Austin area home sales surge 3 percent in May

AUSTIN – Central Texas’ housing market saw another month of higher sales in May, while the median price of the homes sold climbed about 8 percent to $249,000, according to the Austin Board of Realtors.

Just over 2,900 single-family homes changed hands in May 2014, up 3 percent from May 2013. The median increase follows year-over-year gains seen every month for nearly 2.5 years in the local housing market.

Among single-family properties, the number of homes listed for sale rose for the first time in more than three years, with a 4 percent increase that pushed active listings in May 2014 to almost 6,000.

As in other months of 2014, the pace of sales has abated from 2013’s heady double-digit year-over-year increases. So far in 2014, sales gains have been in the single digits, due in large part to exceptionally strong sales in 2013.

In the townhouses and condominiums category, there were 368 sales — a 14 percent increase from May 2013. The median price for those sales was up 11 percent to $214,900.

Read more at the Austin American-Statesman.