It’s a little hectic for home buyers right now in the Austin housing market in 2021.
Austin is projected to be the hottest housing market in 2021. This includes the suburbs surrounding Austin, all of which have seen massive growth over the last year. However, the supply is very low. With high demand and super low supply, housing prices are sky rocketing.
Effects of Last Year’s Challenges:
2020 faced unprecedented challenges last year, and some thought that would impact the housing market in Austin by causing a crash. It didn’t. Other than not having enough homes to sell for the amount of buyers, the Austin housing market didn’t experience much setbacks. The strong job market has largely contributed to this. Throughout 2020, Austin’s job market remained strong with many companies choosing to set up shop here.
Too Few Homes to Sell:
While buyers continued to flock to Austin, many sellers decided to stay put for a variety of reasons. Some of those reasons are due to concerns about the pandemic. Many sellers didn’t want to deal with people coming through their home and risk getting exposed to the virus. They would rather wait until the economy opened up more and they felt more secure listing their home. Many thought builders would make a better option, but due to disruptions in the supply chain of building materials and increase in demand, builders were not able to keep up. At this point, most builders are only releasing a few lots at a time and they have long wait lists. The few available lots are often being auctioned off or the builders are having lotteries and drawing names out of a hat, so to speak.
What Does This Mean for Sellers?
You’re in a great position if you are thinking about selling. Home sellers are 110% in the driver’s seat. Homes are going into multiple offers. It has become commonplace for homes to sell for over asking price. Many buyers are doing what they can to make their offers as appealing as possible.
What Does This Mean for Buyers?
You’re not in the driver’s seat. You need to be prepared to compete against other offers and make your offer as attractive as possible. You may lose out on a few or many homes before you get an offer accepted. Buyers will need to have a lot of patience and realistic expectations.
Don’t Lose Heart!
While the Austin housing market is challenging right now, people can and are accomplishing their goals of home ownership. With patience and good strategies, home buyers can find a home. Don’t lose heart!