Editor's note: As 2022 comes to a close, we're looking back at the stories that defined Austin this year, starting with the red-hot topic of real estate. Following unprecedented growth during the pandemic, Austin's market is poised for a dramatic swing, but that's not all that happened this year. From massive mansions to tall towers and the first "residential winery" in the state, here are the hottest real estate headlines of 2022.

1. $45 million Lake Travis mansion makes a splash as most expensive home for sale in Texas. A Lake Travis estate fit for a celebrity hit the market at $45 million this spring. The property came with big-as-Texas bragging rights, as it was the priciest home on the market in Texas at the time. In 2013, the estate was listed for sale at just $15 million.

2. Posh Tarrytown estate hits the Austin market at $18.75 million. A newly remodeled, private estate in the coveted Tarrytown neighborhood hit the market at $18.75 million this fall. Originally built in the 1960s, the estate sits on just over an acre of land and boasts a reimagined 21st-Century interior while remaining true to Austin’s classic, rare brick exterior.

3. Austin housing market to see most dramatic shift in 2023, forecast shows. A summer forecast envisioned a massive shift in Austin’s homebuying market next year. By July 2023, the Austin metro area is projected to witness the most dramatic swing from a sellers’ market to a buyers’ market among the country’s 100 largest metro areas, according to the Knock real estate platform.

4. Real estate expert says Austin’s housing bubble may be about to burst. In March, researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas warned that a housing bubble was on the horizon in the U.S. In June, one real estate expert said Austin led the country’s on-the-bubble housing markets.

5. Austin’s first ‘supertall’ tower could be the tallest building in Texas. Plans are underway for what would be the first “supertall” building in Austin — and perhaps the tallest building in Texas. In April, Augustine Verrengia, civil market leader at civil engineering firm WGI, said the height of a 74-story tower on tap for 98 Red River St., near the Austin Convention Center, would exceed 1,000 feet. He claims it would earn status as the tallest building in Texas.

The 74-story tower would exceed a height of 1,000 feet. Courtesy of Augustine Verrengia/Linkedin

6. Austin shines as a 'supernova' real estate market in this 2023 forecast. The Austin real estate market may be changing, but it is still one of the hottest in the U.S. as we head into 2023. The Urban Land Institute (ULI)'s annual Emerging Trends in Real Estate report, released in October, named Austin the No. 4 U.S. market to watch in 2023, behind Nashville (No. 1), Dallas-Fort Worth (No. 2), and Atlanta (No. 3).

7. New vineyard development will uncork more than 1,000 homes in Austin suburb. A residential development anchored by a winery and resort is taking shape in Williamson County. The first phase of what will eventually be more than 1,000 homes is underway at the more than 600-acre Vineyard at Florence, a $500 million mixed-use development just east of the tiny town of Florence. Dallas-based Hoque Global has been marketing one-acre to three-acre home lots at The Vineyard at Florence since last August.

The Vineyard at Florence is the first “residential winery" in Texas. Courtesy of the Vineyard at Florence

8. Burgeoning Austin suburb boasts second-hottest neighborhood for U.S. homebuyers. The population of Leander soared 123 percent from 2010 to 2020, and the growth shows no signs of letting up. A new report from residential real estate platform Opendoor provides further evidence of the continued popularity of the Williamson County suburb. Leander’s 78641 ZIP code ranked second on Opendoor’s January list of the country’s 10 most popular ZIP codes for homebuyers.

9. Oscar winner flips the script with quiet purchase of Austin mansion. Oscar-winning movie star Emma Stone joined the cavalcade of celebrities who’ve been scooping up homes in the Austin area. Real estate website Dirt.com reported in April that Stone purchased an estate in Central Austin’s much-sought-after Tarrytown neighborhood for an undisclosed amount last May.

10. Austin ranks among 20 U.S. cities where middle class can’t afford housing anymore. Austin’s housing pain is real, and evidence of the high price of housing in the metro area keeps mounting. A spring study from the 24/7 Wall St. website listed Austin among the 20 places in the U.S. where the middle class can no longer afford housing. Austin ranked 18th among the 20 metro areas in that category.