Central Texas housing starts down year-over-year

Though new-home starts are up from the last quarter of 2010 in Central Texas, they are down from the same quarter one year ago, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

The source reports that 1,430 homes went into construction during the first quarter of 2011, down nearly 10 percent from the first quarter of 2010. Though this marks a year-over-year decline, in terms of consecutive quarters, new-home starts have risen 37 percent since the fourth quarter of 2010.

The lower year-over-year numbers may be a reflection of more homes being built due to now-expired tax incentives, the source suggests.

"Home start activity was artificially inflated a year ago due to the housing tax credit," Ted Wilson from Residential Strategies, told the source. "Today's housing demand stems from the recovering Austin economy and job growth."

The source suggests that the problem may be concentrated over new-home buyers, many of whom are having difficulty qualifying for tight credit standards or took the opportunity to buy earlier while the tax credit was still in effect.

Other data supports the theory that homebuying is more stagnant around the lower price-point. According to MDA DataQuick, million-dollar home sales were up in all 20 major metropolitan areas the company measures in 2010.  

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