Market Monday: April 13th 2026

Austin Real Estate Market Update: Tax Tips, March Data, and What's New This Week

Whether you're a homeowner, buyer, or thinking about making the move to Austin, this week's market update covers everything you need to know — from critical tax deadlines to fresh market data and the latest neighborhood developments across Central Texas.

🏠 It's Tax Week: Here's What Austin Homeowners Should Know

Owning a home in Austin comes with real financial advantages at tax time, and this week is a good reminder to make sure you're taking full advantage of them.

Your mortgage interest and property taxes may be deductible on your federal return, which can add up to significant savings depending on your loan balance and local tax rate. If you work from home, a portion of your home office expenses may also qualify as a deduction. And if you've made energy-efficient improvements to your home, those upgrades can earn you federal tax credits as well.

Perhaps most importantly for long-term homeowners: when it comes time to sell, you can exclude up to $250,000 in capital gains from your taxable income, or up to $500,000 if you're married filing jointly. In a market like Austin where home values have appreciated significantly over the past decade, that exclusion can mean tens of thousands of dollars in tax savings.

📋 Travis County Property Tax Protest Deadline: May 15

If you own a home in Travis County and haven't looked at your property appraisal recently, now is the time. The deadline to protest your property valuation is May 15, and Texas homeowners have every reason to pay attention — the state ranks 7th highest in the country for property taxes.

Filing a protest is completely free, and the Appraisal Review Board is legally prohibited from raising your property value at a hearing. That means there is almost no downside to filing. If you closed on your home in the past year, you're in an especially strong position, as Texas appraisal law treats your recent sale price as strong evidence of your home's true market value.

Don't want to handle the paperwork yourself? Services like Ownwell will file and argue your case on your behalf on a contingency fee basis, meaning you only pay if you actually save money. Also make sure your homestead exemption is applied — it subtracts $140,000 from your home's total appraised value before your tax rate is calculated and is one of the easiest ways to reduce your annual bill.

📊 Austin March 2026 Market Data: What Buyers and Sellers Need to Know

Austin's March market data tells a clear story: this is a buyer's market, and prepared buyers have real leverage right now.

The median list price in Austin fell to $572,450 in March, down 8.4% year-over-year — more than four times the national price decline of 2.1%. Austin is still well above the U.S. median of $416,000, but the direction of pricing is meaningfully in buyers' favor. More than one in five Austin listings — 20.6% — carried a price reduction in March, compared to just 16.3% nationally.

Homes sat on the market for an average of 47 days in March, up 8% from a year ago. That extra time creates more room for due diligence, inspection negotiations, and requests for seller concessions. Austin's 47-day average is still roughly 10 days faster than the national median of 57 days, which tells us demand hasn't disappeared — it's just become more selective.

The takeaway for buyers: focus on listings that have already been reduced and use longer market times as leverage. The takeaway for sellers: homes priced correctly from day one are still moving. Overpricing is being punished quickly in this environment.

🏘️ Starter Homes Under $250K: Still Possible, But Increasingly Rare

Six Austin-area communities managed to sell new homes under $250,000 in 2025, including D.R. Horton's Prairie Lakes from $233,990 and Waterstone from $214,490. But developers are candid about what made those prices possible: cheap land deals struck years before the current market. Land prices in the Austin metro ended 2025 at $7,911 per acre for larger tracts, up 8.15% year-over-year, and developers starting from scratch today describe hitting a sub-$250,000 price point as nearly impossible without the right land basis.

All six affordable communities were located near outer-ring cities like Jarrell and Kyle, meaning a longer commute is increasingly part of the package for first-time buyers. Amenity trade-offs are common too, with splash pads replacing full pools and carports substituting for two-car garages in order to hit those price points.

🌆 Two Major New Communities Coming to Georgetown

Georgetown continues to be one of the fastest-growing cities in the Austin metro, and two new master-planned communities are about to make it even bigger. Boston-based Freehold Capital Management has submitted plans for Rock Bluff Ranch, a development of up to 2,375 homes, alongside the previously announced Yearwood neighborhood with up to 1,894 homes.

Rock Bluff Ranch is designed around wellness, with lakes, green corridors, parks, and trail connections planned throughout, plus 15 acres set aside for a future Georgetown ISD elementary school and a dedicated 700-home section for active adults. Yearwood will include a mix of standard lots and some duplexes or townhomes to offer a range of price points across both communities.

🌶️ Only in Austin: The Chili's at 45th and Lamar Is Listed for Sale

The lot housing the iconic Chili's at 45th and Lamar has been listed for sale by CBRE, along with the neighboring Starbucks parcel. This particular Chili's has become an unlikely Austin cultural landmark with its own Wikipedia page, an official city day on April 5, 2024, and a Tecovas boot collaboration announced on site. The good news: CBRE says both tenants are performing well and are expected to remain in place for the foreseeable future.

🍹 New Restaurants and Bars Worth Knowing About

Modern Bar opened April 10 inside the new Modern Austin Residences tower on Rainey Street, featuring an elevated cocktail program from the team behind Codependent Cocktails and Coffee. Enoteca Sportiva is now open daily at 1500 South Lamar following a new partnership with Italian coffee brand Lavazza, serving Roman-style pizza and brunch specialties. Katz's Deli is officially coming back to 6th Street with a confirmed $2.5 million renovation starting September 2026 and wrapping up by March 2027. And The Grille opens April 14 in Lakeway with a rotating seasonal Texas menu and Gulf Coast seafood sourced multiple times per week.

Have questions about buying or selling in Austin? Reach out anytime — I would love to help you navigate this market.