Could Austin's housing market be cooling off?

AUSTIN, Texas - Could Austin's housing market finally be starting to cool off? 

A new report from the Austin Board of Realtors reveals that home prices here in Travis County have fallen to their lowest level in two years. 

Kent Redding, the 2023 president-elect for the Austin Board of Realtors, joins FOX 7 Austin's John Krinjak to discuss.

JOHN KRINJAK: So talk to us about this report. What did it find when it comes to median home prices compared to previous years?

KENT REDDING: Sure our median home price in January adjusted to 450,000 approximately. And that's a 6% adjustment year-over-year. And really probably the largest adjustment, according to the data that we've had since 2011. So it's been a nice little respite for our buyers.

JOHN KRINJAK: Yeah, I mean, especially just kind of hearing about prices going up and up and up and when is it going to stop. So, I mean, does this mean the market is cooling off, that houses are becoming more and more affordable, or is it not that simple?

KENT REDDING: It's a little more complicated than that. I would say that we're becoming more normalized market. What we had and in the, you know, pre-pandemic area there was just unsustainable. That was not a realistic market. And we're getting back to, according to the data, just more of a normal market. But inventory is still low. Customarily, 4 to 6 months is a balanced inventory market, and we're still at 2.7 months of inventory. And we had 7000 approximately homes on the market in January as opposed to 10,000 back in September. So there's still some tightness in the market, but a good time, great time for buyers to get out and be looking around.

JOHN KRINJAK: Yeah. So, I mean, given all those factors, do you expect the prices will keep falling? You're not so much.

KENT REDDING: You know, this is just my opinion. You know, anecdotally, I don't think the prices are going to fall dramatically. I think they're going to level off at about this pace that we're having in February and March, possibly for the next 4 to 5 months. It'll just be more of a normal market. And then I believe probably the fall this is again, just me speaking here. We'll get back to some normal Austin appreciation, which can be, you know, 3 to 4% annually. I expect that to happen in the fall. But for now, the next six months, I believe this, you know, will remain pretty level.

JOHN KRINJAK: And lastly, I just want to ask you, you know, we're heading into a new year here. What advice would you have for people looking to buy or looking to sell in 2023?

KENT REDDING: Well, for our sellers, our advice is to price with the market. You know, you're not going to get possibly that platinum price that you might have gotten 24 months ago or 18 months ago, but you're still going to get a diamond price. And I know, at least according to my wife, diamonds still pretty darn good. So sellers are still in a great position to sell and buyers are should be patient. You know, it is a little bit more of a buyer's market. They're less likely to have to compete and pay over asking price. So our advice of ours is be patient. Find the home you love. Find the neighborhood you love. And absolutely, with a market that shifts and moves around like this one has done recently, work with the realtor, find a find an expert that can walk alongside you and help you make a good decision.

JOHN KRINJAK: We appreciate the advice. Kent Redding from the Austin Board of Realtors, thanks so much for sharing your expertise, your insight with us. We appreciate it.

KENT REDDING: My pleasure. Appreciate it.