Austin housing sales strong in February

AUSTIN – Last month, home sales in the metro increased 6.8 percent since February 2019 to 2,524 sales, according to the Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR).

“Historically low interest rates are a driver in the market response we saw in February and will continue to act as a driver despite our shared concerns over the impact of COVID-19 in our community,” said 2020 ABoR President Romeo Manzanilla.

Residential home sales dollar volume increased 21 percent from February 2019 to over $1 billion.

New listings decreased 11.8 percent year over year to 2,965 listings, and active listings dropped 29.4 percent to 4,534.

Inventory dropped to 1.5 months of inventory, painting the picture of Austin’s historically competitive housing market and high demand. The Real Estate Center considers six to 6.5 months of inventory a balanced market.

Pending sales jumped 10.9 percent to 3,137, and there were 2,534 closed sales across the metro.

With the impact of COVID-19 beginning to take hold, it’s uncertain how social distancing will affect the way the market continues to operate.