A recent article in the local paper, Austin American Statesman, covered local real estate guru Eldon Rude’s statement that the Austin area on the average added 35,000 jobs a year.  That folks is average of 2,917 jobs a month or 97 jobs a day!  He also stated that in the last decade that our area gained 500,000 new residents or 50,000 new residents a year on the average which equates to gaining 139 new folks dily, this brings our area population to 2.2 million.  Of course everyone has a car so the downside is that our road system can’t keep up with all of the additional vehicles.  This job growth data is confirmed by the Texas Workforce Commission that stated for the for the past 12 months ending in November 2019 that the area had an increase in jobs of 29,000 (just 17 jobs off the decade monthly average – that to me is a “bulls eye”).

 

The Austin Board of REALTORS stated in the article that median price of a home sold in November 2019 was $305.000 which was 7% higher than the median price in 2018.  Home prices have been averaging a 5% increase for the past five years.  There is concern that the increase in home prices vs. the average local wage will slow home sales.

 

So what does this mean for owners of Austin area residential income properties?  To me it means that there will be plenty of takers for our rentals, that rents should continue to rise, and that the increasing price of homes is a two edged sword.  It is great if you already own a home as your domicile or hold it for an investment.  It is not so good if you are trying to get a foothold on local real estate as the increasingly higher prices means an increasing amount needed for a down payment.

 

By the way did you know that 53% of residents in Austin are renters?