REAL ESTATE Real estate experts: Prices not expected to fall any time soon
AREAAVERAGE ACTIVE LISTINGS
Housing inventory has steadily been depleted in the Lake Travis-Westlake area. This graph shows an 80.45% decrease in average active listings, or the average amount of properties available for sale from 2016-21.
124.8
2016
BY JENNIFER SCHAEFER
strategies, Womack said. “People are using a lot of emotions when buying a house,”Womack said. “People get emotionally attached to a house because it’s pretty, not because it makes financial sense. Emotions will cause them to pay somuchmore.” Womack said buyers are pouring those emotions into their bids for a home, sharing their life stories, hoping the seller gets emotionally attached back to them. Additionally, buyers are now covering some expenses that typ- ically would be covered by the seller, such as offering free seller leasebacks. Over the past five
125.7
2017
When Lakeway resident Katie Bigus and her husband started looking for a home near his job on Bee Caves Road, she said they were financially prepared and could be aggressive in their bidding process. Still, Bigus said, they lost out on their first choice after bidding about $98,000 over asking price with no contingencies and a leaseback to the sellers in the contract. This has become the status quo, said April Womack, a Realtor with Moreland Properties, who works out of its Lake Travis location. “It’s a really strange market,”
106.1
2018
91
2019
58.1
2020
24.4
2021
AREAAVERAGE DAYS ON THEMARKET
The average days it takes for a home to sell has also dramatically dropped. From 2016 to 2021 the average days on the markets dropped by 41.74%.
69.6
2016
70.6
2017
years, the median price of homes has increased by 63% in Lake Tra- vis-Westlake. In 2016, the median home price was $499,995 while in 2021 buyers paid an average of $815,000. Mark Sprague, Inde- pendence Title’s state director of information capital, said he does not expect the market to plateau anytime soon. “We are in a good place—what everyone is complaining about is a goodmarket,” he said. He said the lack of product has helped prices remain high
“THERE IS A LOT GOINGON IN THE PRIVATEMARKET OUTSIDE OF THE MLS. IF YOUDON'T PICKAVERY PLUGGED-IN LOCAL AGENT, YOUWILL MISS OUT ON SO MUCHKNOWLEDGE ANDACTIVITYTHAT IS HAPPENING UNDER THE TABLE.” APRIL WOMACK, REALTOR WITH MORELAND PROPERTIES
67.5
2018
59.8
2019
Womack said. “I compare it to gridlock on the highway. Everyone is trying to get somewhere, but traffic just won’t move.” She said while sellers love the equity rising home values have added to their homes, they
51
2020
24.6
2021
MEDIAN PRICES COMPARED
The lack of inventory has directly affected home prices in Lake Travis-Westlake and in the state. The median home price in Lake Travis-Westlake has risen steadily and far outpaces Travis County and state prices. Lake Travis-Westlake area Travis County Texas
$1 million
The median price percent change from 2016-21 was: +63% for Lake Travis-Westlake +62.5% for Travis County +42.8% for the state of Texas
$800,000
would pay more to downsize. And if sellers are not willing to downsize or move out of the area to realize any profits, that leaves the market dry of any inventory. Active home sales listings in the Lake Travis-Westlake area have gone from an average of 124.8 active listings per year to 24.4 active listings per year from 2016-21, according to data from the Austin Board of Realtors. That accounts for an 80.45% decrease in available homes in the past six years. The shortage of homes on the market means the ones that do sell, sell fast. Lake Travis-Westlake has seen a 71.6% drop in the average days a house sits on the market, from 69.6 days in 2016 to 24.6 days in 2021. This lack of inventory with a surplus of buyers has led to a few creative
while a record amount of savings in buyer’s bank accounts has not slowed down bidding. He estimates Americans have saved almost four times more than usual during the pandemic and are now putting that cash down on homes. “If you are a seller, great, but you might need tomove down in size if staying in Austin,” he said. Womack said the best way to stay ahead of the game is to find a Realtor who is plugged into the market and can access the area’s Multiple Listing Service. “There is a lot going on in the private market outside of the MLS,” she said. “If you don’t pick a very plugged-in local agent, you will miss out on so much knowledge and activity that is happening under the table.”
$600,000
$400,000
$200,000
0
2016
2017
2018
2020
2021
2019
SOURCE: AUSTIN BOARD OF REALTORS/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
As for Bigus, she and her husband finally found their home in Old Lakeway after their Realtor called them when a property that matched their wishlist popped up. This time they had pulled their
purchase price back by $50,000 to $100,000 knowing they would be going over the asking price significantly. “We ended up going about $75,000 over asking price, which is still insane,” she said.
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LAKE TRAVIS - WESTLAKE EDITION • MARCH 2022
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