Austin Real Estate Blog

The first week in August proved once again that the real estate market is still fully involved in a steady decline, according to the Realty Times. When compared to the same week’s results from 2007, there were double digit percentage drops in nearly every measurable category. New listings on the market were down nearly 14 percent, while pending properties dropped 17.5 percent and sold properties declined by almost 22 percent. The average price of a sold home was the only place where there was improvement, as the price increased just over 17 percent.

The monthly results for July showed similar drops by comparison to last year. In July of 2008, there were more than seven percent less new listings than the previous year. Pending sales were down more than 21 percent, while there were nearly 25 percent less sold properties in July of 2008. Pricing of listed and sold homes rose somewhat over last year, with new listings priced nearly nine percent higher and sold prices showed a tiny increase of .08 percent over 2007’s July average.

Along with these results, it has been reported that Texas has received the number one ranking in the country for business environment. The state beat out other Southern states, such as North Carolina, Georgia and Florida for this honor. With this positive attention, it can only be hoped that the favorable business climate will help to improve the struggling real estate market in the state, in the very near future.