Austin housing market posts strongest sales month of 2025

The housing market in Central Texas scored the strongest sales growth of the year in September with home sales up, prices slightly down and growing inventory all pointing to a market gradually shifting toward favoring buyers.

Once again, the city of Austin stood out from the rest of the metro area with sales that jumped nearly 17%.

The city’s pace eclipsed that across the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area, which saw sales increase a healthy 6.7% from September 2024 to 2,416, according to a new report from Unlock MLS. The median sales price slipped 1.8% to $420,000. 

“What we’re seeing in the market now is a healthy level of stability,” said Vaike O’Grady, a research advisor at Unlock MLS. “Homes may be taking a bit longer to sell, but they’re still selling, and buyers are meeting sellers where they are. This consistency shows that the market is functioning as it should — steady, sustainable and well-positioned heading into the end of the year.”

Months of inventory — the time it would take to sell all homes on the market at the current pace — increased to 5.7 months in September  from 5.1 months in August, edging closer to the six-month mark that signals a market balanced between buyers and sellers. Pending sales increased 0.3% and the number of active listings grew 10% to 13,665, giving buyers more choices. 

LAST MONTH: Austin bucks regional home sales slowdown in August as market shifts toward buyers

Austin continued to lead the regional housing market in both sales growth and inventory levels, though. The number of sales in the city jumped 16.6%, surpassing Travis County’s 9.5% rise and the more modest gains in surrounding counties. Pending sales rose 7.7%. As sales increased, the median price of homes sold declined 6% to $550,000, a larger decline than the metro-wide 1.8% drop. Total sales volume in Austin increased 14% to $610 million.

Travis County saw a 9.5% increase in closed sales with the median price down 3.6% to $485,000, while active listings rose 8.1%, pending sales grew 6.4%, and inventory edged up to 6.1 months.

Other area counties had varied results. Williamson County experienced a 5.9% rise in closed sales with active listings up 18.8% and the median price down 2.8% to $406,700. Pending sales declined 4.3%, and inventory increased to 5.5 months. Hays County recorded a 3.7% increase in closed sales to 392 homes, while new listings fell 15.6%. The median price decreased 2.6% to $360,000, and inventory stood at 4.6 months.

Bastrop County was an exception, with closed sales dropping 15.3%, but total sales volume rising 25.7% to nearly $49 million. Active listings increased 13.6%, and pending sales rose 11.8%. Caldwell County also split from regional trends, with closed sales falling 31.4% to just 35 homes, but the median sales price rising 7.2% to $303,790. Active listings rose 13.5%, while pending sales were up 1.8%. Months of inventory increased to 5.2.

The rental market across Central Texas slowed, with closed leases region-wide falling 6.9% to 1,951 in September. New lease listings increased 9.3%, while total dollar volume of leases decreased 3.4%. Median rent stayed flat at $2,200. In Austin, closed leases declined 12.5% to 949, but median rent increased 6.2% to $2,495, with rental inventory at 2.7 months.

Recent reports have shown a slow but steady shift toward a buyer’s market in Central Texas, with rising inventory and more balanced prices giving buyers more leverage after several years of rapid price growth. The latest data suggests the market is continuing to settle into a more sustainable pace.

“As we wrap up the third quarter, the market is mirroring typical seasonality trends, pointing to a sign of continued adjustment and balance. Buyer enthusiasm has picked up slightly as we saw the first interest rate cut in nine months, and steady pricing from sellers continues to support that confidence,” O’Grady said in a statement.