The number of listings with price drops is accelerating rapidly, a sign that the market may actually be getting healthier
By Patrick Kearns | Jun 30, 2022
The overheated Austin housing market may finally be cooling, a sign of a greater shift in the real estate market after two years of minimal inventory and rapid home price appreciation. New data from OJO Labs shows a significant recent uptick in the percentage of listings that are undergoing a price drop, as well as a steady increase in active listings.
The latest data, pulled from Movoto by OJO, the nation’s largest privately-owned residential real estate search portal, shows the number of active listings on the Movoto by OJO platform grew steadily from the beginning of April to the end of May, which coincides with a rapid rise in interest rates. There were 309 active listings the week of April 4, 2022, according to the data. That number rose to 456 the week of April 25, and an astounding 1,963 for the week of May 23, the final week of May.
The number of listings which reported a price drop is also increasing rapidly, according to data. At the beginning of the year, fewer than 6% of property listings were dropping their price after being listed, but in recent weeks that number has been consistently above 15% — climbing as high as nearly 18% last week.
The overall trends over the past two years have not been kind to homebuying hopefuls in Austin. As of May 2022, the median home sold price for the Austin DMA reached $525,000, according to the data. That all-time high sold price for the Central Texas metro represents an increase of 30% year over year.
Affordability hasn’t been the only factor — the high level of competition in the market has put even more pressure on would-be buyers. In May 2022, 60% of Austin listings were sold above initial list price at an average premium of $21,518 above list price.
But the recent shift — the rise in active listings and listings with a price drop — shows that the market is rapidly changing in Austin. And while mortgage rates are still higher than they were at this time last year, more choice, less competition, and potentially slowing home price appreciation could be a welcome silver lining for buyers. If nothing else, Austin is becoming a much healthier housing market.
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