AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 Austin home prices continued to fall in July, dropping 1.4% compared with a year ago, but that decline is not necessarily translating into lower costs for residents or a smaller tax bill.<\/p>\n
Austin is now a buyer\u2019s market, according to the Home Buying Institute, which said the downturn has been underway for four years. The slowdown has been fueled in part by interest rates, or the cost of borrowing money to buy a home. There was no indication that the rate environment would change after the Federal Reserve did not lower rates last month.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand that the five-plus years of inflation above target cannot be cured in nine weeks or by a single month of modest price decreases. This Fed will not waver<\/a>,\u201d Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said.<\/p>\n In Austin, City Council member Marc Duchen, who represents District 10, said residents are feeling pressure across the board.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of it points back to that people are being squeezed right now,\u201d Duchen said.<\/p>\n