If the current Austin real estate market had a soundtrack, Alanis Morissette’s “Hand in My Pocket” would be on repeat. Why? Because it’s full of contradictions — just like the housing scene right now. If you’re navigating the real estate market right now, you might feel like you’re living inside that very song. Because, for as slow as it is – nobody has it figured out just yet. Today’s housing landscape is a fascinating, often frustrating, tale of two opposites.
It’s a fast market… and a slow one.
Some homes hit the market and immediately go under contract or get multiple offers. It’s intense. Meanwhile, other listings just sit. They look great, they’re in a desirable neighborhood, but they’re getting ghosted by buyers. Crickets. Open houses with only the Realtor and a playlist of hopeful jazz.
The current Austin real estate market is often made up of a tale of two roofs. Some homes come with a 2025 roof, fresh HVAC, and updates. Others? They come with “character” and a decades-old air conditioning unit. The former may be an easier sell, but not necessarily faster.
For sellers, finding buyers is a numbers game. The inventory is high, and the timeline to get kiddos settled into schools is getting lower. The other number is the asking price: the lower your price point the larger your buyer pool.
It’s also a waiting game. Buyers enter the market every day. Just because your home is hitting day 60 on the market, new buyers are seeing it for the first time every single day.
And yet — all it takes is the right house for the right buyer at the right moment.
The Austin Real Estate Market is a Market of Contradictions
You may be feeling conflicted. Hopeful and exhausted. Cautious and impulsive. In other words, you’re a normal homebuyer and seller.
So what it all comes down to is that you may not have it all figured out just yet. As a buyer, your dream home might be sitting in someone else’s saved search right now. Don’t hit the snooze button too many times. The market may be full of contradictions, but when the right house comes along, you’re going to need to wake up fast.
Because while one hand might be in your pocket, the other needs to be ready to write an offer.