023 should bring more stabilization to the housing market, compared to the last two years.