The area known as West Campus near University of Texas is a hot spot for condos sales and rentals due to the obvious transient nature of the market area. Each year students, specifically upperclassmen, go on the hunt for a suitable off campus property for the next few years of college. Likewise, many graduates are moving away from the college scene and into apartments more suitable for young professionals.
Typically turn-over like this is a bad thing for property owners, but with so much demand and such limited supply, condos in the West Campus area do not suffer the typical value decline from short-term rentals.
In fact, it’s a great benefit to owning property in the area.
This yearly change-over presents condo owners and landlords with a unique opportunity to assess the market and adjust their prices regularly. And since real estate values are typically a product of rents, rising rents mean rising values for all units in the area.
The West Campus market area boundaries are defined as W. 29th street to the North, Guadalupe to the East, W. MLK Blvd to the South, and N. Lamar Blvd to the West. Inside this 0.65 square mile perimeter you will find over 60 condo complexes ranging in age from 55+ years to brand new construction.
West Campus Condo Sales by the Numbers
Over the past 12 months sales have hit 105% total volume as compared to the previous 12 months; meaning a 5% increase in total sales volume year-over-year. The market absorbs around 12.4 units per month and with 34 listing currently active, it should take 2.7 months for that inventory to be moved off the market.
This is the sales metric that blew us away.
We know the West Campus area is a high rental market, but what we didn’t expect is that a whopping 71% of buyers are purchasing condo units near UT with cash. Only 28% utilize conventional mortgages. That means of the 149 condos sold over the last 12 months, roughly 105 units were purchases cash.
Distressed sales remain a non-factor for the area; typical of an area with high demand. Median values which were a bit stagnant two years ago have increased 6.2% over the past 12 months. As well, the area has a new high with a single unit being sold for $699,000.
Condos don’t include land – so we can actually look at price per square foot equally across all units.
Median and average price per square foot for sold condos in the area is right around $300 with the average days on market sitting between 12-20 days.