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Home prices in the former pandemic boomtown of Austin, Texas, dropped by -0.1 percent from May to June, according to the latest data from Zillow compiled by journalist Lance Lambert.
“In early June, I said the Austin metro is poised for some more home price declines in the second half of 2024,” Lambert, who writes for ResiClub, posted on X. “The tell-tale sign was the weak month-over-month print from April to May—historically one of the strongest reporting months of the year.”
In early June, I said the Austin metro is poised for some more home price declines in the second half of 2024.
The tell-tale sign was the weak month-over-month print from April to May—historically one of the strongest reporting months of the year.
The June print came in red 👇 pic.twitter.com/kVSCDqsvwb — Lance Lambert (@NewsLambert) July 23, 2024
After a drop of -0.6 percent between December 2023 and January, home prices had modestly been rising in the Texas capital. Between January and February, they increased by 0.3 percent; in both March and April they grew by 1.1 percent month-over-month. From April to May, they increased by only 0.2 percent.
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While the June home price decrease is a far cry from the steep drops of summer and winter of 2022, when prices plunged by as much as -3.0 percent, it’s a clear sign that Austin’s housing market is still navigating troubled waters.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
When the pandemic hit, Austin had been the fastest growing large metropolitan area in the country in more than a decade, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. During the COVID-19 health emergency, the city saw a massive influx of people moving from other states into the Texas capital, attracted by more affordable prices, Austin’s great weather and its vibrant culture.
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These people—often remote workers leaving expensive cities like the ones in California’s Bay Area—brought up demand for homes in the city at a time of historically low supply, engaging in cutthroat bidding wars and sending prices to the roof. At its peak in May 2022, the median sale price of a home in Austin had reached $667,000, according to Redfin data, up 16.0 percent from a year earlier.
But after the end of the pandemic boom, many remote workers were forced to return home and leave Austin, while the massive migration of the past couple of years started to decline. As the U.S. housing market was experiencing a modest price correction between late summer 2022 and spring 2023, Austin was witnessing a much more dramatic collapse of its home prices.
“Because prices have been so high, there was a lot of room for prices to fall,” Daryl Fairweather, Redfin chief economist, previously told Newsweek. Between July 2022 and February 2023, home prices fell in Austin for eight consecutive months, by as much as -3.0 percent and as little as -0.9 percent.
After rising for three months between April 2023 and June 2023, home prices in the city started dropping again between July 2023 and January 2024, though the deepest drop was a much more modest -1.5 percent.
An increase in housing inventory is partly responsible for this further drop in prices. According to a recent analysis of Realtor.com active listings made by ResiClub, housing inventory for sale in Austin reached a new cycle high last month at 10,913 and it’s now 41 percent above pre-pandemic levels.
While the median sale price of homes in Austin remains much higher than the state’s average of $354,800, according to Redfin data, the cost of housing has dropped noticeably since the pandemic. In June, as per Redfin data, the median sale price of a home was $564,000, down -6.0 percent year-over-year.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Southwest Airlines announced today that a new Crew Base for Pilots and Flight Attendants will open in March 2026 in Austin, Texas, creating more than 2,000 new jobs based at Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) and positioning the airline for continued growth in Central Texas.
Most Employees at the new Base will be Captains, First Officers, and Flight Attendants, supported by new Base Leadership and supporting staff. Southwest is also planning to add a recurring training facility for Flight Attendants as part of its ongoing business transformation.
Bob Jordan, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Vice Chairman of the Board, said: “This investment demonstrates our commitment to Austin and to our Customers.
“As the largest carrier at Austin Bergstrom International Airport, we appreciate the vision of Governor Abbott and Mayor Watson in clearing the way for Austin to become an even bigger part of our future.”
Southwest is Austin’s largest air carrier with more than 130 peak-day departures that served approximately 6.7 million Customers in 20241.
Next March, new service begins to popular leisure destinations, including Fort Myers, Fla., Palm Springs, Calif., and Steamboat Springs (Hayden), Colo., bringing the total of nonstop destinations from Austin to 53.
Southwest also will begin daily service between Austin and Cincinnati, Ohio, next June, and has increased seasonal service in markets such as Pensacola, Fla.
Southwest expects to open the new base in early March, starting with approximately 335 Pilots and 650 Flight Attendants. By mid-2027, the base will reach its expected size of 2,000 total Employees.
As the Austin area prepares to plunge into freezing temperatures Sunday night, the city is initiating its Cold Weather Shelters protocol.
Those wanting to use the emergency shelters, which open when overnight temperatures reach 35 degrees or lower, must register between 6-8 p.m. at One Texas Center (OTC) on Barton Springs Road, according to a release from the city. Those interested and in need of transport can reach the OTC via bus lines 1, 7, 10, 20, 30, 105 and 801. Anyone who can’t pay bus fare but needs shelter will still be allowed to ride, a Facebook post from the city said.
Following registration, CapMetro shuttles will take guests from the OTC to a cold weather shelter. The addresses for these shelters are kept confidential due to “safety, privacy and capacity concerns,” according to the Austin American-Statesman.
The Statesman also reported that shelters provide meals and allow leashed, friendly pets.
All parks and libraries are meanwhile serving as warming centers during regular operating hours, except for Austin Public Library’s Old Quarry Branch and Willie Mae Kirk Branch.
AUSTIN, Texas — A Downtown Austin building was cleared after a bomb threat was made Saturday night.
Police say that the call came in at 9:38 p.m., after which officers arrived to the scene and cleared a nearby building at 311 E 6th St.
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The threat was found to not be credible, and no one was injured.
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Police say no one is in custody and they will be clearing the scene shortly.
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