By Moses Leos III
As the greater Austin area continues to see median home prices rise, Hays County is experiencing a similar effect.
According to an August Austin Board of Realtors press release, the median price for single family home sales in Central Texas in July 2016 was $260,000, which was a 6.1 percent increase from last July.
The Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which includes Hays County, saw median home prices in July 2016 rise by 5.6 percent from the same time last year, according to the ABR. Meanwhile, the median home price in Hays County rose by 3.5 percent to $237,900.
Despite the price increases, Christy Anderson, broker/owner of ReMax Asset Realty in Buda, said the Buda and Kyle housing markets remain more affordable than other cities in the region.
Anderson said most people who look for a home in Buda and Kyle are moving because they are being “priced out of Austin” and “there isn’t enough inventory.
But Anderson said there is a lack of homes for seniors or first time homebuyers, primarily in the Buda area. She said potential homebuyers commonly request for homes at $300,000 or less, which directs them to Kyle. Anderson said the average sales price in Buda is approaching $275,000, while Kyle is still in the low $200,000s.
“Everything that is being built is catered to growing families, not to singles or seniors who want to downsize, or those starting out,” Anderson said.
Developers, however, are following a trend of constructing high-density neighborhoods in the $200,000 range.
“I know developers are trying to build a bigger bang for their buck. I get that. But they don’t take into consideration that not everyone can afford a $250,000 house,” Anderson said.
