AUSTIN, Texas - Sept. 19, 2017 - The 2017 Central Texas summer selling season was the strongest on record in terms of single-family home sales and median price across the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Single-family home sales volume jumped in the city of Austin in August, while median price held steady according to the August 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: "The Central Texas housing market just experienced the strongest summer selling season on record. The Austin-Round Rock MSA saw record breaking growth, during which median price topped $300,000 and home sales volume topped $1 billion four consecutive months in a row."

In August 2017, single-family home sales volume in the Austin-Round Rock MSA increased 1.0 percent year-over-year to 2,994 home sales, while home sales within the city of Austin jumped 6.1 percent year-over-year to 927 home sales. During the same month, single-family home sales volume increased 0.9 percent to 1,463 home sales in Travis County, declined 1.1 percent to 365 home sales in Hays County and increased 0.3 percent to 1,025 home sales Williamson County.

Housing inventory levels remained above 3.0 months of inventory in every market except the city of Austin in August 2017. In the Austin-Round Rock MSA, the monthly housing inventory levels for single-family homes increased 0.4 months to 3.1 months of inventory. Within the city of Austin, monthly housing inventory rose 0.1 months year-over-year to 2.4 months of inventory, well under the 6.0-6.5 months of inventory the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University cites as a balanced housing market.

Coupled with rising home prices, this recent surge in home sales activity made May-August 2017 the highest-grossing summer selling season across Central Texas real estate in the region's history. For the fourth time this year, single-family home sales dollar volume topped $1 billion ($1,128,565,155) in a single month within the five-county area, which is an increase of 5.9 percent from August 2016.

Dr. Jim Gaines, Chief Economist for The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, agreed: "The Austin-Round Rock MSA looks like it is moving toward a more normalized housing market. Similar to what we're seeing across the state, housing inventory levels are slowly increasing, despite continued increases in sales volume and median price. That could indicate that in the latter half of 2017, we will likely experience some slowing of the home price increases that have become common in recent years - not price decreases, as the relationship between home buying and selling activity begins to balance out."