AUSTIN (KXAN) – Home sales in the Austin metropolitan area are down 10% so far in 2025 compared to the first few months of 2024, according to the Austin Board of Realtors.  After the Great Recession, home values around Austin appreciated at an average rate of around 4.5% annually until the pan demic, when home values spiked. While values still reflect the COVID-19 era, they have been steadily cooling down.  DATA: Austin’s housing market: How quickly are homes selling, and for how much? “Homeowners during COVID accrued home equity gains above that which we would have otherwise expected,” said Clare Knapp, housing economist at ABOR. “We're also seeing perhaps a little bit of reluctance among sellers to meaningfully reduce their home prices, and I think that has contributed to some extent to that sluggishness in sales.” In part, this has led to higher levels of inventory – a boon for buyers, providing them with more options.  “Inventory is really beneficial to [buyers],” Knapp said. “They're able to really hone in on what they want.”  “It's a very different market for buyers than it was even a few years ago during the pandemic, when buyers really didn't have many options available to them, and we were just watching homes fly off the shelves,” she continued.  Even though prices are declining, Knapp said more needs to happen. While the median sales of a home in the metropolitan statistical area dropped 12% from 2022 to 2024, that value was 40% higher in 2024 than it was in 2019.  Additionally, buyers are restricted due to higher mortgage rates, contributing to the sluggish market, Knapp said.  “We've seen mortgage rates have remained high,” Knapp said. “[They’re] hovering in that high 6% range and even dipping into that 7% range.”  “It's really dependent upon sellers to be willing to set reasonable expectations in terms of pricing, particularly given higher mortgage rates and the higher level of inventory available to buyers in today's market,” she continued.  ...read more read less