Inventory has risen dramatically in Austin and Texas since the pandemic, which expert Nick Gerli describes as part of the state's housing market downturn.
  • Jo MiranEnglish
    8•2 days ago

    Let’s put this in context. I bought a house in East Austin for $250k in 2018 with plans to remodel it and have it be my last home. Then I needed major heart surgery in 2018 and the pandemic in 2020. So in 2021 I finally fixed the tiny bungalow (560sqft) just enough to rent it while I researched the “big house” (1300sqft) I was going to build in the back. Then I got the tax valuation. The city valued it at $775k and was taxing it accordingly. WTF?!? I sold it on the spot and the final sales price was obscene (though not $775k). Again, we are talking about a 560sqft bungalow in an admittedly nice and big lot. There is no way prices in Austin weren’t going to crash.

    EDIT: To clarify, the tax valuation was for the property as it was. If I built the new house, it likely would have jumped to two million+.