Should You Buy a House During the Holidays in Austin?
It never fails. Every year around the middle of October, I have buyers who decide it's time to purchase a home. They go through the pre-approval process, we run the numbers, everything makes sense, and now they're ready to go. The problem is that once people make the decision to buy something, they generally want it now. Unfortunately, the real estate market doesn't always cooperate. From early November through late January, finding a great house in Southwest Austin can be a challenge. Not necessarily because there aren't any homes for sale, but because the quality of available inventory can take a pretty significant hit.
How’s the Austin Real Estate Market? It Depends Who’s Asking.
“How’s the market?” is probably the question I get asked more than any other when someone finds out I’m a Realtor. The problem is there really isn’t one answer. The real estate market is constantly moving between favoring sellers, being relatively balanced, and favoring buyers. One of the primary ways we measure that is months of inventory. Basically, if no additional homes came on the market, how long would it take buyers to purchase everything currently available based on the existing pace of sales? Lower inventory generally favors sellers. As inventory grows, negotiating power begins shifting toward buyers.