# Austin Housing Market Report: May 2024, HOME Phase 2 and the 1,800-Square-Foot Lot

> The Austin metro median sale price was $461,292 in May 2024, -1.8% year over year, with homes selling in 46 days and 4 months of supply. HOME Phase 2 and the 1,800-Square-Foot Lot, what the numbers mean if you are buying or selling in Austin.

Mike Vilece · June 15, 2024
Canonical page: https://theaustinlocalgroup.com/blog/austin-housing-market-may-2024/

The Austin metro median sat **18.4% below** its April 2022 peak in May 2024, at $461,292. The 30-year fixed averaged 7.06% that month. Active inventory stood at 11,606 listings, up 24.1% year over year. That made it a roughly balanced market.

## Austin market statistics, May 2024

| Metric | May 2024 |
| --- | --- |
| Median sale price | $461,292 (-1.8% YoY) |
| Median price per sq ft | $229 (-0.7% YoY) |
| Homes sold | 2,879 (-6.4% YoY) |
| New listings | 4,321 |
| Active inventory | 11,606 (+24.1% YoY) |
| Months of supply | 4 |
| Median days on market | 46 |
| Sale-to-list ratio | 97.9% |
| Sold above asking | 17.1% |
| Listings with a price cut | 36.7% |
| 30-year fixed rate (avg) | 7.06% |

## HOME Phase 2 and the 1,800-Square-Foot Lot

Council passed HOME Phase 2 on May 16, cutting the minimum single-family lot size from 5,750 square feet to 1,800. Combined with Phase 1, this is the largest change to Austin's residential zoning since the 1984 code. It does not build anything by itself. It removes the rule that made building impossible.

## What changed since April 2024

The median fell $8,586 from April 2024, a 1.8% move. Time on market shortened by 3 days, to 46. Active inventory grew by 913 listings, to 11,606. The share of homes selling over asking gave up 0.6 points, to 17.1%.

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

| | May 2024 | April 2024 | May 2023 | Since Oct 2016 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Median sale price | $461,292 | $469,878 | $470,000 | range $255,626–$565,000 |
| Median days on market | 46 | 49 | 49 | range 16–85 |
| Active inventory | 11,606 | 10,693 | 9,356 | highest since Oct 2016 |
| Months of supply | 4 | 4 | 3 | range 0.9–5.4 |
| Sold above asking | 17% | 18% | 18% | range 9%–75% |
| 30-year fixed rate | 7.06% | 6.99% | 6.42% | 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 May 2024 falls against every month that came before it.

## If you are buying in Austin right now

4 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 97.9% of asking, so roughly 2.1% under list was the normal outcome, not an insulting one.

**The payment math.** At $461,292 with 20% down at 7.06%, principal and interest runs about **$2,470 a month**. Add roughly $769 for property taxes and $308 for insurance and you are near **$3,546 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:** 46 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

**Westlake (78746).** Rollingwood, Lost Creek, Rob Roy. Known for eanes ISD, Hill Country views, luxury. It fits families prioritizing schools, and runs $800K to $5M+.

The metro numbers above are an average of a very unequal city, Westlake 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/westlake/](/neighborhoods/westlake/), including what is wrong with it.

## On in Austin, May 2024

| When | What | Why it matters to a listing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| May 4–5 | **Pecan Street Festival (Spring)**, Sixth Street Historic District | Sixth Street closes to traffic for the weekend. Downtown and the eastern edge of 78701 are slow; everywhere else is unaffected. |

## What is coming next

The NAR practice changes take effect August 17. If you are buying after that date, you will sign a buyer representation agreement before your first showing.

## Common questions

### What is the average home price in Austin?

The median single-family sale across the Austin metro in May 2024 was $461,292. Median is the more useful number than average here. A handful of Westlake and Tarrytown sales pull an average upward in a way that tells you nothing about what you will pay. Note also that the metro figure covers Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell counties; the City of Austin proper runs meaningfully higher, and the suburbs meaningfully lower.

### Is Austin a buyer's market or a seller's market?

In May 2024, a roughly balanced market, 4 months of supply, with 17% 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, -1.8% year over year as of May 2024. Against the April 2022 peak of $565,000, the metro median is 18.4% lower. Which number matters to you depends on when you bought.

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*Part of a retrospective series on the Austin market, one post per month since 2016, compiled from the historical record. This edition covers May 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](/#contact).*

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