AUSTIN (KXAN) — New data from online real estate brokerage Redfin further illustrates how wild the Austin housing market has been in 2021.
Redfin says more than 1,500 homes have sold for more than $100,000 above asking price since the beginning of 2021 in Austin, and 72 of them sold for more than $300,000 over the asking price.
At this time last year, only 22 homes had winning bids over $100,000 over the asking price.
The year-over-year gap is even wider for homes that sold in a range of $25,000-$99,999 over the asking price. Last year, from Jan. 1, 2020 to May 23, 2020, 353 homes in Austin sold in that range. This year, 4,535 homes have sold for that far over asking.
John Dawson, a Redfin agent in Austin, says people are pulling out all the stops to secure a home here.
“I recently sold a home that was listed at $565,000 and closed at $715,000. We received about a dozen offers — which is actually a low number by today’s standards,” he said. “The winning buyer also waived appraisal and financing contingencies and dropped off cupcakes that matched the interior colors of the house.”
Listing data shows that 74% of homes in Austin sold for above asking price, and the typical home sold for $35,000 more than the asking price. Redfin released data earlier in the week saying prices for high-end homes, the most expensive in the city, jumped 24% year-over-year.
Housing market summary for Austin metro, April 2021
| Median sales price | $465,000 |
| Median sales price, year-over-year | 42.3% increase |
| Homes sold, year-over-year | 33.1% increase |
| All homes for sales, year-over-year | 19.1% decrease |
| New listings, year-over-year | 35% increase |
| Median days on the market | 24 |
| Median days on the market, year-over-year | +8 |
| Share of homes sold above asking price | 73.7% |
| Share of homes sold above asking price, year-over-year | 42.9% increase |
Due to the massive increase of sales over asking price in April, the Austin housing market had the nation’s highest price growth with median sales jumping 42%. The median sales price for a home in Austin is now $465,000, according to Redfin. They note that some of the year-over-year data regarding price growth could be exaggerated because the COVID-19 pandemic brought home buying and selling to a screeching halt last April.
Even so, Redfin says Austin is one of the most desirable places for people to move, specifically due to the pandemic. Nearly 40% of searches on Redfin’s website for houses in Austin were by users outside of the area, up about 7% from the year before. The out-of-towners also have a bigger budget, according to Redfin’s data. Those folks are willing to spend an average of $855,00 compared to a local’s budget of $650,000.
Dawson said while it’s certainly a seller’s market, people who decide to sell can’t ask for too much, too fast. They’ve got to entice people with a realistic price, and then perhaps the bidding wars will start soon thereafter.
“Some sellers are listing too high and receiving lukewarm interest,” Dawson said. “I’m encouraging sellers to price their homes realistically because some of the ‘comps’ aren’t truly comps; some are cases of an extremely motivated buyer who was willing to pay way over asking price to secure the home they wanted.”
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