June 2022
Did you feel that? That was a teeny tiny market shift.
While we may be insulated in Austin and not feeling it as much as other markets—it’s still a seller’s market here, y’all—it definitely happened. From where I sit, this slight shift towards a traditional market is really exciting. Less competition for serious buyers. More room for negotiation. And sellers’ agents have to do more than just put a sign in the yard! Not to belittle my profession in any way, but sadly there are agents out there who do the bare minimum when listing a home. I recently heard it called The 3 P’s approach: Put a sign up, Put it on the MLS, and Pray. That’s not my approach. SO much goes into listing a home properly. My unique marketing and design skills are going to make the difference in getting my seller clients to the closing table.
A lot of industry experts are still trying to pinpoint where we are in this shift—my favorite recourses are predicting a +/-10% shift in home prices over the next few months, depending on the area you’re in. And while opinions vary and the media tries to blow things out of proportion (let’s all please stop saying the B word!), I prefer to just look at the data. And all the Austin data points to a continued need for housing in our market + interest rates continuing to climb into early next year.
So what does this mean?
For the buyers: the buyers who are active in the market right now are here because they need to buy. They need more space, they need less space, they need to move for a job, so forth. Whatever their reason, they’ve had strategic conversations with their lenders to know exactly what they can afford with the rising interest rates.
If you don’t have a lender or know where to start looking with all of the options that are out there, reach out to me and let me know! I have a whole list of amazing local lenders that are great to work with, and I’d be happy to share that with you. Some even have the ability to lock in interest rates while you’re on the hunt for your house.
For the sellers: the sellers who are entering this market are here for one of two reasons—they either need to sell (for many of the same reasons I listed for buyers) or they’re still hoping to get top dollar for their house while the market is still a “seller’s market.” And depending on the house, they can likely still achieve that goal in Austin. You just have to have the right expectations going into the process. And an agent with a kick-ass plan.
I’ve had a lot of expectation conversations recently, and one thing that comes up is that we’re probably not going to see homes going for 100k over, 200k over, crazy amounts over the list price anymore. With this shift towards a more traditional market, that will once again be the exception and not the rule, as it has been during this covid era of real estate.
So whether you’re a buyer or a seller, knowing your numbers and your goals are key, now more than ever. And if you’re not sure where to start in prioritizing those things, let’s chat! I’d love to help you.
***Market Update stats pulled from ABOR MLS on 7/1/2022 at 3pm CST. Records may vary as new data is added to the system after the fact.
