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. For a homeowner like me where the learning curve is steep, I find the articles in this annual guide to be very helpful. Right now, my home is a construction zone thanks to a burst pipe. As we build back our first-floor piece by piece, I have new appreciation for designers who have the vision to see what it could be, to master carpenters who have the skill to make it happen and to my wonderful neighbors who tolerate the endless stream of trucks and noise. Whether you’re looking to purchase your first home, put in a pool or just understand your property taxes, we hope this guide helps inform you along that journey. They say home is where the heart is and our team has certainly poured theirs into these pages.
What's inside
Why a recent settlement over real estate practices will impact homebuyers (Page 22)
Deeda Lovett General Manager dlovett@ communityimpact.com
How solar panels can cut home owner’s electricity costs (Page 23)
Learn about xeriscaping to conserve water from an expert (Page 27)
Sponsor: Austin Capital Bank
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 filing a protest with their county’s appraisal district, the deadline for which was May 15. Each appraisal district reviews filings 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 flat for the rest of the year. “I don’t think that we’re going to see any significant movements in rates, especially over
Central Texas appraised home values
Travis County
Williamson 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 definitely 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
$473,325
$412,310
$125K
$0
SOURCES: TRAVIS CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT, WILLIAMSON CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT/COMMUNITY IMPACT
this year or even moving into 2025,” Knapp said. “If you’re a first-time buyer waiting on the side- lines now, well, you’re missing out on building wealth, too.”
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NORTH CENTRAL AUSTIN EDITION
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