Austin home sales continued increased in May, indicate expired tax credit's continued impact

June 18, 2010 - PRLog -- According to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) report by the Austin Board of REALTORS®, the volume of Austin area home sales in May 2010 was 2,074, up 24 percent from the same month in 2009. The median price of real estate in the Austin area decreased two percent from May 2009 to $192,000.

“Although the tax credit expired in April, we are still seeing its impact on sales in May,” said John Horton, Chairman of the Austin Board of REALTORS®. “Single-family sales continued to exceed last year’s numbers due to home contracts written before the April deadline, which continued to close in May.”

In May 2010, the days on the market for single-family homes decreased 20 percent to 63 days as compared to May 2009. In the same time period, pending sales decreased 34 percent to 1,405; new listings remained unchanged at 3,072; and active listings increased by 13 percent to 11,230.

Horton continued, “The rush of buyers to beat the homebuyer tax credit in April led to a decrease of buyers in the market in May, resulting in decreased pending sales. However, the market in Austin continues to maintain a balanced supply of housing inventory, which is currently at 6.7 months. Sustaining a healthy supply of inventory should help prices continue to remain stable in the coming months.”

In May, condos and townhouses seemed to mirror single-family homes with sales increasing 28 percent to 226 sales and pending sales decreasing 28 percent to 167.  

Horton concluded, “Due to many buyers moving their decision to purchase up to beat the tax credit deadline, we could see a slight decrease in sales in coming months. Despite the potential slow down in sales, we will continue to see April contracts close during this time. It is natural to have a pause in the market before new buyers enter for the summer buying season, and we expect the market to even out by the end of the summer.”

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Founded in 1926, the Austin Board of REALTORS® is a non-profit, voluntary organization representing more than 9,000 licensed REALTORS® in Central Texas.