Central Texas real estate kept its footing in July. Data from Unlock MLS and the Austin Board of Realtors shows residential sales across the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro rose 4.4% year-over-year to 2,739 homes, the median sale price posted its second consecutive annual gain at $435,000, and active inventory tightened nearly 10%—a sign that June's turning point wasn't a one-month blip. Austin Realty Insights tracks this data so you don't have to.
The July 2026 Central Texas Housing Report from Unlock MLS and the Austin Board of Realtors shows the region building on June's turn rather than losing it. Across the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA, residential sales rose 4.4% year-over-year to 2,739 homes, while the median sale price climbed to $435,000—up 1.0% annually and the second straight month of positive year-over-year pricing after three years of declines. Total dollar volume rose 6.9% to roughly $1.6 billion, reinforcing that both transaction counts and values are moving in the same direction.
Pending sales rose 4.1% year-over-year to 2,833 transactions, a softer pace than June's 13.2% jump but still a fourth consecutive month of forward-looking growth. Vaike O'Grady, market research advisor at Unlock MLS, said the region continued to see positive momentum in the year-over-year numbers, adding that deals, prices, and opportunity are holding up on both sides of the transaction.
"We continued to see positive momentum in July's year-over-year numbers."
— Vaike O'Grady, Market Research Advisor, Unlock MLSSupply kept contracting. Active listings across the metro fell 9.9% year-over-year to 13,796 homes, even as 4,280 new listings hit the market in July—Travis County alone accounted for 1,972 of them. Months of supply compressed to 4.7, down 1.1 months from July 2025, and the average close-to-list ratio ticked up to 93.7% from 93.0% a year earlier, a modest but real gain in seller leverage.
Inside the City of Austin, sales jumped 11.0% year-over-year to 1,005 homes, while the median price eased to $577,000, down 1.4% from July 2025. That's a pullback from June's 3.6% annual gain inside city limits—a reminder that month-to-month price moves are still choppy even as the broader trend firms. City inventory sat at 4.5 months, among the tightest in the metro.
Travis County led the metro in volume, with 1,290 closed sales (up 11.4% year-over-year) at a median of $520,000, down a modest 0.3% annually, and 4.8 months of inventory. Across the Austin metro as a whole, homes averaged 63 days on market in July—among the fastest paces of the year so far as tightening supply continues to push buyers to act more decisively.
"New investment brings jobs and creates opportunities that attract people to Central Texas."
— Vaike O'Grady, Market Research Advisor, Unlock MLSAffordability headwinds haven't disappeared—mortgage rates remain elevated, and John Crowe, 2026 Unlock MLS and ABoR president, has pointed to local tax, fee, bond, and utility decisions as factors that compound housing costs for Central Texas families as cities finalize their budgets this fall. Even so, two straight months of annual price gains alongside shrinking inventory suggest the region's multi-year correction is giving way to steadier footing.
| Geography | Closed Sales | Sales Change YoY | Median Price | Price Change YoY | Months of Inventory |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Austin | 1,005 | ↑ 11.0% | $577,000 | ↓ 1.4% | 4.5 |
| Travis County | 1,290 | ↑ 11.4% | $520,000 | ↓ 0.3% | 4.8 |
| Williamson County | 957 | ↑ 6.0% | $415,000 | ↓ 1.2% | 4.3 |
| Hays County | 344 | ↓ 12.0% | $367,700 | ↑ 1.0% | 5.0 |
| Bastrop County | 110 | ↓ 16.0% | $346,140 | ↑ 2.3% | 6.3 |
| Caldwell County | — | — | $254,000 | — | 7.7 |
| Austin-RR-SM MSA | 2,739 | ↑ 4.4% | $435,000 | ↑ 1.0% | 4.7 (−1.1 YoY) |
Source: Unlock MLS & Austin Board of Realtors® (ABoR) — July 2026 Central Texas Housing Report, released August 11, 2026. Full report available at UnlockMLS.com/Stats. Some county-level closed-sales and price-change figures were not available for every county at time of publication and are marked "—". Data reflects MLS-reported activity only and may be revised in subsequent releases.
July marked the second straight year-over-year price increase in the Austin metro, and active listings have now fallen nearly 10% annually. Buyers still have room to negotiate—homes closed at an average of 93.7% of list price and took 63 days to sell metro-wide—but with sales up 4.4% and inventory shrinking for a second month running, conditions are gradually shifting away from peak buyer leverage.
Inside Austin city limits, sales jumped 11.0% year-over-year in July even as the median price slipped 1.4% from a year earlier—a reminder that stronger buyer traffic doesn't automatically translate into higher prices. Sellers who price accurately relative to current comparables are still closing quickly, particularly in Travis County, where inventory remains among the tightest in the region.
Austin's lease market cooled somewhat in July, with closed leases down 6.5% year-over-year across the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA and median rent easing to $2,195, down 0.2% from a year earlier. Active lease listings fell sharply (down 26.2% annually) even as pending leases rose 3.5%, suggesting the rental supply pipeline is thinning while renter demand holds—worth watching for investors weighing entry points as home prices normalize.
The Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA lease market cooled somewhat in July 2026, the most recent month with full leasing data published in Unlock MLS's monthly report at time of writing. 3,230 leases closed during the month, down 6.5% year-over-year, even as pending leases rose 3.5% to 3,476—a mixed signal on near-term rental demand.
Median rent across the MSA settled at $2,195 per month, a 0.2% decline from July 2025, continuing to give renters slightly more value than a year ago. Active lease listings fell sharply—down 26.2% year-over-year to 4,342 units—while months of lease inventory compressed to 1.7, down 0.3 months annually. For property investors, a shrinking active-listing base alongside softer closed-lease volume suggests the rental pipeline is tightening even as landlords hold rents roughly flat in a metro where elevated home prices continue to redirect some would-be buyers toward renting.
Austin Realty Insights tracks real estate conditions across every corner of the 18-county Central Texas region—from the dense urban core of Travis County to the fast-growing suburban corridors of Williamson, Hays, Bastrop, and Caldwell counties. Whether you're focused on a specific ZIP code in East Austin or evaluating investment opportunities in the outer ring suburbs, our market intelligence is grounded in the same MLS data that powers the official ABoR Central Texas Housing Report.
