One problem with analyzing the downtown austin condo market is the lack of good sales data on many of the projects currently on the market. When realtors sell traditional single family homes or resell condo units, they are listed on MLS and the actual sales price is recorded in MLS and available to any participating real estate agent. Unfortunately for buyers and sellers, many of the new downtown high-rise projects are being marketed by in-house sales teams without the assistance of realtors. As a result, these units never hit MLS, aren't included in market statistics, and the comparable sales data isn't available to realtors. The result: downtown condo buyers have very little information on sales prices and discounts in the major downtown projects.

The only upside is that the lack of transparancy may help buyers get better deals. When a large project is marketed on MLS, developers are very resistent to give discounts as every future buyer will ask for the same deal. They are much more likely to stick to list price or standard discounts to protect their margins. When the sale is non-public, the developer doesn't have to worry about providing a break on an uncontested unit as nobody else will know.

This trend towards in-house marketing is one of the reasons that the current MLS statistics show a 14% year-over-year drop in February of condos and townhomes in Austin. While sales volumes of single family homes are flat amid tightening supply and quicker sales, the condo and townhome data is useless because it does not include any of the in-house sales.

Tags: market analysis, mls statistics, investment