AUSTIN, Texas - May 16, 2017 - Single-family home sales increased throughout the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in April, according to the April 2017 Central Texas Housing Market Report released today by the  Austin Board of REALTORS®.

Brandy Guthrie, 2017 President of the Austin Board of REALTORS­® commented, "After a slow beginning to the year, increases in single-family home sales, homes on the market, and housing inventory across the region in April 2017 indicate that the Central Texas housing market is ramping up for a strong summer selling season."

Single-family home sales in the Austin-Round Rock MSA increased 3.2 percent year-over-year in April 2017 to 2,640 home sales. In the city of Austin, single-family home sales rose 2.2 percent annually to 827 home sales during the same time frame.

At the county level, single-family home sales jumped 8.6 percent year-over-year in Williamson County to 886 home sales in April 2017. In Hays County, single-family home sales grew 3.3 percent during the same time frame to 344 home sales. Single-family home sales in Travis County, conversely, declined 2.1 percent annually to 1,283 home sales in April 2017.

Single-family sales growth across the Central Texas region is partly being fueled by strong housing development activity, particularly in Williamson County. Last week,  Metrostudy reported that annual new home starts through 2017-Q1 are up nearly 15 percent year-over-year, with 14,392 new home starts in 2017-Q1. The top five Austin-area submarkets for home starts - Cedar Park/Leander West, Pflugerville, Kyle/Buda, Hutto and Del Valle - comprised 46 percent of annual home starts during that time frame.

"The Austin area is delivering more lots than ever before, and as a result we're seeing strong gains in new home starts so far this year, particularly in suburban areas in northeast Travis County and throughout Williamson County," said Vaike O'Grady, Austin Regional Director for Metrostudy. "Rising development and construction costs as well as regulatory hurdles, however, are impeding growth in some markets, causing some builders to look outward in attempt to meet buyers' affordability needs."

Both active listings and monthly housing inventory experienced significant gains throughout the five-county area in April 2017, which could indicate strong home sales activity in the summer months to come. Active listings jumped 16.9 percent year-over-year to 6,474 listings in the Austin-Round Rock MSA and rose 14.6 percent year-over-year to 1,564 listings within the city of Austin.

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