❗Let's close the gap: We still need your help to raise $40,000 by April 1. Donate now

Many homes in Austin are selling way above asking price

Andy Uhler Aug 20, 2021
Heard on:
HTML EMBED:
COPY
Home prices in Austin, Texas have surged 30% in the last year. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Many homes in Austin are selling way above asking price

Andy Uhler Aug 20, 2021
Heard on:
Home prices in Austin, Texas have surged 30% in the last year. Brandon Bell/Getty Images
HTML EMBED:
COPY

We’ve told you often about how hot the housing market is in a lot of the United States right now, because of low housing inventory and high demand. But Austin, Texas, takes the cake for the largest increase in homes selling above asking price.

After about nine months of house shopping in earnest, Jesse Robbins and his wife, Hannah, finally purchased their first home in south-central Austin in June.

“It was listed at $500[,000] and we got it at $530[,000]. So I felt like I had the deal of the year,” Robbins said.

$30,000 above the asking price actually isn’t bad. Some 2,700 homes in Austin have sold for $100,000 or more above their initial listing price this year, according to real estate brokerage Redfin. That disparity between list and sale price is due in large part to so many people buying from out of town, said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin.

“The average out-of-towner had a budget of $852,500, and that was 32% higher than the locals,” Robbins said.

She said remote workers are moving in droves to Austin from more expensive places like San Francisco and New York City.

The median home price in the Austin area is now $575,000, up 30% over last year.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.