2,044 homes changed hands across the Austin metro in February 2024, up 4.4% from the same month a year earlier. The median sat 21.2% below the April 2022 peak of $565,000. The median sale was $445,000, flat against a year earlier at +1.3%. That made it a roughly balanced market.
Austin market statistics, February 2024
| Metric | February 2024 |
|---|---|
| Median sale price | $445,000 (+1.3% YoY) |
| Median price per sq ft | $219 (-0.7% YoY) |
| Homes sold | 2,044 (+4.4% YoY) |
| New listings | 3,229 |
| Active inventory | 8,465 (+8.3% YoY) |
| Months of supply | 4.1 |
| Median days on market | 83 |
| Sale-to-list ratio | 97.5% |
| Sold above asking | 12.7% |
| Listings with a price cut | 27.0% |
| 30-year fixed rate (avg) | 6.78% |
The First Positive Print Since 2022
The median came in up 1.3% year over year. The first positive print since November 2022. Not a recovery, and the level was still 21% below the peak, but the freefall had stopped. Inventory was 8,465 and climbing, which capped how fast anything could move from here.
What changed since January 2024
The median rose $15,000 from January 2024, a 3.5% move. Time on market shortened by 1 days, to 83. Active inventory grew by 570 listings, to 8,465. The share of homes selling over asking gained 3.1 points, to 12.7%.
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
| February 2024 | January 2024 | February 2023 | Since Oct 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | $445,000 | $430,000 | $439,495 | range $255,626–$565,000 |
| Median days on market | 83 | 84 | 85 | range 16–85 |
| Active inventory | 8,465 | 7,895 | 7,818 | range 2,660–10,647 |
| Months of supply | 4.1 | 4.8 | 4 | range 0.9–5.4 |
| Sold above asking | 13% | 10% | 13% | range 9%–75% |
| 30-year fixed rate | 6.78% | 6.64% | 6.26% | 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 February 2024 falls against every month that came before it.
If you are buying in Austin right now
4.1 months of supply is close to balance. You can inspect properly, ask for repairs, and walk away from a house that does not work, three things that were not available to Austin buyers between 2020 and mid-2022.
The average home sold for 97.5% of asking, so roughly 2.5% under list was the normal outcome, not an insulting one.
The payment math. At $445,000 with 20% down at 6.78%, principal and interest runs about $2,316 a month. Add roughly $742 for property taxes and $297 for insurance and you are near $3,354 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: 83 median days on market means your first two weeks decide the outcome. Price to the last ninety days of closed comps, not to what your neighbor listed at and did not sell. Condition and photography are doing more work now than they were two years ago.
Neighborhood in focus
East Austin (78702). Holly, Rosewood. Known for creative, eclectic, strong appreciation. It fits buyers who want character and culture.
The metro numbers above are an average of a very unequal city, East 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/east-austin/, including what is wrong with it.
On in Austin, February 2024
| When | What | Why it matters to a listing |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-February | Austin Marathon, Downtown / central | Road closures across downtown and central Austin from before dawn until early afternoon. The one Sunday of the year not to schedule a central open house. |
What is coming next
A total solar eclipse crosses Austin on April 8. The NAR settlement, expected within weeks.
Common questions
Is Austin a buyer's market or a seller's market?
In February 2024, a roughly balanced market, 4.1 months of supply, with 13% of homes selling above asking. The rough convention: under about 3 months favors sellers, 4 to 6 is balanced, and above 6 favors buyers. Since October 2016 this metro has ranged from 0.9 months in December 2020 to 5.4 in January 2023.
What should I know about flooding before buying in Austin?
Central Texas is Flash Flood Alley: thin soil over limestone, steep terrain, and storms that stall. Austin models its own floodplain, which is often stricter than FEMA's, so a house can sit outside the FEMA 100-year map and inside the city's. Standard homeowners insurance does not cover flood, NFIP policies take 30 days to take effect, and plenty of local flooding happens outside mapped floodplains. Pull both maps and get a flood quote during your option period.
Are Austin home prices going up or down?
Essentially flat, +1.3% year over year as of February 2024. Against the April 2022 peak of $565,000, the metro median is 21.2% lower. Which number matters to you depends on when you bought.
Should I buy in Austin or in the suburbs?
The honest trade: Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, Pflugerville, Georgetown, Kyle and Buda will get you meaningfully more square footage and, in Round Rock ISD, Leander ISD and Lake Travis ISD, schools that rate as well or better than most Austin ISD zones. What you give up is proximity, and in Austin proximity is the scarce good. The drive from Leander to downtown at 8am is not the drive you tested on a Sunday. Check the MUD rate before you compare prices; a suburban house can carry a higher monthly cost than a more expensive central one.
Part of a retrospective series on the Austin market, one post per month since 2016, compiled from the historical record. This edition covers February 2024; every figure is as reported for that month, and nothing in it looks past it.
Source: Redfin Data Center metro market tracker: single-family, Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro, not seasonally adjusted. Mortgage rates are the monthly average of the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey 30-year fixed rate. Payment, tax and insurance 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.