# Austin Housing Market Report: October 2024, 77 Days on Market and Nobody Using It

> The Austin metro median sale price was $435,000 in October 2024, -3.3% year over year, with homes selling in 77 days and 4.7 months of supply. 77 Days on Market and Nobody Using It, what the numbers mean if you are buying or selling in Austin.

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

In October 2024, **11% of Austin-area homes sold for more than the asking price**. Active inventory stood at 10,928 listings, up 15.3% year over year. The 30-year fixed averaged 6.43% that month. The median sat 23.0% below the April 2022 peak of $565,000. That made it a buyer's market.

## Austin market statistics, October 2024

| Metric | October 2024 |
| --- | --- |
| Median sale price | $435,000 (-3.3% YoY) |
| Median price per sq ft | $216 (-2.5% YoY) |
| Homes sold | 2,302 (+8.1% YoY) |
| New listings | 2,671 |
| Active inventory | 10,928 (+15.3% YoY) |
| Months of supply | 4.7 |
| Median days on market | 77 |
| Sale-to-list ratio | 97.1% |
| Sold above asking | 10.7% |
| Listings with a price cut | 33.3% |
| 30-year fixed rate (avg) | 6.43% |

## 77 Days on Market and Nobody Using It

Days on market hit 77 and rates climbed back to 6.7% despite the Fed cut. The above-list share was 10.7%. What that combination gives a buyer: time to inspect, room to ask for repairs, and a real chance at seller-paid closing costs. Almost nobody was using it, because the headlines said rates were high.

## What changed since September 2024

The median fell $900 from September 2024, a 0.2% move. Time on market lengthened by 2 days, to 77. Active inventory shrank by 406 listings, to 10,928. The share of homes selling over asking gave up 0.5 points, to 10.7%.

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

| | October 2024 | September 2024 | October 2023 | Since Oct 2016 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Median sale price | $435,000 | $435,900 | $449,665 | range $255,626–$565,000 |
| Median days on market | 77 | 75 | 63 | range 16–85 |
| Active inventory | 10,928 | 11,334 | 9,475 | range 2,660–12,066 |
| Months of supply | 4.7 | 5.5 | 4.5 | range 0.9–5.5 |
| Sold above asking | 11% | 11% | 13% | range 9%–75% |
| 30-year fixed rate | 6.43% | 6.18% | 7.62% | 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 October 2024 falls against every month that came before it.

## If you are buying in Austin right now

At 4.7 months of supply this is a buyer's market, and 77 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 97.1% of asking, so roughly 2.9% under list was the normal outcome, not an insulting one.

**The payment math.** At $435,000 with 20% down at 6.43%, principal and interest runs about **$2,184 a month**. Add roughly $725 for property taxes and $290 for insurance and you are near **$3,199 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 10,928 active listings and 77 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

**Downtown Austin (78701).** Rainey Street, 6th Street, Congress Ave. Known for high-rise condos, walkable nightlife. It fits professionals who want urban living without a commute, and runs $350K condos to $1M+ penthouses.

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

## On in Austin, October 2024

| When | What | Why it matters to a listing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 4–13 | **ACL Music Festival**, Zilker Park | Two weekends. Zilker, Barton Hills and 78704 are closed to normal traffic both of them, and rental demand spikes citywide. |
| Oct 20 | **Formula 1 United States Grand Prix**, Circuit of the Americas, southeast | Race weekend. Southeast Travis County and SH-130 congest from Friday, and downtown hotel rates hit their annual high. |
| Late October | **Austin Film Festival**, Downtown theatres and hotels | Eight days across downtown venues. Hotel demand overlaps the Grand Prix weekend most years, which is when downtown rates peak. |
| Home Saturdays | **Texas Longhorns home games**, Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium | I-35 through central, campus parking and everything within a mile of the stadium stop working by late morning on a home Saturday. A wasted afternoon for an open house in 78705, 78751 or downtown. |

## What is coming next

The November 5 election. The 89th Legislature convenes in January.

## Common questions

### Do I need a buyer's agent in Austin, and who pays for one?

Since the NAR practice changes took effect in August 2024, you sign a written buyer representation agreement, specifying what your agent is paid and by whom, before touring a home. Compensation offers no longer appear in the MLS. Sellers can and frequently still do contribute to the buyer's agent fee; it is negotiated in the purchase contract now rather than advertised in the listing. The fee is negotiable and always was.

### I am moving to Austin from California. What actually surprises people?

Four things, in order of how much money they cost. Property taxes, which run roughly 1.8-2.5% and have no Proposition 13-style cap beyond the 10% homestead limit. Homeowners insurance, which is among the highest in the country because of hail. Summer utility bills in an underinsulated house. And foundations: much of the region sits on expansive clay that moves with drought and rain, so watering your foundation is a real practice here and a structural engineer's report is money well spent on any older slab home.

### How much do I need to earn to buy a median-priced Austin home?

At $435,000 with 20% down at 6.43%, the all-in monthly payment is roughly $3,199 including estimated taxes and insurance. At a 30% housing-to-income ratio that implies household income around **$128,000**. Lenders will approve you well above that; whether you should go there is a different question. Property taxes are estimated at 2.0% of value, verify the actual rate for the specific address, because a MUD can push it past 3%.

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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 October 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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