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4 Austin-area lakes flow onto list of spots with most million-dollar listings

Lake LBJ is one of four Central Texas lakes boasting $1 million-plus homes.

If you’re looking to dive into the market for high-end lake homes in Texas, look no further than the pool of real estate in your own backyard.

In Texas, four lakes in Central Texas boast the most listings of lake homes priced at $1 million or more. That’s according to a new report from Alabama-based Lake Homes Realty, which does business in Texas and 32 other states.

Leading the pack in Central Texas is Lake Travis, with 75 listings in the million-dollar-plus category on May 15, the report shows. Lake Travis accounted for 13 percent of $1 million-plus lake homes for sale in Texas. Next is Lady Bird Lake (74 listings), followed by Lake Austin (47), and the Hill Country’s Lake LBJ (43).

“Our new real estate report shows families looking to avoid crowded areas during the pandemic considered lake homes as an option,” says Glenn S. Phillips, CEO of Lake Homes Realty.

“Buyers from across the country searched Texas lake homes as a safe place to live and reconnect. From primary and secondary homes to lake lots, the Texas lake home market was more than $3.6 billion, the largest of our 33 states,” Phillips adds. “With beautiful lakes spread across the state and access to major metropolitan cities, it is easy to see why Texas has so much appeal for lake home shoppers.”

Elsewhere in Texas, Dallas-Fort Worth’s Possum Kingdom Lake sits at No. 5 for million-dollar-plus listings (33), with Dallas-Fort Worth’s Grapevine Lake at No. 6 (26), and the Houston area’s Lake Conroe at No. 7 (24).

As you might expect, Lake Travis also stands atop the list of the state’s biggest markets for lake homes, with $344.9 million worth of homes for sale on May 15. In second place is Lady Bird Lake ($235.6 million), followed by Dallas-Fort Worth’s Lewisville Lake ($220.3 million), Lake LBJ ($179.6 million), and Dallas-Fort Worth’s Lake Ray Hubbard ($156.6 million).

However, Lake Travis does not lead the list of the spots in Texas with the most expensive lake homes. That distinction goes to the Houston area’s Lake Woodlands ($2,514,950), followed by Lake Austin ($1,572,213), Lake Travis ($1,503,900), Possum Kingdom Lake ($1,378,861), and Lake LBJ ($1,273,628).

“In Texas and in other parts of the country, buyers are not waiting to find their dream homes,” Phillips says. “With limited inventories, buyers are ready to move quickly for both primary and secondary lake homes. They will then put their personal touches on them.”

Now, if you don’t have millions of dollars to spend on a lake home, you’re not out of luck, as the report also ranks the places in Texas with the most affordable lake homes as of May 15:

Bryan-College Station’s Country Club Lake, $190,430.
Hilltop Lakes, northeast of Bryan-College Station, $222,472.
Lake Tawakoni, east of Dallas-Fort Worth, $303,693.
Abilene’s Lake Kirby, $308,472.
Hide-A-Way Lake, northwest of Tyler, $309,993.

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Homebuyers can afford to be picky as Austin housing inventory rises

Photo by Avinash Kumar on Unsplash

Housing economist Clare Losey said the most significant factor affecting home sales in Austin is high mortgage rates.

The latest real estate report from Unlock MLS and the Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR) has revealed housing inventory is still on a steady rise in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA, creating more choices for potential homebuyers as they navigate a high interest rate market.

Residential home sales dipped by a mere 1.5 percent year-over-year from October 2023, amounting to 2,248 closed sales in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA. Median prices have also dropped to $430,000, or 3.2 percent less than this time last year. More than 3,300 new home listings were added on the market — a 7.4 percent increase from 2023 — bringing the total number of active home listings to 11,599.

According to Unlock MLS and ABoR housing economist Clare Losey, Ph.D., October's mortgage rates stood at 6.4 percent and are showing no signs of a significant drop in the near future. Even heading into 2025, Losey says potential homebuyers who are biding their time in the hopes of seeing rates plummet "may be in for a long wait."

"In the meantime, sellers must recognize that bringing buyers to the table requires a more aggressive pricing approach," Losey said. "Even in a more balanced market, buyers with limited purchasing power are struggling to meet current price expectations."

As for the overall health of the Central Texas housing market, 2024 Unlock MLS and ABoR president Kent Redding labeled recent news reports that called Austin "ground zero" for a downturn as an "extreme over-exaggeration."

"Austin led the state and nation in record-breaking home price growth and sales activity during the pandemic," Redding said. "For three years, near-zero housing inventory, numerous offers above list price and a rapid-paced market raised home prices and left little negotiating power for buyers. During this record-setting growth, ABoR and Unlock MLS consistently emphasized the unsustainability of the rapid growth, and now, our market is working to balance those extremes."

Central Texas housing trends in October 2024

In Travis County, 979 homes were sold last month — a slight 2.5 percent increase from last year. Median prices remained flat year-over-year at $510,000. Active home listings continued growing to 5,702 homes, which is 9.4 percent more year-over-year.

In Williamson County, 807 homes were sold in October, with median prices steadily dropping to $420,000. There were 1,028 new home listings on the market, showing a 4.5 percent increase from October 2023, bringing the total number of active home listings to 3,369.

Residential home sales dropped by nearly eight percent in Hays County in October, totaling 315 sales. Median prices also fell 5.5 percent year-over-year to $359,000. Active listings rose 6.6 percent year-over-year to 1,740 homes with the addition of 534 new listings on the market.

Meanwhile, 114 homes were sold in Bastrop County last month, which is 4.4 percent more than this time last year. Median prices dropped by a single percentage point year-over-year to $355,000. There were 654 active listings on the market in October, and 152 new home listings, representing a 1.3 percent slip in new inventory when compared to last year.

Only 33 homes were sold in Caldwell County in October to reflect a near 14 percent decline year-over-year from October 2023. Median prices fell to $262,990, which was a 13.5 percent decrease from last year. There were 136 active homes on the market last month, and 40 new homes added on the market.

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