February 2016 H OUSING N EWS R EPORT
amount of single-family homes sold in the Austin area.
from other parts of the country than it lost in out-migration. “Austin’s high job creation rate — over 3 percent annually since 2010 — has a great deal to do with its ability to lure new residents not only from other Texas cities, but from the coasts as well,” claims Forbes.
The median single-family home price in 2015 was $263,900, up 9 percent from 2014, while the average price for single-family homes was $333,558, up 8 percent more than 2014, according to ABoR. Last year, 29,068 single-family homes were sold in Austin, marking the fifth straight year in which sales volume was higher than the previous year. With rising home prices and the migration of millennial tech workers in Austin, the outlook for single family homes in 2016 looks bright. Population growth, especially in-migration, has contributed to Austin’s growth, along with companies expanding their presence in the region. “Demand for Austin-area real estate was stronger than ever in 2015, primarily due to our region’s job and ongoing population growth,” said Aaron Farmer, president of AboR in a statement. “However, low housing inventory levels, rising home prices, and high housing development costs have brought Austin’s housing affordability issues to critical levels. Median price for single-family homes in the Austin area increased nearly $30,000 in the last year alone.” According to Forbes , Austin ranked No. 1 in the U.S. for in- migration from 2010 to 2014, gaining 126,000 more residents
New Home Boom
Texas builds copious amounts of housing, and adequate housing supply is critical to keeping housing affordable. And the new home building permits data bear this out. In Houston, new home builders permitted the construction of 189,635 new homes in this area from 2011 to 2014 (not counting multifamily units), according the Census Bureau. Dallas-Fort Worth cranked out 139,197 permits from 2011 through 2014, the second most in the nation behind Houston. In Central Texas, Austin issued 70,603 new home permits from 2011 through 2014, and San Antonio churned out 31,592 permits from 2011 through 2014. Texas is a business-friendly state. It is also one of the lowest- taxed states in the nation. According to the Tax Foundation’s 2016 State Business Tax Climate Index, Texas ranks No. 10. Texas has no corporate tax, individual income tax or capital gains tax. By comparison, California was at the bottom of the list, ranking 48 and New York was 49. California has the nation’s Continued Next Page
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau
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