Today I had the opportunity to attend the press announcement at the Austin Public Library unveiling Airbnb’s new Housing Accelerator, a $250 million initiative designed to help get stalled housing projects off the ground across the country.

And appropriately enough, the very first investment is happening right here in Austin.
Airbnb is committing $6.4 million to help finance 201 affordable homes as part of the redevelopment of the former Home Depot and car dealership site in Austin’s St. John neighborhood. The larger redevelopment is expected to ultimately include more than 500 homes, along with retail, park space and public art.

For anyone who follows Austin real estate, the announcement touches on several issues we’ve been talking about for years: housing affordability, the cost of development, our shortage of housing, the role of short-term rentals and, increasingly, the question of why projects that have already been approved still struggle to actually get built.

What Is Airbnb’s Housing Accelerator?
Airbnb is starting the program with a $250 million investment pool intended primarily to provide gap financing for multifamily housing developments.

Basically, these aren’t necessarily projects that don't make sense or don't have financing. They’re projects that are often almost financially viable but have a remaining gap preventing construction from moving forward. That distinction matters.

The economics of building housing have become substantially more difficult over the past several years. Higher interest rates, construction costs and other expenses can create a funding gap even after a developer has assembled most of the capital needed for a project. Affordable housing can be particularly challenging because developers can’t simply raise rents enough to compensate for higher costs.

Airbnb plans to invest at below-market returns and says it will prioritize affordable and mixed-income developments. The company estimates its initial $250 million commitment could ultimately help unlock more than $5 billion in total housing investment over the next decade.

The Austin investment is the first test of that model.

So, why Austin?
I actually think Austin is an interesting, and logical place to start. We spent much of the last decade talking about Austin as one of the fastest-growing cities in America. Then the market shifted. Interest rates rose, rents declined from their pandemic-era highs and suddenly projects that may have penciled a few years ago became significantly harder to finance.

At the same time, Austin has made some substantial changes to its land-use policies in an attempt to allow more housing to be built.

That combination makes Austin a useful case study: we have significant housing demand over the long term, we've started removing some of the regulatory barriers to creating additional supply, but financing can still determine whether a project actually gets built.
The St. John project is a particularly interesting example. The City purchased the roughly 20-acre property more than a decade ago, but redevelopment of the site has taken years to materialize. Airbnb’s investment is intended to help close the financing gap on the affordable housing component and move those 201 units forward.

Yes, There Is an Airbnb Elephant in The Room
Of course, there is some irony in Airbnb becoming an investor in affordable housing. Short-term rentals have been part of the housing affordability debate in Austin, and cities around the world for years. Critics argue that homes being used as short-term rentals remove units from the long-term housing supply. Airbnb has pushed back on the idea that STRs are a primary driver of housing affordability and points to cities where restrictive STR policies have not resulted in meaningful declines in housing costs.

As someone who has worked in both residential real estate and the vacation rental industry for more than a decade, I think the conversation is more nuanced than either side sometimes makes it sound.

Short-term rentals absolutely affect individual neighborhoods and properties. But Austin’s broader affordability problem is much bigger than Airbnb. We need more housing, we need different types of housing, and—maybe most importantly—we need to figure out how to actually get housing built when projects become financially difficult.
That’s why I found this announcement particularly interesting.

Airbnb isn't proposing that these affordable units become Airbnbs. In fact, residents of the affordable housing funded through this investment will specifically not be allowed to use their units as short-term rentals.

This is simply an investment in creating additional long-term housing supply.

The Bigger Idea May Be More Important Than the $250 Million
$250 million sounds like a massive number, but compared with the scale of America's housing shortage, it isn't going to solve the problem by itself.  What could be more meaningful is the structure.

Airbnb intends for its investments to represent roughly the final 10% of capital needed for many projects. If relatively small investments can close financing gaps and unlock the other 90% of a project's capital stack, the money can potentially have a much larger impact than the headline investment amount suggests.

The company also says the Housing Accelerator will go beyond financing. Plans include supporting reforms involving zoning, permitting and building codes; creating an open-source dataset tracking housing policies; and launching a $5 million competition for companies and nonprofits developing technology that could make housing easier or less expensive to build.

That last part especially caught my attention.  We talk constantly about housing affordability as though there are only two levers available: prices and interest rates. But the cost and difficulty of actually producing housing matter enormously too.

If we want Austin to remain a city where people at different income levels can actually live—not just a city where existing homeowners watch their property values increase—we have to keep looking at the entire system.

What This Means for Austin
Austin has been through a remarkable housing cycle over the past several years.
We experienced enormous demand and rapid appreciation during the pandemic, followed by one of the most significant housing market corrections in the country. Rents have softened. Home prices have adjusted. Inventory has increased.
But a softer housing market doesn't mean Austin has solved its long-term affordability problem.

The real question is what Austin looks like five, ten or twenty years from now as the region continues to grow.

To me, the most encouraging part of today's announcement wasn't simply that Airbnb is investing $6.4 million in one Austin development. It's that we're seeing another experiment in how public entities, private companies, developers and nonprofits can work together to get housing projects across the finish line.

Some of those experiments will work better than others. But, Austin needs them. As both an Austin native and someone who spends every day working in this housing market, I'm very interested to see what happens next.

If you’ve been waiting for someone to tell you whether the Austin housing market is “good” or “bad,” I have some frustrating news: that question is becoming increasingly useless.

The Austin market is getting healthier overall, but it is not recovering evenly. What’s happening in 78704 looks different from 78703. Westlake looks different from Circle C. And even within the same ZIP code, the market for a well-priced $700,000 house can behave completely differently from the market for a $2 million house.

That’s why I found Unlock MLS’s new Central Texas ZIP Code Scorecard particularly interesting. Rather than looking only at median sales price, the Scorecard attempts to measure how well individual ZIP codes are actually functioning based on buyer behavior. It weighs days on market within the price range where most buyers are purchasing, year-over-year sales activity, changes in median price and how heavily a ZIP code is weighted toward higher-priced inventory.

There are definitely limitations to the data, which I’ll get into, but I think the bigger takeaway is an important one: there really isn’t one Austin housing market anymore.

I’ve been saying for a while that activity is returning, but recovery is not the same thing as returning to the craziness of 2021. July gave us more evidence of that.

Across the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro, 2,739 homes sold in July, up 4.4% from last year. Pending sales increased 4.1%, active listings fell almost 10%, and months of inventory dropped from 5.8 months a year ago to 4.7 months. The median sales price actually increased slightly year over year to $435,000.

Inside the City of Austin, the improvement was even more noticeable. Closed sales jumped 11%, active listings declined 18.2%, and months of inventory fell by 1.8 months to 4.5. The median price was $577,000, down just 1.4% year over year.
This isn’t just one good month, either. During the first half of 2026, the metro recorded 15,698 sales, up 4.8% from the first half of 2025, while pending sales increased 9.8%. At the same time, the year-to-date median price was down 2.4% to $425,000.

​Those aren't boom-market numbers, but they're also not the numbers of a market that is continuing to deteriorate. Buyers are returning, inventory is being absorbed, and transactions are happening again. Prices, meanwhile, are largely stabilizing rather than taking off.
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That distinction matters. I don’t think Austin needs another massive appreciation cycle to call this a healthier market. Frankly, after what happened between 2020 and 2022, a period of relatively flat prices combined with increasing transaction volume would probably be a pretty healthy outcome.

Unlock MLS classifies individual ZIP codes as Healthy, Transitional, Soft or At-Risk. Days on market in the dominant price band accounts for 35% of the score, year-over-year sales activity accounts for 30%, median-price movement accounts for 20%, and exposure to higher-priced inventory accounts for the remaining 15%.

I actually like this approach because it asks a more useful question than simply, “Did prices go up?” It looks at whether buyers are actually buying, how quickly homes are selling in the price range where most transactions are occurring, whether sales volume is increasing or decreasing, and how much exposure a market has to expensive inventory that generally takes longer to sell.

But I would still call this a snapshot, not a diagnosis. Unlock MLS says essentially the same thing in its methodology: the Scorecard is intended to support conversations rather than replace local expertise, and conditions can vary substantially by street, property type and price point.
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That caveat becomes especially important when we get into Austin’s higher-end neighborhoods.

I live and work in 78704, so naturally this was one of the first ZIP codes I looked at. Despite its higher price point, 78704 received a Healthy score of 77.

There were 51 MLS sales in July, up 34.2% from July 2025. The median sales price was $742,500, essentially flat year over year at -0.3%. The dominant price band was actually $1 million and above, and the 19 sales within that band averaged 42 days on market.

That feels pretty consistent with what I’m seeing on the ground. Buyers aren't necessarily willing to pay whatever a seller asks. They are picky, condition matters, presentation matters, and aspirational pricing can still result in a house sitting. But buyers are absolutely there.
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For sellers, that distinction matters. A market where buyers have disappeared is very different from a market where buyers are present but discriminating. Right now, 78704 looks much more like the latter.

78702 also received a Healthy score of 76. MLS sales increased 52.4% year over year, while the median price increased 6.2% to $775,000. Like 78704, its dominant price band was $1 million and above, where the Scorecard showed an average of just 36 days on market.

Nearby 78723 tells a more complicated story. Sales increased 55.6%, but the median price declined 14.3% to $540,000, resulting in a Transitional score of 62. Meanwhile, tiny 78722 received one of the highest scores in the entire report at 91, but only seven transactions occurred there during July.

That last number is a good reminder of why I don't love headlines that simply say "Austin prices are up" or "Austin prices are down." With only seven transactions, a couple of very different properties closing can dramatically change the statistics. The smaller and more diverse the sample gets, the more careful we need to be about the conclusions we draw from it.

The Scorecard also shows some notable strength in Southwest Austin, particularly in 78739 and 78749.

78739 received a Healthy score of 80. Sales increased 34.6% year over year, the median price increased slightly to $825,000, and homes in its dominant $900,000–$999,999 price band averaged only 16 days on market.

78749 scored even higher at 91. Sales increased 59.3% year over year and the median price increased 17% to $600,000. Neighboring 78745, however, landed in the Transitional category with a score of 60. Sales increased 7.7%, but the July median declined 16.9% to $448,750.
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Again, these ZIP codes are geographically close to one another, but they aren't behaving identically. Buyer preferences, school districts, price point, housing stock, condition and neighborhood all matter.

Two of the numbers that immediately jumped out at me were 78703 and 78746. According to the July Scorecard, 78703's median sales price was down 27.3% year over year and the ZIP received an At-Risk score of just 14. In 78746, the reported median was down 24.7%, earning Westlake a Soft score of 56.

I would take both of those numbers with a pretty large grain of salt.

These are two of Austin's most expensive ZIP codes, with a substantial number of multimillion-dollar properties and an unusually wide range of housing stock. A smaller condo, a teardown on a valuable lot, a $2 million house and a $7 million estate can all exist within the same ZIP code. When you're dealing with relatively low transaction volume at those price points, changes in the mix of homes that happen to close during a particular month can create enormous swings in the median without telling us that the underlying value of comparable homes actually dropped by 25%.

Just look at the sample sizes. The Scorecard recorded only 18 MLS sales in 78703 during July and 27 in 78746. Of those, 88.9% were over $500,000 in both ZIP codes.

There is also another wrinkle that's particularly relevant at the high end of Austin's market: off-market sales. A meaningful portion of luxury real estate trades privately or through agent networks rather than being broadly exposed through the MLS. Unlock MLS's own market statistics are explicitly MLS-only data.

That makes me very hesitant to look at one month of MLS data and declare that Westlake or 78703 has suddenly lost a quarter of its value. The Scorecard is accurately describing the transactions contained in its dataset; I'm just not convinced those transactions give us a complete enough picture of the luxury market to make that broader conclusion.

That doesn't mean Austin's luxury market hasn't softened. It has. Buyers at the $2 million-plus level have more choices, they're negotiating, and properties that miss the mark on price or condition can sit for a long time. But "luxury buyers have leverage" is very different from "Westlake home values fell 25%."

I'd make the same distinction with 78703. Tarrytown, Pemberton Heights, Clarksville and the other neighborhoods within the ZIP contain some extremely expensive and highly unique properties. In a market like that, I care much more about the actual comparable sales for a particular house than I do about the ZIP-code median for a single month.
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Really, this reinforces one of the biggest lessons in the entire report: the more expensive and unique the property, the less useful broad market statistics become. At some point, “How is 78746 doing?” isn't even the right question. The better question is, “What is the market doing for this type of house, in this part of Westlake, at this price point?”

The ZIP Code Scorecard tells us what's happening within the housing market, but housing doesn't exist in a vacuum. One of the things I found most interesting in the broader Central Texas economic presentation was that Austin's underlying economy continues to grow even after several difficult years for housing.

The presentation showed the Austin MSA adding approximately 23,800 jobs year over year, representing 1.7% job growth, with unemployment around 4%. Austin ranked second among the 50 metros shown for job performance. Austin-Bergstrom also handled approximately 12.9 million passengers during the period cited, up 4.6%.

Those aren't housing statistics, but they matter. Long-term housing demand ultimately needs households, incomes, jobs and economic activity underneath it. Austin went through an enormous housing correction while its underlying economy continued expanding.
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That's one of the reasons I've never subscribed to the idea that Austin's housing story ended when the pandemic boom did. We had gotten too expensive too quickly. The market needed to correct. That's very different from saying Austin stopped growing.

There was another part of the presentation that I think deserves more attention. On the for-sale side, builders are still building. The presentation cited roughly 9,600 single-family permits year-to-date through July, only slightly below the 9,839 recorded during the same period last year.

But the apartment side looks very different. According to the presentation, Austin's apartment construction pipeline is down roughly 73% from its 2023 peak, with deliveries expected to thin substantially through 2027.

That matters because the flood of apartment deliveries we've experienced over the last several years increased rental supply and gave would-be homebuyers another reason to wait. We're already seeing some evidence that rental inventory is tightening: Unlock MLS reported that active lease listings across the metro were down 26.2% year over year in July, although the median rent was still essentially flat at $2,195.

If apartment deliveries continue to fall and rents eventually begin rising again, the rent-versus-buy calculation starts changing. Home prices don't have to suddenly skyrocket for waiting to become more expensive. If prices remain relatively flat while rents increase — particularly if mortgage rates eventually improve — some of the buyers sitting on the sidelines may start reconsidering ownership.
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That doesn't mean I'm predicting a huge run-up in prices in 2027. There are still plenty of affordability constraints in this market. But it is a supply-and-demand dynamic worth watching.

I still think this is one of the better buying environments Austin has offered in years, and not because I expect houses to suddenly appreciate 20%.

It's because buyers currently have something they had almost none of during the pandemic market: leverage. You can negotiate price. You can ask for closing costs. You can negotiate repairs. You can be picky about condition. And in many cases, you have enough inventory to walk away if the numbers don't make sense.

At the same time, I generally tell buyers that Austin real estate should be viewed as a longer-term decision. If you think you're going to need to sell in two years, I would be cautious. If you're buying a property that works for you and you're comfortable holding it for five to ten years, I'm much more interested in the opportunity we're seeing today.
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But even that opportunity isn't going to look identical everywhere. A buyer considering a multimillion-dollar property in 78703 has a very different negotiating position and a very different set of comps from someone competing for a well-priced house in 78739. The ZIP code matters, but the neighborhood, price point, condition and individual property matter even more.

The market is improving, but improving does not mean forgiving. The biggest mistake I continue to see sellers make is pricing based on what their house might have sold for two or three years ago.

Today's buyer has options. If your house is overpriced by 10%, the market usually knows pretty quickly. Sitting for weeks and then chasing the market down through multiple price reductions generally isn't a better strategy than getting the price right in the first place.

The encouraging part is that buyers are buying. City of Austin sales were up 11% in July, metro sales were up 4.4%, pending contracts increased and active inventory declined.
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You don't need a frenzy to sell a house. You need to understand the buyer for your house, in your neighborhood, at your price point — and position the property accordingly.

My read on Austin hasn't changed much: activity is returning, but recovery does not mean we're going back to 2021. And, I don't think we should want to.

The next version of Austin's housing market is likely to be much more segmented. Some neighborhoods can appreciate while others remain flat. Some price bands can move quickly while homes $500,000 higher sit for months. Luxury markets can require substantial price discovery even while more attainable neighborhoods become increasingly competitive.

The July ZIP Code Scorecard is useful because it makes those differences visible. But it's still one month of MLS data, and I wouldn't make a buying or selling decision based solely on whether your ZIP code happens to be green, yellow, orange or red. Unlock MLS specifically says the Scorecard is intended as a snapshot and that conditions can vary by street, property type and price point.
For me, the biggest takeaway isn't that 78749 scored a 91 or 78703 scored a 14. It's that Austin isn't one housing market anymore, and understanding the micro-market you're actually buying or selling in is becoming far more valuable than knowing what the Austin median price did last month.

If you've spent any time following Austin news lately, you've probably heard about the Dog's Head development. If you haven't yet, don't worry—you will.  While most of the headlines have focused on City Council votes, environmental concerns, and Amazon's announcement as the project's first prospective tenant, I think there's a much bigger conversation happening here.

​As someone who's lived in Austin my entire life and spent the last decade helping clients buy and sell real estate across Central Texas, I don't just see another development. I see one of the most significant long-term growth stories our city has seen in years.  The question isn't whether Dog's Head will change Southeast Austin. The question is what those changes will look like over the next 10, 20, and even 30 years.

The Dog's Head development is a proposed 2,600+ acre mixed-use community planned for Southeast Austin, near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and the SH-130 and US-183 corridors. The site gets its unusual name because the Colorado River curves around the property in a shape that resembles a dog's head when viewed from above.
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The master plan includes a mix of residential neighborhoods, commercial development, manufacturing, retail, parks, trails, and employment centers. While the project will take decades to fully build out, its size alone makes it one of the largest development opportunities remaining this close to downtown Austin.

One of the biggest recent announcements is that Amazon's robotics division has been identified as the project's first prospective tenant, with plans for a large advanced manufacturing campus. That immediately caught my attention—not just because it's Amazon, but because major employers have a way of reshaping entire parts of a city.

Whenever a company like Amazon commits to a project of this scale, the conversation becomes about much more than a single building.  Major employers attract suppliers, restaurants, hotels, retail, service businesses, and, of course, housing. Employees need places to live. Businesses want to locate nearby. Cities prioritize infrastructure improvements. Private investment follows public investment.

We've watched this happen before in Austin.  Mueller transformed from an old airport into one of the city's most sought-after neighborhoods. The Domain evolved from what many people once considered "way north" into Austin's second downtown. Tesla completely changed the conversation around eastern Travis County almost overnight.

I'm not suggesting Dog's Head will follow the exact same path. Every project is different. But history tells us that when Austin sees this level of investment, the ripple effects often extend far beyond the boundaries of the development itself.

This is where I think buyers and investors should be paying attention.  I'm not talking about chasing headlines or assuming every nearby property is suddenly going to double in value. Real estate simply doesn't work that way.  What I am saying is that understanding where Austin is investing in jobs, infrastructure, and long-term growth can help you make more informed decisions if you're planning to own property for the next five, ten, or twenty years.

Areas like Del Valle, Easton Park, Montopolis, Hornsby Bend, and portions of Southeast Austin could all see increased attention as this part of the city continues to evolve. Some neighborhoods are already benefiting from airport expansion, Tesla's presence, and improvements along SH-130 and US-183. Dog's Head has the potential to become another major piece of that puzzle.

Like most projects of this scale, Dog's Head has generated plenty of debate.  Supporters see an opportunity to create thousands of jobs, new housing, expanded parks, and significant infrastructure improvements. Opponents have raised concerns about environmental impacts, floodplain preservation, water quality, traffic, and the use of public incentives to support private development.
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These are important conversations, and they're worth following. Regardless of where you personally land, understanding both sides gives you a much better picture of where Austin is headed.

If I were looking to buy with a long-term mindset, these are some of the things I'd pay close attention to over the next several years:
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• Road and infrastructure improvements serving the project.
• Additional employers announcing plans to locate nearby.
• Commercial development following new job growth.
• School investments and community amenities.
• Changes to transportation and airport access.
• How surrounding neighborhoods evolve as demand increases.

Real estate isn't just about today's market. It's about understanding where a city is going.

That's the question I've already started hearing.  The honest answer is: maybe.  Buying near a major development simply because it's making headlines isn't a strategy. Buying because the location aligns with your long-term goals, budget, lifestyle, and investment horizon is.

Every property deserves its own analysis. Floodplain, zoning, future road plans, surrounding land use, commute patterns, school districts, neighborhood character, and resale potential all matter far more than a flashy headline.  That's exactly why I spend so much time helping clients look beyond the marketing and understand the bigger picture before they make a decision.

Austin has always evolved in phases.  I've watched neighborhoods people once overlooked become some of the most desirable parts of the city. I've also watched areas that everyone thought were "too far out" become central to Austin's next chapter.
Dog's Head feels like one of those inflection points. Will it happen overnight? Absolutely not. Projects of this scale take years, often decades, to fully come together. There will be changes to the plan, market cycles, political debates, and countless headlines between now and final buildout.
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But if you're interested in where Austin is headed—not just where it's been—I think Dog's Head deserves a spot on your radar.  As more details emerge, I'll continue keeping an eye on what matters most from a real estate perspective, because understanding the future of Austin isn't just about reading the news. It's about recognizing how today's decisions shape tomorrow's neighborhoods.

When a home sits on the market longer than expected, the first reaction is almost always the same: "Maybe we need to lower the price."  Sometimes that's true. But after years of helping Austin homeowners sell everything from condos and starter homes to luxury properties, I've found that price is often only part of the story.

More often than not, homes don't struggle because of one major problem. They struggle because of several small issues that add up. Maybe the home wasn't available to show when buyers wanted to see it. Maybe the photos didn't do it justice. Maybe the rooms felt cramped because of oversized furniture. Maybe buyers couldn't find the information they needed online to feel confident scheduling a showing.

Individually, those things might not seem like a big deal. Together, they can be the difference between receiving multiple offers and watching your listing sit.

Here are the biggest reasons I see homes struggle in today's Austin market.

1. You Missed Your Biggest Opportunity

The first week your home is on the market is incredibly important.  Your listing is brand new. Buyers who have been searching for weeks—or even months—receive instant notifications that a new home matching their criteria has become available. It's pushed to the top of search results on Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com, and other websites. This is when your listing receives the most attention.

That's why I was incredibly frustrated recently when one of my sellers wanted to block showings during the first weekend after we went live. From their perspective, it seemed like a minor inconvenience.  From my perspective, it meant telling the most motivated buyers in the market they couldn't see the home during the exact moment they were most excited about it.  Many buyers simply move on. Once they've found another home to pursue, they often don't circle back.

If you're serious about selling, your home should be as available as possible during those first few weeks. Requiring 24-hour notice, blocking evenings or weekends, limiting showings around naps or pets, or otherwise making it difficult to see the property creates unnecessary friction. Every obstacle reduces your buyer pool.

2. Buyers Decide Whether to Visit Your Home Before They Ever Walk Through the Door

Today's buyers spend hours online before they ever schedule a showing.  That means your online listing isn't just marketing—it's your first showing.  Unfortunately, I still see listings with only 10 photos for a 4,000-square-foot home. Our MLS allows up to 40 photos, and in most cases, you should use them. Buyers want to understand the entire property before they invest their time driving across town.

Professional photography matters, but so does telling the complete story.  Your listing should include high-quality photos, a compelling description, floor plans when available, surveys, seller's disclosures, utility information, warranties, and any other documentation that helps buyers make an informed decision.

I've also seen listings where important documents simply aren't uploaded or where the property isn't properly syndicated to major consumer websites like Zillow, Redfin, and Realtor.com. If buyers can't easily find your home—or find the information they need once they do—they're much less likely to schedule a showing.

The easier you make it for buyers to say "yes" to a showing, the more opportunities you'll create.

3. Your Home Doesn't Feel the Way You Think It Does

As homeowners, we naturally become blind to things we've lived with for years.
Buyers don't.  I recently walked into a listing where the pet odor hit me almost immediately. The homeowner had become so accustomed to it that they didn't notice anymore.  The same thing happens with clutter, worn landscaping, outdated light fixtures, dark paint colors, dirty grout, or oversized furniture that makes perfectly good rooms feel much smaller than they actually are.

Presentation isn't about making your home look like a magazine.  It's about helping buyers imagine themselves living there.  Sometimes that means rearranging furniture. Sometimes it means deep cleaning. Sometimes it means renting a storage unit for a month to create more breathing room. Small changes often have a much bigger impact than sellers expect.

4. Buyers Want Move-In Ready More Than Ever

Every buyer says they're willing to do a little work.  Very few actually want to.  Today's buyers have options, and many are choosing the homes that feel well cared for over the ones that come with a long to-do list.  That doesn't mean you need to renovate your kitchen or spend tens of thousands of dollars before listing.  It does mean fixing the things buyers immediately notice.  Loose door handles. Peeling paint. Burned-out light bulbs. Broken fixtures. Stained caulk. Deferred maintenance. Small repairs that have been on your weekend project list for the past three years.  One of the best investments many sellers can make is ordering a pre-listing inspection. It gives you the opportunity to fix issues on your timeline instead of negotiating them under the pressure of a contract.

5. Yes... It Might Be the Price

Let's talk about pricing.  Many homes that sit on the market today aren't wildly overpriced.
They're just overpriced enough.  I often see listings that are priced five to ten percent above where the market says they should be. That may not sound like much, but it's enough to keep buyers from ever walking through the front door.

​Pricing is about more than what your home is worth. It's about where buyers expect to find it during their online searches.  Price slightly too high, and you eliminate a large portion of your buyer pool before they even know your home exists.  If we're not seeing the activity we expected within the first two to three weeks, it's usually time to reassess. Your first price adjustment is almost always your least expensive one. Waiting months while hoping the right buyer eventually appears usually means missing your strongest marketing window.

6. Marketing Is More Than Putting Your Home in the MLS

One of the biggest misconceptions I hear is that once a home is in the MLS, the marketing is done.  In reality, that's just the starting point.

A successful listing strategy should include professional photography, compelling copywriting, maximum exposure across Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com, social media marketing, email campaigns, outreach to other agents, and making sure every piece of information a buyer could want is easy to find.  Marketing isn't just about getting more views.  It's about attracting the right buyers and giving them enough confidence to schedule a showing.

If your home isn't selling, don't assume the answer is simply lowering the price.  Take a step back and look at the entire picture.

Is your home easy to show?
Does it make a great first impression online?
Does it present well in person?
Have you addressed the obvious maintenance items?
Are buyers getting all the information they need to feel confident?
Is your pricing aligned with today's market—not last year's?

The truth is that most homes don't fail because of one major mistake. They fail because of a dozen small ones.  When every piece of the puzzle is working together—pricing, presentation, photography, marketing, accessibility, and strategy—you give yourself the best chance of selling quickly and for the strongest possible price.

If you're thinking about selling your Austin home and you're wondering what might be holding it back, I'd be happy to give you an honest assessment. Sometimes a few thoughtful changes can make a much bigger difference than a major price reduction.

If you've spent any time reading real estate headlines lately, you've probably seen two completely different stories. One says Austin is crashing. The other says prices are about to take off again. The reality, as usual, is somewhere in the middle.

As a real estate broker, I spend far less time reading headlines than I do walking through homes with buyers, negotiating contracts, and talking with sellers across the Austin metro. In any given week I might be in Circle C, Westlake, East Austin, Lakeway, Driftwood, North Loop, or Onion Creek. That gives me a front-row seat to what's actually happening—not just what the national media is reporting.

So, is now a good time to buy a home in Austin? For many buyers, I think the answer is yes.  The biggest reason has nothing to do with home prices. It's the amount of leverage buyers have today.

According to Unlock MLS, more than 3,500 homes sold across the Austin metro in May 2026, with a median sale price of $425,000 and a median of 35 days on market. Within the Austin city limits, the median sale price was $594,500, and homes sold more quickly, with a median of 22 days on market. Those numbers tell an important story: buyers still have plenty of options, but desirable homes inside Austin continue to move relatively quickly.

What I'm seeing every day reflects those numbers. Buyers are successfully negotiating seller-paid closing costs, repair concessions, and more favorable contract terms than we've seen in years. Sellers are often willing to work with buyers because they know there are more homes competing for attention.

That doesn't mean every house is sitting. In fact, the best homes are doing quite well. When a property is priced correctly, beautifully maintained, professionally marketed, and shows well, it can still generate multiple offers. Those homes stand out because buyers recognize quality immediately. The homes struggling in today's market tend to fall into two categories: they're overpriced, or they simply don't present well. Buyers have choices right now, and they're taking the time to compare them before making an offer.

One question I hear constantly is whether buyers should wait for mortgage rates to come down.  Personally, I don't think that's the best strategy.

The ultra-low interest rates we experienced during the pandemic were extraordinary. They weren't normal, and I don't expect we'll see those numbers become the standard again anytime soon. While today's mortgage rates are certainly higher than many buyers would like, they're much closer to historical norms than the once-in-a-generation rates we experienced a few years ago.

More importantly, waiting for rates to fall doesn't happen in a vacuum.  If mortgage rates decline meaningfully, it's reasonable to expect more buyers to re-enter the market. More competition typically means stronger demand, fewer negotiating opportunities, and upward pressure on prices. Waiting could mean saving a little on your interest rate while paying significantly more for the home itself.

That's why I encourage buyers to think less about timing the market and more about their own timeline.  If you're planning to stay in the home for five to ten years, buying when you're financially ready usually matters far more than trying to predict where mortgage rates or home prices will be six months from now. Real estate has always rewarded long-term ownership much more consistently than short-term market timing.

None of this means every buyer should rush out tomorrow. If you're uncertain about your job, don't have your down payment saved, or only expect to own the home for a couple of years, waiting may absolutely be the right decision. Buying a home should make sense for your life first and the market second.

But if you've been sitting on the sidelines solely because you're waiting for interest rates to drop, I'd encourage you to look at the entire picture. Today's buyers have negotiating power, more inventory to choose from, and the ability to be selective. Those advantages may not last forever.

The Austin market has changed dramatically over the past few years, but it hasn't stopped creating opportunities. In many ways, this feels like one of the healthiest markets we've had in quite some time. Buyers have options, sellers who price strategically are still finding success, and transactions are being driven by fundamentals instead of fear of missing out.
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No one can predict exactly where mortgage rates or home prices will be next year. What I can tell you is what I'm seeing every day: well-prepared buyers are finding great homes, negotiating favorable terms, and making confident decisions. For many people, that's a pretty good place to be.

Last week I attended the February 2026 Austin Real Estate Economic Forum presented by Eldon Rude of 360° Real Estate Analytics — one of the most respected data voices tracking the Austin real estate market.

No hype.
No doom.
Just data.

If you want my broader breakdown of neighborhood-level housing trends, you can always start with my full Austin real estate market update — but below are the most important economic takeaways shaping 2026.



1. The U.S. Economy Is Stable — But Not Accelerating

Over the past 12 months:

• 359,000 jobs added nationally
• Unemployment at 4.3%
• 30-year mortgage rates around 6.11%

That’s stability. But housing runs on confidence — and consumer confidence dropped significantly year-over-year.

Translation?

Buyers aren’t panicking.  But they aren’t rushing either.  And that shift in urgency directly affects the Austin housing market in 2026.

2. Austin Job Growth Is Slower — Especially in Tech

Austin added 10,700 jobs over the past year.  But, here’s the nuance:  Professional & Business Services jobs declined by 6,000.  That category includes tech and corporate roles — the exact engine that fueled Austin’s explosive housing demand from 2015–2022.  Austin may be hiring, but we're not hiring people that buy houses.

We've seen a decrease in tech hiring and that means there are fewer relocation buyers.
That ripple effect shows up first in:

• Luxury inventory
• Move-up homes
• Higher-end new construction

I’ve written before about how corporate hiring cycles impact Austin housing demand, and that relationship still matters.  The biggest variable for 2026?  Tech job recovery.

3. The Office Market Still Reflects the Reset

Austin office vacancy is hovering near 29% overall, with CBD vacancy above 32%.  Until corporate absorption improves meaningfully, don’t expect a dramatic luxury housing surge.  Corporate expansion drives executive relocations.  Executive relocations drive higher-end housing demand.  Everything is connected.

4. The Apartment Market: Supply Heavy, Rents Softer

Citywide rent is down year-over-year, though occupancy ticked up slightly.
But the bigger story is supply:

• Nearly 20,000 units completed in 2025
• Over 20,000 under construction
• 11,000+ expected in 2026

That is still a significant amount of inventory working through the system.

For buyers considering investment property, this is why conservative underwriting matters.  If you’re exploring that route, I break down the strategy inside my Austin home buyer guide.

5. Builders Are Pulling Back — Intentionally

This was one of the most important insights from Eldon’s presentation.

Builders are:

• Starting fewer homes
• Reducing exposure to finished spec inventory
• Focusing on margins over volume

Single-family permits are down 12% year-over-year.  This is how markets rebalance.
Less new supply over time stabilizes pricing.  If you’re debating resale vs new construction, this shift matters — especially in submarkets like Circle C or areas in East Austin.

6. Land Market Stress May Create Opportunity

Land teams have changed strategy significantly.

There is:

• Virtually no appetite for lots delivering in 2026
• More buying opportunities, especially South & East
• Some expectation of stress from 2020–2022 land acquisitions

Stress in development pipelines can create negotiation leverage.  Which brings us to resale.

7. The Resale Market Already Corrected

As of December 2025:

• Average price: $571,460
• Median price: $432,000

Compared to 2022 peaks:

• Average down 9%
• Median down 21%

Inventory sits around 4.1 months of supply.  That’s not a crash.  That’s normalization.

If you're preparing to sell, pricing precision matters more than ever. I outline exactly how I approach it in my Austin home selling strategy guide.  Overpricing in this market gets punished quickly.  Accurate positioning wins.

8. Affordability Is the Long-Term Governor

Austin’s median home price to median family income multiplier sits around 3.5.
We aren't a “cheap” tech city. BUT we have become much more affordable than we have been in recent years.    

Which means:

• Appreciation will likely be slower and more measured
• Wage growth must reconnect with price growth
• Submarket selection is everything

Neighborhood-level strategy matters.  For example, Westlake behaves differently than South Austin. East Austin behaves differently than Northwest Hills.  That’s why I always tell clients: there is no “Austin market.” There are 30 micro-markets.

So What Does This Mean for 2026?

We are nearly four years into the market shift.  The frenzy phase ended.  The correction phase largely happened.  Now we’re in recalibration.

If you’re a buyer, this is the most rational negotiation environment we’ve seen in years.
If you’re a seller, precision pricing > wishful thinking.
If you’re an investor, underwrite conservatively. Extend your time horizon. Buy quality.

Austin isn’t broken.  It’s adjusting.  And disciplined operators tend to do very well in markets like this.

If you'd like to talk through what this means for your specific situation — whether buying, selling, or repositioning — reach out.

We don’t guess.
We analyze.
And we move strategically.

If you’ve been watching the Austin real estate market, this probably feels frustrating.  Homes sit longer than expected.  Prices get reduced.  And buyers still don’t move.

If you’re selling, it feels like the market is ignoring you.  If you’re buying, it raises a red flag. And while it’s easy to assume the price still isn’t low enough, that’s not actually the main issue in Austin right now.

Here’s what’s really happening.

A Price Cut Doesn’t Reset the Clock
The first week a home hits the market matters more than most people realize.  That’s when buyers are most engaged, alerts are firing, and comparisons are being made. Once that window passes, a small price reduction doesn’t feel like a fresh opportunity — it feels like a follow-up question.

Why didn’t this sell already?

At that point, buyers aren’t just evaluating the price.  They’re evaluating confidence.

Austin Buyers Are Comparing Everything More Closely
Today’s Austin buyers aren’t rushing — they’re cross-checking.  They’re touring multiple homes in the same price range and asking:

• Does this feel worth the payment?
• What would I be compromising here?
• How does this compare to the last two homes I saw?

A modest price cut doesn’t help if the home:

• Feels dated next to newer listings
• Has a layout that’s harder to picture living in
• Or doesn’t clearly stand out online

In this market, buyers respond to clarity — not discounts alone.

When a Home Sits, Expectations Shift
After about 30–45 days on the market, most Austin buyers mentally reclassify a listing.
It’s no longer new.  It’s available.

That subtle shift changes behavior. Buyers assume:

• There may be room to negotiate
• Another price reduction could be coming
• Or someone else will make the first move

Ironically, small price cuts often cause buyers to wait instead of act.

Monthly Payments Still Drive Decisions
Even when buyers like a home, the monthly payment is front and center.  A $15K–$25K reduction often doesn’t change that payment enough to feel meaningful — but it does signal seller flexibility. So, buyers pause.  They watch.  They wait.

What Actually Gets Homes Selling in Austin
In today’s Austin housing market, listings that regain momentum usually do one or more of the following:

• Clearly reposition against competing homes
• Make a decisive price adjustment, not incremental cuts
• Improve online presentation so value is obvious immediately
• Clarify who the home is meant for — and who it isn’t

It’s not about being the cheapest option.  It’s about being the easiest one to say yes to.

The Bottom Line
If price cuts aren’t working, it doesn’t mean buyers have disappeared.  It means they’re cautious, comparative, and paying attention to signals.  The homes that sell aren’t always the lowest priced — they’re the ones where the value feels clear and the strategy feels intentional.

Thinking About Your Next Move?
This is usually where people stop asking “What should we do?” and start asking better questions.  If you’re wondering how your home fits into today’s Austin market — or whether a price change would actually move the needle — I’m happy to talk it through.
No pressure. Just perspective.

Get ready for an unforgettable 4th of July in Central Texas! From fireworks to live music, family-friendly parades to fun at the waterparks, this is your go-to guide for everything happening in the region. Be sure to check out all the exciting events below!

Travis County

1. Austin July 4th Concert & Fireworks, Hosted by H-E-B
   Location: Vic Mathias Shores
   Presented by the Austin Symphony Orchestra, enjoy a spectacular concert and fireworks display over Lady Bird Lake.
2. Hill Country Galleria Independence Day Festival
   Location: Hill Country Galleria, Bee Cave
   Celebrate the holiday with live music, family activities, and a fun-filled day of festivities.
3. Lago Vista Lights Over Lago Fireworks Celebration
   Location: Bar-K Park Point Pavilion
   Watch a stunning fireworks display over Lake Travis for a picture-perfect 4th of July.
4. Lakeway "A Golden Legacy" 4th of July Celebration
   Location: Morning Parade at Lakeway Drive, Evening Fireworks at Rough Hollow/Highlands
   Enjoy a morning parade and an incredible fireworks show in the evening.
5. Pflugerville Independence Day Pfireworks
   Location: Typhoon Texas Waterpark
   Watch fireworks light up the sky over Pflugerville’s waterpark.
6. Volente Beach Independence Day Extravaganza: Nightly Fireworks & Waterpark Fun
   Location: Volente Beach on Lake Travis
   Celebrate with nightly fireworks and waterpark fun from July 3rd to July 5th.
7. Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic
   Location: Germania Amphitheater
   Celebrate with Willie Nelson and other great country artists for an iconic 4th of July picnic.

Hays County

1. Wimberley’s 79th Annual VFW CPRA Rodeo + Nightly Fireworks
   Location: Chester Franklin Arena
   Enjoy rodeo action and nightly fireworks July 3rd to July 5th.
2. 4th of July Celebration in Dripping Springs
   Location: 12 Fox Beer Co.
   A great spot for local beer, food, and fireworks this Independence Day.
3. Red, White, and Buda
   Location: Morning Bike Parade at City Park, Evening Fireworks at Buda Amphitheater
   Celebrate in Buda with a bike parade and fireworks in the evening.
4. Independence Day Celebration Fireworks in Kyle
   Location: La Verde Park
   Watch fireworks light up the sky in Kyle.

Williamson County

1. Leander Liberty Fest & Fireworks
   Location: Devine Lake Park
   Enjoy a day of live music, food, and fireworks.
2. Round Rock Express Baseball Red, White & Blue Weekend with Postgame Fireworks
   Location: Dell Diamond
   Watch the Round Rock Express play and enjoy fireworks after the game on July 4th and 5th.
3. Parade, Frontier Days & Fireworks in Round Rock
   Location: Sertoma Parade at Mays Street, Frontier Days Festival at Old Settler’s Park, Evening Fireworks at Old Settler’s Park
   Celebrate with a parade, festival, and fireworks.
4. Cedar Park Fourth of July Parade & Celebration
   Location: Elizabeth Milburn Park
   A great local parade and community celebration with fireworks to end the day.
5. Georgetown Sertoma 4th of July Fireworks
   Location: Morning Parade at San Gabriel Park, All Day Festival at San Gabriel Park, Evening Fireworks at San Gabriel Park
   Celebrate in Georgetown with a parade, festival, and a stunning fireworks show.

For all the details, times, and locations, check out the links in the event descriptions above.

So, what does all of this mean for you?

• If you’re a buyer: This is one of the best times in years to negotiate a great deal. There are more homes to choose from, and sellers are much more flexible than they were a couple of years ago. If you’re planning to stay in the home long-term, buying now could be a smart move—especially if mortgage rates drop in the future and you can refinance.
• If you’re a seller: Be prepared for a slower market. Pricing your home right from the start is key, because buyers have a lot of options. If you’re not in a rush to sell, you might consider waiting until the market shifts again.

The Austin real estate market is in a reset mode, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Whether you’re buying, selling, or waiting, understanding the numbers and market trends will help you make the right decision.
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And in the long run? Austin remains one of the strongest real estate markets in the country. The fundamentals are still there—job growth, infrastructure investment, and a desirable quality of life. That’s why I remain confident in Austin’s future.