April 10, 2024 | Driving It Home with ABoR's Housing Economist

In this episode of Driving It Home, Dr. Clare Losey and Kelea Youngblood discuss a significant increase in new and back-on-market listings. Dr. Losey notes a 43% week-over-week increase in new listings in the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), with the city of Austin experiencing a 63% increase, especially among homes priced between $400,000 to just under $700,000 and those over a million dollars. This bifurcation in the market offers more opportunities for first-time and luxury buyers during the spring season. She also points out that back-on-market listings make up 22% of the increase, indicating these are genuinely new to the market.   The conversation transitions to the topic of population growth's impact on the housing market, highlighting the Austin region's status as one of the fastest-growing in the U.S. Population growth rates are about 4% in individual counties but slightly over 2% for the entire MSA, with Travis County only seeing a 0.6% increase. This difference is attributed to limited land available for development in Travis County, pointing to the potential for the suburbs to absorb more population growth. Dr. Losey emphasizes the necessity for more affordable housing in Austin to accommodate a diverse income spectrum, with redevelopment in Travis County being a key focus.   The final topics covered include first-quarter sales for 2024 and month-to-date sales comparisons. Williamson and Hays Counties lead in sales, driven by affordability for first-time buyers. The hosts also mention a considerable surge in active listings, both for sale and lease, compared to the previous year, which could indicate a healthier inventory for the market. The podcast concludes with a reminder about the upcoming Market Conversations event on April 16, focusing on missing middle housing and affordability, and a heads-up about the release of March housing stats in the following week's episode.   Links Mentioned: Market Shift Conversations on April 16 https://www.abor.com/event-type/market-shift-conversations March 2024 Market Statistics COMING SOON https://www.abor.com/marketstatistics Tickets for the 2023 ABoR Industry Awards Fire & Ice Gala https://www.abor.com/celebrate Meet the Industry Awards Finalists https://www.abor.com/awards Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/driving-it-home-with-abors-housing-economist/id1714289732  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzH_caxJ3VPq5iExWilqZOahnREgSFgqC   Download the Audio Transcript + Episode Summary: https://www.abor.com/content/uploads/2024/03/DIH-3-26-24.pdf Connect with us on socials: https://www.abor.com/socials  Connect with Dr. Clare Losey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clare-losey   Have feedback? Email us at [email protected].