Austin’s housing market is hot. So hot, in fact, that it wasn’t seriously dampened in the recession to post-recession period.
New census data shows home values in Austin and in Travis County increased between 2007 to 2009 and 2010 to 2012. Most other large areas in the country saw home values decrease between those two periods.
Out of the country's 50 most populous cities, only nine cities saw an increase in the median home values during those periods. And Austin lead the pack:
- Austin, TX: + $13,800
- Denver, CO: + $9,600
- Oklahoma City, OK: + $8,100
- Tulsa, OK: + $7,100
- El Paso, TX: + $6,000
- Wichita, KS: + $3,700
- Nashville-Davidson, TN: + $2,400
- Louisville/Jefferson County, KY: + $1,600
- San Antonio, TX: + $1,200
The same was true when looking at the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metropolitan area as compared to the other most populous metro areas. Four of the 11 metros that saw an increase were in Texas. But it's clear that home values in the Austin city limits saw a bigger value increase than the metro area as a whole:
- Oklahoma City, OK: + $8,700
- San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX: + $8,400
- Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY: +7,900
- Pittsburg, PA: + $6,200
- Raleigh-Cary, NC: + $5,400
- Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: + $4,700
- Birmingham-Hoover, AL: + $2,500
- Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN: +1,900
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: + $1,100
- Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX: + $1,300
- Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN: + $200
When looking at counties, Travis was one of just four of the most populous in the nation to experience an increase in median home values between the recession and post-recession periods:
- Travis County, TX: + $9,100
- Bexar County, TX: + $6,000
- Allegheny County, PA: + $4,900
- Wake County, NC: + $2,600
The census numbers also found all big metro areas – including Austin – did see a decline in homeownership rates between the recession and post-recession periods.
