Austin Projected to Rebound from Recession at the Start of 2011

According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the data collected by Moody's Economy.com, home prices in the Austin area should stop falling by the final quarter of this year. Furthermore, according to a Fiserv Inc. report that was released earlier this month, the prices of homes in the Central Texas area are likely to start increasing by the first quarter of 2011 and will likely reach their pre-recession levels by 2016.

Although the analysts predict that home prices will have fallen a total of 4.8% by the time the downward spiral reaches its projected bottom at the end of the year, it has still been a far shorter fall when compared to the national average. In fact, the city did quite well when compared to the 374 markets that were included in the report. Those markets that saw the greatest drop, such as Florida, California, Nevada and Arizona, are in far worse shape in terms of bouncing back from the recession. In fact, the report doesn't expect these markets to regain their peak levels until 2025 or later.

"The picture is not uniformly grim," said Fiserve Chief Economist David Stiff in an Austin Biz Journals article. "In fact, our analysis projects that some markets are poised for a relatively fast recovery, including some areas that never experienced large declines in prices. Markets that could see prices come back within the next few years include Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Columbia, South Carolina and several metro areas in Texas, Washington and upstate New York."

For those who are trying to sell a home in the Austin area, this is certainly good news. For those who are interested in making a purchase, however, there is not much time to spare, as waiting too much longer could result in paying significantly more for a home in the Austin area.