The Austin metro median sat 27.1% below its April 2022 peak in August 2026, at $412,000. Active inventory stood at 13,676 listings, down 6.5% year over year. The 30-year fixed averaged 6.67% that month. That made it a buyer's market.
Austin market statistics, August 2026
| Metric | August 2026 |
|---|---|
| Median sale price | $412,000 (-6.4% YoY) |
| Homes sold | 2,501 (-7.3% YoY) |
| New listings | 3,579 |
| Active inventory | 13,676 (-6.5% YoY) |
| Months of supply | 5.1 |
| Median days on market | 66 |
| Sale-to-list ratio | 93.2% |
| 30-year fixed rate (avg) | 6.67% |
Rates Up and Prices Down
The metro median came in at $412,000, down 6.4% from August 2025, the first year-over-year decline since April after three straight months of small gains. Closed sales fell 7.3% to 2,501 and new listings fell 7.0% to 3,579, so both sides of the market pulled back in the same month. The one number moving the other way was pending sales, up 1.5% to 2,623. Vaike O’Grady, the market research advisor at Unlock MLS, put it plainly in the September 15 report: Austin is not immune to what is happening across the rest of the country, and the August data reflects the same affordability and interest rate pressures showing up nationwide. The 30-year fixed averaged 6.67% for the month, the highest monthly average since July 2025.
What changed since July 2026
The median fell $23,000 from July 2026, a 5.3% move. Time on market lengthened by 3 days, to 66. Active inventory shrank by 120 listings, to 13,676.
One month is noise. The reason to read it anyway is that direction shows up in inventory and days on market well before it shows up in price, so the months where those two disagree with the headline number are the interesting ones.
Where this month sits in the cycle
| August 2026 | July 2026 | August 2025 | Since Oct 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | $412,000 | $435,000 | $450,000 | range $255,626–$565,000 |
| Median days on market | 66 | 63 | 78 | range 16–108 |
| Active inventory | 13,676 | 13,796 | 13,427 | range 2,660–14,647 |
| Months of supply | 5.1 | 4.7 | 5.5 | range 0.9–6.5 |
| 30-year fixed rate | 6.67% | 6.54% | 6.59% | range 2.68%–7.62% |
The right-hand column is the range this series has covered since October 2016. No forecast in it, just where August 2026 falls against every month that came before it.
If you are buying in Austin right now
At 5.1 months of supply this is a buyer's market, and 66 median days on market is the negotiating position. A listing that is ninety days old belongs to a seller whose plan is not working. That is worth more than any clever offer strategy.
The average home sold for 93.2% of asking, so roughly 6.8% under list was the normal outcome, not an insulting one.
The payment math. At $412,000 with 20% down at 6.67%, principal and interest runs about $2,120 a month. Add roughly $687 for property taxes and $275 for insurance and you are near $3,082 a month all in. Texas has no state income tax and this is where the state collects instead, budget the tax line from day one, not as an afterthought.
If you are selling: with 13,676 active listings and 66 median days on market, you are competing against a lot of houses and a patient buyer. Price ahead of the market rather than chasing it down, and consider funding a rate buydown, at these rates it moves a buyer's monthly payment more than an equivalent price cut does.
Neighborhood in focus
Deep South Austin (78745). Cherry Creek, Garrison Park, Manchaca, West Congress. Known for value, access, first-time buyers. It fits first-time buyers and young families.
The metro numbers above are an average of a very unequal city, Deep South Austin does not move in lockstep with Kyle or Leander, and the gap between ZIPs widens in exactly the months the metro looks calm. There is a longer, more honest write-up at /neighborhoods/deep-south-austin/, including what is wrong with it.
What is coming next
Rates kept climbing into September, 6.76% in the Freddie Mac survey the week of the 10th, so the September numbers will be priced off money that costs more, not less. ACL Fest takes over Zilker the first two weekends of October, the Formula 1 weekend follows on the 22nd through the 25th, and Travis County property tax bills start arriving in October. A seller listing now is competing with 13,676 active listings and a buyer pool that is watching rates as closely as prices.
Common questions
Is it a good time to buy a house in Austin?
For a buyer with a five-year-plus horizon, this is the better half of the cycle. 66 days on market and 5.1 months of supply means you can inspect, negotiate, and walk. The people who bought in Austin's soft stretches did better than the people who bought in its frenzies, and they had a much less unpleasant time doing it.
How much are property taxes in Austin?
Combined city, county, school district and community college rates in the Austin area generally land between about 1.8% and 2.5% of assessed value, and higher inside a Municipal Utility District, where 3%+ is possible. There is no state income tax in Texas, and property tax is the trade. Two things every buyer should do: file a homestead exemption by April 30 of the year after you close, which caps annual taxable value increases at 10%, and check whether your target address sits in a MUD or PID before you finalize your budget.
Is the Austin housing market going to crash?
It already corrected. The metro median is 27.1% below the April 2022 peak, which is a larger drawdown than most US metros saw in this cycle, because Austin's run-up was larger. What is not present is the 2008 setup: lending standards are tight, most owners hold fixed-rate mortgages well below current rates, and Central Texas is still adding jobs and people. A slow market and a crashing one look different, and this is the first one.
Part of a retrospective series on the Austin market, one post per month since 2016, compiled from the historical record. This edition covers August 2026; every figure is as reported for that month, and nothing in it looks past it.
Source: Unlock MLS (ACTRIS) via the Austin Board of REALTORS® monthly market report, all property types, Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA. Note that most posts in this series use a single-family series from the Redfin Data Center; the basis differs, so month-to-month comparisons against earlier posts are not apples to apples. Mortgage rates are the monthly average of the Freddie Mac 30-year fixed survey. Payment and tax figures are estimates for illustration and are not a quote. Median sale price is not a guarantee of value for any specific property.
Written by Mike Vilece, a licensed Texas real estate agent with Compass in Austin. If you want the version of this that applies to your street and your budget, ask me directly.