If you’re shopping for a home in the Austin area, this might be a great time to make a purchase.
A new report from residential real estate platform Redfin ranks Austin as the second-best buyer’s market among the country’s 50 largest metro areas. In a buyer’s market, prospective homeowners wield an advantage over sellers, strengthening their ability to score a bargain.
San Antonio pulled just ahead of Austin to claim the top spot on the list.
The report shows that in October, there were 117 percent more sellers than buyers in the San Antonio area — the highest percentage across the 50 biggest markets. In second place: the Austin metro area, where there were 115 percent more sellers than buyers. Across the country, there were 37 percent more sellers than buyers.
“Of course, it’s only a buyer’s market for those who can afford to buy — many Americans have been priced out of the housing market as affordability has eroded,” Redfin says.
During the pandemic, homebuyers from pricier places relocated to the Sun Belt (which includes Texas), driving up housing costs and pricing local residents out of the market, according to Redfin.
“To meet surging demand,” says Redfin, “homebuilders ramped up activity, which is one reason there are now a lot more homes for sale than people who want to buy them. … New construction can have a significant influence on whether negotiating power lies with buyers or sellers because it impacts the balance of supply and demand.”
The Austin market saw its highest number of houses for sale since 2022 in October, according to an Austin Board of Realtors (ABOR) report. There were 1,321 homes on the market, 12.7 percent more than the same month the year before.
The median home price stayed stable at $552,500, which is only half a percent more than in 2024.
In September, ABOR declared that Austin was becoming a buyer's market based on August data, so it looks like the organization's predictions for fall were spot on.
