Austin Housing Market Fairing Well in Troubled Economy

Although home sales are still down in the Austin area, the figure are steadily showing signs of improvement. Furthermore, prices of homes in the Austin area continue to hold steady, which is one reason why Forbes.com has named Austin as the city most likely to make the fastest economic recovery.

According to the Austin Board of Realtors, a little more than 2,100 single-family home sold in the Austin area in June.  This represents a 4% decline when compared to June of 2008, but the year-to-year gap continues to close each month.

Unlike much of the housing market around the country, the median price for single-family homes in the Austin area has not changed when comparing it to a year ago. In fact, with the median home price coming in at just under $200,000, the prices of single-family homes have actually gone up when compared to the beginning of 2009. Furthermore, the sales volume has gone up since the first of the year, with last month's sales going up by 61% when compared to January's sales. In addition, the market is seeing 14% more active listings.

"This signifies a healthy Central Texas real estate market and good news for both local home buyer and sellers," said Jay Gohil, who is the chairman of the Austin Board of Realtors.