Austin

Austin is a city that corrected. Between 2020 and 2022, median prices in the Austin MSA surged from $335,000 to $550,000 — a 64% increase in 24 months driven by a wave of remote workers from California and the Pacific Northwest, supercharged by historically low rates and Apple's announcement of a $1 billion campus in North Austin. The market became untethered from local income. Buyers made offers sight-unseen. Sellers chose from 15 offers in a weekend.

Then rates rose sharply through 2022 and 2023, and the market reset. By Q2 2026, the median home price in the Austin MSA sits at $460,000 — down 16.4% from its 2022 peak. That correction has been faster and deeper than any other major Texas metro, which is exactly why this is the moment Austin-curious buyers have been waiting for. Days on market have stretched to 76. Sellers are negotiating on more than half of all listings. The buyer who felt priced out three years ago is back in a position of genuine leverage.

The long-term fundamentals have not changed. Apple's campus is open and hiring. Tesla's Gigafactory continues to expand east of the city. Oracle relocated its global headquarters here. The University of Texas at Austin continues to funnel engineering and business talent into a tech ecosystem that now rivals any city outside San Francisco and New York. The lifestyle advantages — Hill Country access, live music culture, a restaurant scene that genuinely earns its reputation — remain fully intact. The price tag finally recalibrated.

“The Austin correction is not a sign of structural weakness — it's the market price-discovering its way back to reality after a historic anomaly. The buyers who act in 2026 are buying the city's long-term trajectory at a discount.”

— HavenQuest Texas Market Intelligence, Q2 2026

Market Snapshot · Q2 2026

Economy & Jobs

Austin added 28,500 net new jobs over the past 12 months — a growth rate that continues to outpace the national average despite the market correction. The job base has diversified significantly from its early tech-centric identity: Apple, Tesla, Oracle, Samsung Semiconductor, Meta, and Dell now anchor a corporate ecosystem alongside government employment centered on the state capitol and UT Austin. Healthcare and education are stable secondary pillars. The median household income of $109,000 reflects a workforce skewed toward high-earning professionals, which is precisely why the housing correction happened — price growth far outpaced even this income level.

Neighborhood Breakdown

Austin's suburbs are where most families land. The city proper has been increasingly expensive and dense; the surrounding communities offer better value, newer construction, and often stronger school districts. The Hill Country towns to the west have become a lifestyle destination in their own right.

School Districts

Austin ISD itself is large and variable — quality ranges significantly by campus. The surrounding suburban ISDs are consistently stronger and are a primary driver of family relocation decisions. Eanes ISD (Westlake Hills) is the gold standard. Leander and Round Rock are excellent and more affordable.

True Cost of Homeownership

The example below models a $420,000 purchase — slightly below the metro median — with a 20% down payment ($84,000), a 6.75% 30-year fixed mortgage, and Austin's typical 2.0% effective property tax rate. The $140,000 homestead exemption reduces your assessed taxable value significantly — a meaningful benefit for long-term owners.

To comfortably carry this payment, most financial planners recommend a gross household income of $90,000–$100,000+. HOA fees vary by community ($0–$250/mo in most Austin suburbs).

Honest Assessment

Sources: TRERC · Redfin · Zillow · Dallas Fed · U.S. Census · Texas.gov · Updated Q2 2026