Real estate
BY HALEY MCLEOD
Home Edition
2024
Readers, welcome to your annual CI Home Edition! This guide features news ranging from key real estate trends and new developments unique to your neighborhood to an overview of the housing industry across Texas. All of the stories were written by our team of local journalists, and all of the advertisements are from nearby businesses who support our mission to provide free, useful news—show them your gratitude by supporting local businesses.
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What's inside
How the NAR lawsuit will impact homebuyers (Page 27)
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Central Texas home valuations decline as market slows
This year’s release of appraisal valuations from the Travis, Hays and Williamson central appraisal districts indicated the overall average appraisal values for residential properties are lower than in
counties and school districts. Homeowners are able to challenge their appraisal valuations annually by ling a protest with their county’s appraisal district, the deadline for which was May 15. Each appraisal district reviews lings and evidence submitted, typically issuing a set- tlement. If a settlement is not accepted, a formal hearing will be scheduled. While sales and property values have stabilized since 2022, residents can expect to continue to see an annual increase of 10% to their property’s tax value, Lankford said, explaining that the increase will continue until the market value and the taxable value align, per state tax code. As of 2024, the total market value for Travis County is roughly $488 billion, an increase of 5.8% year over year. The total market value for Hays County in 2024 is $68 billion, an increase of 2.03% compared to the previous year’s total of $66.65 billion. What else? Clare Knapp, local housing economist with the Austin Board of Realtors, also predicts interest rates will remain at for the rest of the year. “I don’t think that we’re going to see any sig- ni cant movements in rates, especially over this
Central Texas median appraised home values
Travis County
Hays County
recent years. The overview
$750K
$551,419
$632,208
The median market value for residential prop- erties in Travis County in 2024 is $551,419, repre- senting a 7% decline since 2023, a Travis Central Appraisal District news release states. For Hays County residential homes, the average market value in 2024 is $466,617, a 9.9% drop from the $517,668 seen in 2023, according to data provided by Chief Appraiser Laura Raven. “Values have de nitely come down. Mainly, [it’s] because the increase in interest rates slowed the market down, but also because builders aren’t con- structing as many homes as prior years,” said Alvin Lankford, chief appraiser of the Williamson County Central Appraisal District, which is also seeing declining average market home values in 2024. Market values don’t directly result in a change in property tax bills, the release said. Instead, these values help decide a property owner’s portion of the total tax levy. The total tax amount is based on the budgets set by local governments, such as cities,
$625K
$500K
$375K
$250K
$497,016
$466,617
$125K
$0
SOURCES: TRAVIS CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT, WILLIAMSON CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT COMMUNITY IMPACT
year or even moving into 2025,” Knapp said. “If you’re a rst-time buyer waiting on the sidelines now, well, you’re missing out on building wealth, too.”
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