Blog | West Austin Luxury Homes

Extreme volatility and uncertainty dominated political and economic conditions over the past month, causing enormous swings in financial markets. Consumer confidence plunged to its lowest reading since the pandemic struck, and mortgage interest rates rose. The speed and scale of constantly changing policy decisions emanating from Washington make it virtually impossible to predict their ultimate ramifications, but uncertainty, much less economic pessimism, is not typically a positive factor for housing markets. However, the current administration maintains that everything is going according to plan and any short-term pain will be far outweighed by long-term benefits.  

March closed-sales data in this report mostly reflects market circumstances in February and early March – when these transactions were negotiated – largely predating the conditions mentioned above, which though beginning earlier, dramatically escalated in early April. April sales data should provide greater clarity on any impacts of these recent economic developments.

Year over year, monthly median house and condo/co-op sales prices in March were up 2.9% and 1.5% respectively. The average number of offers received on homes sold was 2.4 (down from 3.1 in March 2024); 57% of home sales sold in less than 1 month (down from 60%); and 21% closed for over asking price (down from 29%). Price reductions on active listings surged 37% year over year.

Moving into the spring selling season, both listing and sales activity increased significantly, as is the normal seasonal trend:  The number of new listings jumped 23% from February and 10% year over year. The daily number of homes for sale was up 5% month over month and 28.5% year over year, while sales surged 23% from February, but declined 3% from March 2024. The balance between supply and demand continues to be affected by the increased inventory of listings on the market.