The Austin metro median sat 26.5% below its April 2022 peak in February 2026, at $415,000. The share selling above asking was 11%. Homes took a median of 107 days to sell. That made it a buyer's market.
Austin market statistics, February 2026
| Metric | February 2026 |
|---|---|
| Median sale price | $415,000 (-4.7% YoY) |
| Median price per sq ft | $199 (-7.3% YoY) |
| Homes sold | 1,904 (+7.5% YoY) |
| New listings | 3,271 |
| Active inventory | 10,658 (+8.1% YoY) |
| Months of supply | 5.6 |
| Median days on market | 107 |
| Sale-to-list ratio | 97.2% |
| Sold above asking | 11.1% |
| Listings with a price cut | 29.1% |
| 30-year fixed rate (avg) | 6.05% |
What a Tightening Market Looks Like Before Prices Move
Days on market was still 107, but inventory at 10,658 was down from 9,856 a year earlier by less than it had been. The year-over-year supply gap was closing. Supply turns before days on market, which turns before price. We were at step one.
What changed since January 2026
The median rose $1,550 from January 2026, a 0.4% move. Time on market shortened by 1 days, to 107. Active inventory grew by 635 listings, to 10,658. The share of homes selling over asking gained 1.8 points, to 11.1%.
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 2026 | January 2026 | February 2025 | Since Oct 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | $415,000 | $413,450 | $435,234 | range $255,626–$565,000 |
| Median days on market | 107 | 108 | 99 | range 16–108 |
| Active inventory | 10,658 | 10,023 | 9,856 | range 2,660–14,231 |
| Months of supply | 5.6 | 6.5 | 5.6 | range 0.9–6.5 |
| Sold above asking | 11% | 9% | 13% | range 9%–75% |
| 30-year fixed rate | 6.05% | 6.1% | 6.84% | 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 2026 falls against every month that came before it.
If you are buying in Austin right now
At 5.6 months of supply this is a buyer's market, and 107 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 97.2% of asking, so roughly 2.8% under list was the normal outcome, not an insulting one.
The payment math. At $415,000 with 20% down at 6.05%, principal and interest runs about $2,001 a month. Add roughly $692 for property taxes and $277 for insurance and you are near $2,970 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 10,658 active listings and 107 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
Northwest Hills (78731). Highland Park, Mesa Park. Known for quiet, large lots, family neighborhoods. It fits families who want space and a central location.
The metro numbers above are an average of a very unequal city, Northwest Hills 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/northwest-hills/, including what is wrong with it.
On in Austin, February 2026
| When | What | Why it matters to a listing |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 15 | Austin Marathon, Downtown / central | Road closures across downtown and central Austin from early morning. A bad Sunday for a central open house. |
What is coming next
SXSW in March. The spring listing wave and the April 30 homestead exemption deadline.
Common questions
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?
Down 4.7% year over year as of February 2026. Against the April 2022 peak of $565,000, the metro median is 26.5% 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 2026; 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.