Austin Area Real Estate Market Summary - thru November 2008

The overall Austin Real Estate Market

- Compared to this time last year, the number of single-family homes sold in the Austin area dropped by 20%. The average sales price for single family homes, however, is stable at $247,924. The median price is up 3% to $190,000 over last year.

- The total number of single-family listings in the Austin MLS is up 15% to 9,969 units compared to this time last year - which is an oversupply. Also, while the listing inventory is down slightly from last month, it is unusually strong for this time of year, and is suppressing prices.

- If you average the number of sales for the last 12 months and divide that figure into the number of current active listings, the result is the number of Months of Inventory (MOI). In a balanced market, the MOI is between 3.5 and 4.5 months. Currently, the MOI in the Austin market has dropped slightly to 5.9 months, but it still favors buyers. The average days on the market for single-family homes remained the same from last month at 70 days.

In most areas in and around Austin, the market for homes priced under 300K is more active, as are the closer-in markets in general. In particular, the Southwest, Northwest and Round Rock areas are the most active.

The financial sector nationally is still looking for stability. We have a current oversupply of inventory here, coupled with historically low interest rates below 6%. This has created an exciting combination for opportunistic buyers in the Austin area. Job security is the only ingredient that I see holding back a rush to housing; inventory and interest rates are already in place.

Mary "B" Battaglia GRI, CRS

Austin, Texas