Austin Home Sales are Soaring, but Builders are Holding Back

Austin Home Sales are continuing to set records in Austin. In fact, sales have increased in most of 2012, according to the Austin Board of REALTORS.

But despite the hot market, homebuilders are holding back. I found this out last week when shopping with new buyers planning to move to Austin.

Austin Home Sales – Lean and Mean

We looked at 5-6 new homes by different builders in various parts of Austin, mainly in south west Austin to the Hays County line. The builders had one or two homes on the ground, a couple of projects starting, but basically their inventory was lean and mean.

Their homes are moving, there is demand – but not a lot to choose from. Yes, they will build you a home – in 6-7 months.

Homebuilders typically don’t report all their sales to MLS. They may list only one or two of their existing inventory to attract both realtor and buyer attention to their products.

So homebuilers’ sales do not always show up in the MLS stats. If their entire inventory is not listed in the MLS, then those sales are not reported to ABOR.

So new home sales are harder to track in terms of units and dollar than existing homes.

Nationally, construction spending has climbed to a three year high, according to Bloomberg News.  And housing starts climbed 7% over 2011, the highest in four years.

Standard Pacific Homes reports their building starts are still below normal but inventories are low and demand is increasing.

The uneven recovery has kept homebuilders from increasing their inventory and their costs. Inflation has remained low and building materials are in good supply.

Still, a lack of shingles, cement, plumbing fixtures or sheetrock can send prices spiraling.

Austin Home Sales – Save Money Now

So now is a good time to buy a new home and keep your budget in sight. As inflation grows and materials are in short supply it is much harder to keep your costs under control.