# Austin Housing Market Report: May 2025, The Homestead Exemption Goes to $140K

> The Austin metro median sale price was $455,000 in May 2025, -1.4% year over year, with homes selling in 55 days and 5.1 months of supply. The Homestead Exemption Goes to $140K, what the numbers mean if you are buying or selling in Austin.

Mike Vilece · June 15, 2025
Canonical page: https://theaustinlocalgroup.com/blog/austin-housing-market-may-2025/

The Austin metro median sat **19.5% below** its April 2022 peak in May 2025, at $455,000. The 30-year fixed averaged 6.82% that month. Active inventory stood at 14,138 listings, up 21.8% year over year. That made it a buyer's market.

## Austin market statistics, May 2025

| Metric | May 2025 |
| --- | --- |
| Median sale price | $455,000 (-1.4% YoY) |
| Median price per sq ft | $219 (-4.6% YoY) |
| Homes sold | 2,764 (-4.0% YoY) |
| New listings | 4,608 |
| Active inventory | 14,138 (+21.8% YoY) |
| Months of supply | 5.1 |
| Median days on market | 55 |
| Sale-to-list ratio | 97.8% |
| Sold above asking | 15.4% |
| Listings with a price cut | 37.3% |
| 30-year fixed rate (avg) | 6.82% |

## The Homestead Exemption Goes to $140K

Inventory peaked at 14,138. The highest reading in this ten-year series. The Legislature passed bills raising the school homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000, and to $200,000 for homeowners 65 and older, subject to voter approval in November.

## What changed since April 2025

The median rose $5,000 from April 2025, a 1.1% move. Time on market held flat, to 55. Active inventory grew by 1,212 listings, to 14,138. The share of homes selling over asking gave up 0.7 points, to 15.4%.

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 2025 | April 2025 | May 2024 | Since Oct 2016 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Median sale price | $455,000 | $450,000 | $461,292 | range $255,626–$565,000 |
| Median days on market | 55 | 55 | 46 | range 16–99 |
| Active inventory | 14,138 | 12,926 | 11,606 | highest since Oct 2016 |
| Months of supply | 5.1 | 5.5 | 4 | range 0.9–5.6 |
| Sold above asking | 15% | 16% | 17% | range 9%–75% |
| 30-year fixed rate | 6.82% | 6.72% | 7.06% | 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 2025 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 55 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 97.8% of asking, so roughly 2.2% under list was the normal outcome, not an insulting one.

**The payment math.** At $455,000 with 20% down at 6.82%, principal and interest runs about **$2,378 a month**. Add roughly $758 for property taxes and $303 for insurance and you are near **$3,440 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 14,138 active listings and 55 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/](/neighborhoods/northwest-hills/), including what is wrong with it.

## On in Austin, May 2025

| When | What | Why it matters to a listing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| May 3–4 | **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

Proposition 13 on the November 4 statewide ballot. Summer, with 14,000 listings and no urgency anywhere in the market.

## 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. 55 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 19.5% 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.

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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 2025; 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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