People are still moving to Austin TX. Some even want to move to Austin again. It may be taking a little longer to buy a property partly because of affordability and supply. While the supply is the best it’s been in years, it’s not a compact inventory. The Austin real estate footprint continues to expand its reach in every direction.  Buyers may be able to choose a zip code, but not necessarily a neighborhood.

One of the reasons choices are limited is that homeowners are locked into historically low mortgage interest rates they aren’t motivated to lose – until they get the bug, that is. Once they get the buyer’s bug, the only cure is to buy. 

For sellers who need to sell to purchase another home – that bug is getting hungry if it’s been around for a while. Now that the interest rates have settled down, the decision to move forward with the sale is a little more palatable. Lower interest rates will not only help with affordability, but they will also help with supply.

Open house Feedback

I hosted 33 open houses in 2023 and was never alone. There were no lines out the door to get in, but the fact that I always had company tells you something. I met every buyer for every home that sold.

All of the buyers I met were ready to buy. They knew their numbers and the market specific to where they wanted to live. Ironically, every buyer who bought was moving to Austin TX again. All of their stories were similar. They moved out of Austin proper around 2020 to other areas of Central Texas and wanted to move back.

Why people are moving to Austin after leaving a few years ago.

Most of the reasons people I’ve met wanting to move back to Austin are centered around lifestyle, commuting times, or a little of both. Many of those buyers took advantage of the real estate frenzy, selling their homes at the peak of the market in 2021. While they purchased other properties in Central Texas, they didn’t move far enough away for new employment. Their flight paths changed, but their living habits didn’t, so they just found themselves with increased commuting times trying to maintain the lifestyle they had. In a sense, they are homesick.  People do love Austin.

Austin, Texas listed at No. 5 U-Haul’s top 10 growth cities in 2023

Why do people move to Austin?

People move for love or money. Austin continues to attract technology companies who have moved their workforce with them and also employed new job seekers including Tesla, Google, Apple, Samsung, AMD, General Motors, and Facebook. Even Tic Tock has a home in Austin.  Don’t forget about the growing medical sector which expands the growing menu of employment options.  Hospitals and medical centers are expanding throughout Central Texas offering more specialty care and resources.

Those resources include an expansive academic offering the enhances and expands on the Austin economy as a whole.  The University of Texas at Austin Medical Center, with a new, state-of-the-art hospital and a new world-renowned MD Anderson Cancer Center, will continue to anchor UT Austin as a premier campus for academics and top research university that is driven by future innovations in technology, data science, artificial intelligence, robotics, to name a few.

Some of the talent is not moving to Austin Tx specifically for work, but instead come for the education and then don’t leave. Austin Texas was rated the best college town in America, by WalletHub. The city ranks in the top 15 in the U.S. for quality of higher education, and it has a 7.04% average annual job growth rate, one of the highest in the country. 

Austin named One of the World’s Best Cities

If money isn’t the reason to move to Austin, then maybe the city itself is.  Worldsbestcities.com ranked Austin 8th nationally and 43rd globally based on livability, lovability, and prosperity measures that define each city’s ‘Place Power.’  Core statistics included educational attainment, culture, airport connectivity, Facebook check-ins, Google search results, TripAdvisor reviews, Instagram hashtags, Fortune Global 500 companies, Museums, Number of start-ups, and many other data points.

CNN named the Texas Hill Country was named one of the best places to visit in 2024.  People do visit Austin Texas for the countless events taking place throughout the year.  There is truly something for everyone.  The Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, the South by Southwest Conference and Festival, Austin FC, Austin Food + Wine Festival, and Rodeo Austin and just a sampling to convey how well rounded the draw is.  The events become a walking billboard for the city itself and entice tourists to stay.

Austin Real Estate l Moving to Austin TX

All of the above points fuel the consistency of the Austin real estate market within the city specifically and Central Texas as a whole.  Yes, Austin Texas real estate still experiences all of the peaks and valleys like every other market, but it’s accolades and economic touchstones cushion the valleys due to its diverse resources.

Moving to Austin Texas? Want to move to Austin TX again? Whether it’s for love or money, with Austin, it’s a little of both, which keeps Austin real estate moving too.

Are you looking for more data on the Austin real estate housing market?  See Austin Texas real estate news for January here. 

Want more reasons why people are moving to Austin TX and Central Texas as a whole? Austin Title compiled all of Austin’s accolades from the Austin Chamber of Commerce. It may make you want to move to Austin too.