Austin Real Estate Market – Frequently Asked Questions
What is the current state of the Austin housing market in May 2025?
As of May 21, 2025, the Austin housing market continues to reflect a supply-heavy environment, with active residential listings reaching 16,948—just 129 units below the all-time high of 17,077 recorded two days prior. Year-to-date, new listings have climbed to 23,087, which is 25.8% above the long-term historical average and slightly up 0.2% from the same time last year. In contrast, buyer activity remains muted: pending listings year-to-date stand at 5,027, a 1.5% decline from 2024 and a 14.0% shortfall compared to the average for this period. The Activity Index has declined to 22.9%, down from 26.6% a year ago, underscoring weakening absorption. Key market ratios—such as the 0.54 monthly New Listing to Pending Ratio—confirm that new inventory is outpacing contract volume, increasing time on market and placing buyers in a stronger negotiating position. These trends collectively reflect a market still in correction, marked by growing leverage for buyers and elevated inventory levels across the region.
How much housing inventory is available in the City of Austin right now?
The City of Austin currently has 5,355 active residential listings, maintaining historically elevated levels. The Months of Inventory (MOI) has risen to 5.99, up 37.6% from 4.36 in January 2025 and up significantly from the 4.91 figure reported in May 2024. While the 7.0-month mark is generally viewed as a clear threshold for a buyer’s market, Austin is rapidly approaching that level, with many neighborhoods already reflecting buyer-favorable conditions. Importantly, real estate remains deeply local. According to the new Months of Inventory Table in the May 21 report (Page 18), some submarkets show extreme variation. For example, Marble Falls has experienced a 120.7% increase in inventory year to date, while Hutto has seen a dramatic -29.9% drop over the same period. This range highlights the importance of granular market analysis. Outlying areas like Dale, Spicewood, and Lago Vista are holding steady at 11.00 months of inventory, indicating severe oversupply, while a few markets are showing signs of tightening. These divergent trends suggest that pricing strategy and timing must be tailored by location and not by region-wide assumptions.
What does a New Listing to Pending Ratio of 0.54 mean for buyers and sellers?
A New Listing to Pending Ratio of 0.54 means that for every 100 new homes listed, only 54 are going under contract. This is a substantial divergence from the 25-year average of 0.81 and signals that demand is failing to keep up with the pace of new inventory entering the market. For sellers, this reflects increased competition, the likelihood of longer time on market, and the growing necessity of price reductions or incentives to attract offers. Without sharp, strategic pricing—especially in oversupplied areas—properties risk sitting idle. For buyers, this environment provides meaningful advantages: more options, less urgency, and stronger negotiating power. In practical terms, buyers are facing less pressure to act quickly and are in a better position to ask for concessions, repairs, or price adjustments. This ratio is one of the clearest indicators of the buyer-favoring conditions currently shaping the Austin area market.
Is buyer activity increasing or decreasing in the Austin real estate market?
Buyer activity is decreasing and continues to trend downward compared to both last year and long-term averages. The current Activity Index is 22.9%, which represents the proportion of active listings that are pending. This is a 14.0% year-over-year decline from 26.6% in May 2024. Year-to-date pending contracts are down 14.0% from the same period last year and 2.0% below the long-term average. This decrease in contract activity is especially notable given the simultaneous surge in new listings. The resulting supply-demand gap is contributing to higher inventory, reduced price stability, and growing days on market. A combination of affordability concerns, cautious consumer behavior, and rising inventory volumes is causing buyers to wait longer, negotiate harder, or sit on the sidelines. These conditions are creating a slow-moving environment where well-prepared buyers are finding increased leverage, especially in submarkets with excessive inventory.
How are Austin home prices trending in May 2025?
Austin home prices remain in a multi-year correction phase. The median sold price for May 2025 is $460,000, representing a 16.36% decline from the peak of $550,000 reached in May 2022. The average sold price has fallen to $599,087, down 12.15% from the $681,939 peak. While these declines are reflective of the broader correction, the downward trend is evident across all price tiers. The bottom 25th percentile has dropped 4.3% year over year in sale price and 2.7% in price per square foot. The top 25th percentile has also declined, with prices down 2.8% and price per foot down 3.3%. Despite modest gains in the year-to-date average price, driven by isolated higher-end sales, the median tells a more cautionary story—showing that most households are transacting below prior year values. This sustained softening reflects market saturation, buyer resistance to elevated prices, and the impact of rising months of inventory. Projections suggest that if $460,000 marks the trough of the current cycle, it could take until January 2029 for median prices to fully recover to peak levels based on historical appreciation trends.
