08 February . 2019
Experts predict 2019 will be another strong year for Austin’s housing market
Thanks to robust job growth, 2019 will be another solid year for Austin’s new home market, according to local real estate expert Eldon Rude, principal of 360º Real Estate Analytics, an Austin-based consulting firm.
In 2018, housing starts in Central Texas rose to their second-highest level on record, Rude said at a housing forecast event sponsored by the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin.
Builders started construction of 16,385 houses in 2018, a 1.5 increase over the previous year, and second only to the all-time record set in 2016. In that year, 17,784 housing starts were recorded in Central Texas.
For 2019, Rude projects about 16,000 housing starts, about even with last year. Rude expressed a concern about rising home prices in Central Texas, and said that trend could dampen new home sales and construction.
On the positive side, Rude predicted that major tech companies will continue to fuel Austin’s job growth and economic expansion in the year ahead. For example, Apple recently announced that it will create a new $1 billion campus in Austin that will eventually employ 15,000 people. In turn, tech workers relocating to Austin will drive healthy demand for new homes.
Austin’s housing prices are still below those found in other tech hubs, such as Denver, Seattle, San Francisco and San Jose, Rude noted.
Some communities, including Sweetwater, have responded to the demand for more affordable new homes. Sweetwater has recently added new homes by builders including Chesmar, Perry and Pulte, offering new homes priced from the $300,000s in a true master-planned community that offers 700 acres devoted to parks, trails, amenities and natural open spaces.
Explore all new homes offered in Sweetwater with our Homefinder.