A new Zillow report could be some welcome news to many Austin-area homebuyers.

AUSTIN, Texas — Are you looking for more signs that the housing market in Austin is cooling down?

According to a report issued Friday by Zillow, the real estate tracking firm, the Austin metro area has plummeted from its list of hottest real estate markets in the country, falling to 30th place nationwide for 2023.

That’s a big drop when you consider that Austin ranked No. 10 in 2022 and was the No. 1 hottest housing market in 2021.

The report also shows homes in the Austin area are spending a median of 68 days on the market, more than in any other major metro nationwide. Just a year ago in December 2021, Zillow reported homes in the area were on the market for a median of 22 days.

Still, homes within Austin city limits remain expensive at a median price of $525,250 in December, but that’s a 5.4% price drop from a year ago.

Average home prices also dropped by 2.4% in Williamson County, and in Bastrop County by 6.5%.

Zillow also said that “affordability, or the lack thereof, was the chief obstacle to the housing market in the second half of 2022 due mostly to the more than doubling of the 30-year mortgage interest rate over the last 12 months: from 3.11% on December 2021 to 6.42% in December 2022” – a trend some economists say is likely to continue.

Article by Drew Knight, KVUE