Luxe Austin Homes

"Good News for Homebuyers—It’s a Friendlier Market as Sellers Get Ready for Spring"

Realtor.com shares, "The much anticipated spring selling season is a few weeks away, and signs point to a friendlier market for homebuyers.

The share of consumers saying that now is a good time to buy was the highest in over a year, but still only at 24%. Meanwhile, the share of those saying that it’s a good time to sell remains high, at 62%.

On the one hand, this aligns with the data. The Realtor.com® weekly housing inventory showed that listing prices softened as new listings and active inventory growth both rose and homes took longer to sell. These are all signs consistent with a housing market shifting into buyer-friendlier territory.

At the same time, when the market is shifting and uncertain, it can be wise to home in on seasonal…

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"Austin metro's smallest county is among the fastest-growing in the nation"

Austin Business Journal shares, "Caldwell County Judge Hoppy Haden isn't surprised that his largely rural county is among the fastest-growing in the nation.

"I told somebody the other day that doesn't come as shock to me because I've been living it for the last three years," Haden said.

Newly released U.S. Census Bureau data pegs Caldwell County — the smallest of the Austin metro's five counties — at No. 9 on the annual list of fastest-growing U.S. counties among those with populations of at least 20,000.

The population of Caldwell County grew to 52,430 in 2024 from 50,107 a year prior — a 4.6% increase that doubled the metro's overall 2.3% growth rate. Still, all four of the metro's other counties — Travis, Williamson, Hays and Bastrop —…

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"A growing force is emerging in homebuying. Here's how the market has shifted."

Austin Business Journal writes, "Homebuyers in 2025 have never been older. They've also never been more likely to be single or female.

Those changes have broad repercussions for the housing market, experts say.

According to the National Association of Realtors' 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 73% of homebuyers in 1973 were married couples, 11% were single women, and 10% were single men. By 2024, the percentage of married couples had shrunk to 62%, and the number of single men had slipped to 8%, while the percentage of single women had jumped to 20%.

“We’ve seen this demographic shift due to women attaining higher education levels leading to senior positions and greater financial independence," said Veronica Crego-Flores, managing…

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"By the numbers: Home prices cool, rental rates dip in Austin"

ATX Today writes, "Curious about the Austin housing market? Whether you’re buying, selling, or renting, February’s data reveals key trends to know.

A new Unlock MLS report shows home prices are cooling while rental costs are lowering slightly. The report compares data from February 2024 to February 2025, covering single-family homes, condos, and townhomes.

Take a look at the numbers shaping Austin’s real estate landscape."

Sales

• The median sales price dropped to $430,000 — a 3.9% decrease.
• Active listings jumped 16.7% to 10,235.
• 3,826 new listings hit the market — a 6.5% spike.
• The total sales dollar volume fell 4.9% to $1.05 billion.

Leases

• The median rent dipped 2.4% to $2,195.
• Active leases rose 3.5% to 3,899,…

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"Austin metro tops 2.5M residents"

Austin Business Journal shares, "The Austin metro gained an average of about 159 people a day from 2023 to 2024. While that may sound like a lot, it's down slightly from a growth rate of 171 a day during the previous 12-month period.

According to new figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, the metro's population climbed by about 2.3% from July 2023 to July 2024, an addition of 58,019 people that brings its total to 2.55 million — the first time it has topped the 2.5 million mark. That factors in everything including people who move here, babies born here and deaths.

At 2.3% growth, that's a slight decline from the 2.6% clocked in the previous 12-month period, when the metro — which consists of Travis, Williamson, Bastrop, Hays and Caldwell counties…

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"Home sales launch in massive Flora neighborhood in Hutto"

Austin Business Journal writes, "A sprawling master-planned community in Hutto is coming along as another homebuilder opens up sales within it.

Nevada-based Tri Pointe Homes, one of the busiest volume homebuilders in the metro, now has homes ready to purchase in the master-planned community, said Bryan Havel, Tri Pointe’s Austin division president. Work on Flora, an 835-acre project in Hutto developed by Precedent Land Company, began in March 2024.

Other homebuilders involved in the first phase of Flora, which Havel said is being built on about 50 acres, include Brightland Homes, Meritage Homes, Empire Communities, Perry Homes, Highland Homes and Westin Homes, according to Flora’s website. Of those, Westin is the only homebuilder not marketing…

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"A solution to housing affordability in Austin?"

Austin Business Journal writes, "Build-to-rent neighborhoods cropping up all around Austin could be one solution to the metro’s crisis-level shortage of affordable housing, some experts contend.

Developers like Arizona-based NexMetro Communities and Empire Group of Cos. have build-to-rent projects set to open here soon. The neighborhoods — which consist entirely of single-family homes built for rental use — are largely in the suburbs, such as Empire Group's projects in Hutto and NexMetro's projects in Liberty Hill and Georgetown.

Empire Group partner Randy Grudzinski said the model is intended to address affordability by offering something between renting an apartment and owning a home.

Build-to-rent homes "allow people to have an interim…

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"Habitat for Humanity's Carter Work Project targets Whisper Valley for affordable homes"

Austin Business Journal shares, "In its latest effort to help address Austin's affordability crisis, Habitat for Humanity plans to build more than two dozen homes in East Austin’s Whisper Valley community and make them available at below-market prices, with hundreds more planned throughout the metro over the next several years.

The nonprofit is doing so in Whisper Valley through its 2025 Carter Work Project, an annual event that started in 1984 when President Jimmy Carter volunteered with Habitat to build and renovate homes. In Austin, the project will see 25 homes built in a single week this year, with prices starting around $150,000.

“When we think about the Carter project, it’s really about not just a local story, but a national and…

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"New monthly data shows closed leases are up, median rents down across Austin metro"

Community Impact Austin writes, "Leasers in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos Metropolitan Statistical Area now have access to some additional insight into the MSA's residential rental market.

Austin Board of Realtors officials announced Feb. 13 that it would begin tracking leasing data across the MSA through Unlock MLS’ monthly Central Texas Housing Report, which already includes home sales data.

Explained

Unlock MLS houses ABoR's Multiple Listing Service, or the platform that Realtors use to share information about homes on the market.

The expansion to include leases gives a more transparent and robust picture of the region’s real estate market, said Brandy Wuensch, 2025 Unlock MLS and ABoR president, in a news release.

“With the increased leasing…

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"What are Austin’s cheapest neighborhoods for renters?"

KXAN Austin writes, "After Real estate experts reported in December Austin had the largest rent decrease between 2023 and 2024 of the country’s largest metros, new insight from Rent.com data is revealing which capital city neighborhoods are cheapest for renters.

Rent.com pulled average rental data and annual change data for Austin from February 2025 figures, with all neighborhoods included listed on the apartment search engine’s rental market trends dashboard.

Rent.com’s analysis revealed the average rental prices in Austin included $1,261 for a studio (up 14% year over year), $1,387 for a one-bedroom apartment (down 4% year over year) and $1,713 for a two-bedroom unit (down 3% from this time in 2024).

Looking at the proportions of rental units…

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