Luxe Austin Homes - housing

"The Tech Hub Emerging as America’s Most Affordable Market for Renters"

Realtor.com reports, "while aspiring homeowners are facing economic headwinds, rents are becoming increasingly affordable nationwide, with Western and Southern metros leading the way. However, one metro stands out from the rest.

In September, Austin, TX, the COVID-19 pandemic-era boomtown and technology hub, overtook Oklahoma City, OK, as the nation's most affordable rental market.

A family earning a typical household income looking to rent in Austin would spend just 16.5% of their monthly paycheck on housing, down 2.8 percentage points from a year ago, according to the September monthly rent report from Realtor.com®.

"Austin's rising housing affordability is primarily driven by declining rents," says Realtor.com economist Jiayi Xu. "The…

2 Views, 0 Comments

"Fed rate cut could boost Austin housing market"

Austin Business Journal shares, "The Federal Reserve has lowered rates by a quarter point, a welcome sign for homebuyers.

The federal funds rate is now 4% to 4.25%, according to a Sept. 17 announcement, marking the Fed's first rate cut since December. The cut comes as economic indicators point to the growth of economic activity moderating in the first half of the year, job gains slowing and the national unemployment rate increasing to 4.3%, according to the announcement.

Lowering the rate could have an impact on housing affordability in the Austin metro, where the median price of a home was $444,490 in August, 1.3% more than the year prior.

“Even a small rate shift can improve affordability and prompt more buyers to re-enter the market, a…

97 Views, 0 Comments

"Austin is becoming a buyer's market, new real estate reports say"

CultureMap Austin shares, "the latest Central Texas Housing Report from Unlock MLS and the Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR) has indicated Austin's real estate activity in August is portraying a "more balanced" housing market with an increase in active listings, stable prices, and a rise in pending sales. And two national marketplaces, Zillow and Realtor.com, have already recently declared Austin is now a buyer's market.

The local housing report analyzed August data across the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metropolitan statistical area (MSA), the city of Austin, and the five Central Texas counties: Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop, and Caldwell.

Across the Austin metro, median home prices in August rose just 1.3 percent year-over-year to $444,490,…

644 Views, 0 Comments

"Austin has the 7th best housing market among large U.S. cities in 2025"

CultureMap Austin writes, "As if people needed more reasons to move to Austin: The Texas capital ranked No. 7 on WalletHub's just-released list of the best large real estate markets in 2025.

In a separate WalletHub list of 300 U.S. housing markets of various sizes, Austin ranked 18th. For this list, the personal finance website examined 300 U.S. cities based on 17 metrics including each city's real estate market, housing affordability, and economic environment.

The "large market" rankings included 68 U.S. cities with populations greater than 300,000 residents.

Last year, Austin was the 12th best real estate market in America overall, and it was the third-best out of all large U.S. cities.

This is how WalletHub broke down Austin's 2025…

1186 Views, 0 Comments

"Homebuyers are gaining leverage — but the minimum income to buy is surging"

Austin Business Journal writes, "Americans now need to earn $114,000 per year to afford a median priced home.

That's an increase of 70.1% above the $67,000 required to afford that same mid-range home in 2019, according to data from Realtor.com. It's an increase driven by sky-high appreciation, persistent supply constraints and stubbornly high interest rates, among other factors — and the dynamic continues to weigh heavily on the housing market, even as buyers gain leverage.

The data looked at median home prices each April for the past six years.

“Even with today’s affordability hurdles, meaningful changes in the market could give buyers a better shot at finding a home,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. “The number of homes…

49 Views, 0 Comments

"Analysis quantifies impact on rents when apartment supply increases"

Austin Business Journal shares, "Apartment rents typically drop when new units are added to a market's housing supply, but a new analysis quantifies by how much.

The study by the Pew Charitable Trusts on rent changes in major U.S. cities from 2017 to 2024 determined that for every 10% increase in a ZIP code’s housing supply, rent growth was 1.4% less compared to a ZIP code that had no additional housing supply. The Pew analysis also found that a 10% increase in a market's housing supply correlated to rents growing 5% less from 2017 to 2024.

In Austin, which has undergone an apartment building boom in recent years, the biggest rent declines were for older and lower-quality units, the study found.

Alex Horowitz, project director of housing…

232 Views, 0 Comments

"Where are new homes planned in the Austin metro?"

Austin Business Journal shares, "Some Austin suburbs promise new homes aplenty.

The Austin Business Journal reached out to the city of Austin and its 19 biggest suburbs to survey them on how many single-family homes they report in their development pipelines. Cities measure that differently, and the number includes counts at various stages of entitlement and construction. It's an imperfect science, but it helps gauge how cities are preparing for what's to come in their backyards.

Cities like Kyle (nearly 44,000 homes) and Georgetown (nearly 32,000) have robust pipelines. Taylor (about 8,500) and Buda (about 6,600) are next in line. Meanwhile, Cedar Park is nearing capacity and only reported 200.

Among the highest is Lockhart. The city grew…

121 Views, 0 Comments

"Home sales in the Austin metro could heat up this fall"

Austin Business Journal shares, "While home sales in the Austin metro continued to slow in July, pending sales ticked up — potentially suggesting stronger sales activity heading into the fall.

That’s according to the latest market data from Unlock MLS, which found that the metro recorded 2,492 home sales last month, down from 2,823 in June and from about 2,700 home sales in July 2024. On the flip side, pending sales clocked in at 2,829 last month, up from 2,706 in June and about 2,440 in July 2024.

As sales have slowed, home prices have dropped. The median sales price in the metro fell from $449,000 in June to $435,000 in July.

“It’s typical for the summer market to slow as people focus on travel and leisure; we often see activity pick back…

106 Views, 0 Comments

"Why now’s the time to buy in East Austin's Whisper Valley"

CultureMap Austin writes, "If you've been dreaming of homeownership in Austin but assumed it was out of reach, it’s time to think again, especially during the Summer Sales Spectacular at Whisper Valley.

Running now through September 15, this sustainable master-planned community in East Austin is offering some of the most exciting deals in Central Texas real estate.

Big savings, big incentives
Whisper Valley is currently offering completed, zero energy capable homes at some of the lowest prices ever: from the low $300s to the $500s.

In addition to these competitive prices, builders are helping homebuyers with interest rate buydowns to make monthly payments more affordable, plus offering up to $30,000 in incentives to help cover closing costs.

141 Views, 0 Comments

"Austin's affordable housing efforts could be thrown off by new Texas law"

Austin Business Journal reports, "A new state law set to take effect in the fall could throw a wrench in Austin’s plans to incentivize more affordable housing. 

That’s according to the director of Austin's planning department, Lauren Middleton-Pratt, who wrote in a July 28 memo to city leaders — as the city is updating its density bonus programs — that a new state law will require the city to re-evaluate how it incentivizes new income-restricted housing units. 

The new state law is Senate Bill 840, which was passed during the 89th Texas Legislature and allows for mixed-use residential housing on any land that’s zoned for office, commercial, retail, warehouse or existing mixed-uses without needing a zoning change approved by a city. The legislation,…

515 Views, 0 Comments