Indeed, a variety of studies indicate strong housing demand. According to the Austin Board of Realtors, the number of existing single-family homes sold in February 2006 jumped 15 percent from the previous year. As strong job growth continues to bring more buyers into the area, increased demand is pushing up home prices as well. In February, the median home price rose 7 percent from the year before and was 9 percent higher than during the first two months of 2005. Home price gain from 2004 to 2005 was 8.6 percent.

But the favorable numbers don’t stop there. In the first half of 2006 alone the number of single-family houses sold increased by 13 percent. In the end, no matter what benchmark you use, or what source you examine, statistics confirm what real estate professionals know first hand: Austin is experiencing high real estate sales growth.