Exclusive: Condo Sales Soar in February

There is lots of evidence that the Austin real estate market should be improving: inbound migration rates are extraordinarily high. Job growth is back. Inventory is declining. Rental rates are soaring. February’s sales provide the first evidence that the market may be improving.

We’ve updated the AustinTowers | TOWERS Realty Downtown Austin Condo Market Index for January and February, 2011. In January, the market was flat — 6 units were sold at a slightly higher average price but a slightly lower price per square foot. Average days on market was very long.

January 2011 MLS Downtown Condo Sales Statistics

February 2011 MLS Downtown Condo Sales Statistics

In February, however, sales increased dramatically as units transacted soared by 75% from 8 to 14 while absolute prices and $/SF increased substantially. In general, the units were newer and bigger than prior year sales. The results included two sales at the W Residences ($582/SF & $488/SF) and one at the Austonian ($590/SF) which helped to boost the averages. In addition, four units sold at 360, two at Milago, and one at the Shore as well as one each in four older buildings: Cambridge, Greenwood Towers, Westgate, and Penthouse condos.

The February data shows how diverse the inventory has become: with sales prices ranging from $91,500 to $2,035,000, $/SF ranging from $189 to $590 and size ranging from 485 SF to 3,498 SF. Half the units sold were under $350K and half were over $350K. Four units sold for less than $200K and one unit sold for more than $1 million.

As usual, private sales — which are not reflected in the MLS data — continued to close at Spring, Four Seasons, the W, and the Austonian. January and February are typically slow months — we’ll watch closely as March results provide a clearer picture of the direction of the downtown Austin condo market — and see if the acceleration is more than a one month trend.

See the full index here. (Note: original story corrected with updated data)

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