EXCLUSIVE: Downtown Condo Market Surges

Over the last 8 weeks, the downtown condo market has taken a dramatic positive turn. After 20 tough months, buyers have begun snapping up units at a surprisingly strong pace.

While the MLS data shows 11 units having sold during May — 2 less than last year — the real story is much more dramatic. Since May 1, bargain hunters have put more than 40 units under contract at the Shore and another 20 in the Brazos Place auction. In addition, pre-sale units continue to move at the W and Spring. In fact, inventory numbers have dropped over the last month. If this rate continues, there could be a shortage of mid-price inventory by the end of the year.

As for the May MLS data, which does not include the Brazos Place transactions and does not yet include the Shore contracts, there was a 1% year-over-year increase in price per square foot and a 31% decrease in average days on market.

May sales represented a surprisingly broad set of transactions with sales in Austin City Lofts, the Brown Building, Cambridge Condos, Milago, the Nokonah, Railyard condos, and three units in 360. The average price per square foot for the May 360 units was $360 per square foot.

While the 1-month data is inevitably a small sample, our 12-month rolling index echoes the trend, showing the lowest Average Days on Market reading of the year.

See the full AustinTowers Downtown Condo Market Index — including the monthly sales and inventory reports and the 12-month rolling index here.