Best Time to Buy by City
Best Time of Year to Buy a House in Austin
Updated November 2, 2026
Reviewed by:
Head of Growth at TurboHome
Agent, Texas · Texas Realtor® License #674075
The best time to buy a house in Austin is late summer. Asking prices in our MLS feed bottom out in July at a median $317 per square foot, versus $359 in February, and between 55% and 62% of Austin listings cut their price before leaving the market in every month of the year. Redfin's August 2026 analysis puts Austin's best buying week in late August. The trade-off is choice: April brings about 2,878 new listings a month, December only about 492. Here is the month-by-month listing data from about 43,000 Austin listings in our MLS feed.
TurboHome Market Analysis · Austin, TX · Listing data · Published November 2026
Key findings
- Best window: late summer. July has the lowest median original asking price per square foot, $317, versus $359 in February.
- Redfin agrees: Redfin's August 21, 2026 analysis puts Austin's best buying week in late August.
- Price cuts all year: between 55.4% (October) and 61.7% (February) of Austin listings cut their price before leaving the market; the two-year average is 58.9% across 43,457 listings.
- New listings: April brings about 2,878 new listings a month; December only about 492.
- Asking prices: the median original asking price ranged from $629,000 in March to $540,000 in August.
Austin asking prices by month: what sellers listed at
This table uses the listing side of our MLS feed: what Austin sellers first asked, how many new listings came on the market and how many of those listings cut their price before leaving the market, by calendar month. Asking prices are not sale prices, but they show when Austin sellers price highest and lowest. The chart shows the median original asking price per square foot in each month.
| Month | Avg new listings per month | Share of listings that cut price | Median original asking $/sq ft | Median original asking price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1,150 | 59.2% | $357 | $570,000 |
| February | 1,529 | 61.7% | $359 | $625,000 |
| March | 2,471 | 60.1% | $354 | $629,000 |
| April | 2,878 | 59.2% | $342 | $625,000 |
| May | 2,816 | 57.6% | $334 | $599,000 |
| June | 2,282 | 61.2% | $326 | $565,000 |
| July | 1,931 | 57.2% | $317 | $550,000 |
| August | 1,796 | 57.7% | $320 | $540,000 |
| September | 1,949 | 55.8% | $324 | $570,000 |
| October | 1,792 | 55.4% | $325 | $591,950 |
| November | 645 | 57.8% | $342 | $557,000 |
| December | 492 | 59.6% | $333 | $550,000 |
New listings swing hard. April averages about 2,878 new Austin listings, while December averages about 492.
- Avg new listings per month
Why the season matters in Austin
Austin is the one city where our closing feed is too new to show a full year of sale prices, so this page uses the listing side of our MLS feed, which covers 24 months and about 43,000 listings. The signal is still strong: roughly 55% to 62% of Austin listings cut price before leaving the market in every month, the highest share of any city we track, and the median asking price per square foot drops from $359 in February to $317 in July. Redfin's August 2026 seasonality analysis placed Austin's best buying window in late August, which lines up with the summer low in asking prices per square foot in our data.
Is winter a good time to buy a house in Austin?
Partly. Price cuts stay near 60% through the winter: 59.6% of December listings, 59.2% of January listings and 61.7% of February listings cut their price before leaving the market. But winter asking prices are not the year's lowest. The median original asking price per square foot was $333 in December, $357 in January and $359 in February, versus $317 in July.
The bigger trade-off is thin inventory. December brings only about 492 new Austin listings and November about 645, versus about 2,878 in April. If you find the right home in winter, the high share of price cuts gives you room to negotiate, but you will have far fewer homes to choose from.
Does the season matter more than mortgage rates?
In Austin, the median original asking price per square foot was $42 lower in July ($317) than in February ($359), about 12%. That is asking price, not sale price, so it shows when sellers price lowest rather than what buyers paid. A 0.5 point move in the 30-year mortgage rate also changes the monthly payment on an Austin home with 20% down. Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.24% for the week of October 29, 2026.
Watch both. You can't control where rates go, but you can control when you shop and how hard you negotiate, and a flat-fee buyer's agent works the price side in any month.
How to time an Austin purchase
- Get pre-approved before late summer. Asking prices per square foot bottom out in July and August, and a pre-approval lets you move the day a listing gets interesting.
- Target listings that have already cut price. Between 55.4% and 61.7% of Austin listings cut price in every month, so a seller who has already cut once is often open to an offer below the current asking price.
- In the busy spring months, compare price per square foot. Asking prices peak in February ($359 per square foot) and March ($354), so check each home's price per square foot against the monthly table before you offer.
- In the slow months, ask for credits and repairs, not only price. With about 60% of listings cutting price, Austin sellers know where the market is.
- Keep searching through the holidays. December brings the fewest new listings, about 492, and the Austin sellers who list then are usually motivated.
Methodology
This page uses the listing side of our MLS feed only. Our Austin closing feed only begins in June 2026, which is too short to show a full year of sale prices, so for Austin we do not report what buyers paid versus asking or how long homes took to sell. Instead we looked at 24 months of Austin listings, November 2024 to October 2026: 43,457 listings in all.
New listings are the two-year average per calendar month. "Share of listings that cut price" is the share of listings that reduced their asking price before leaving the market; the two-year average was 58.9%. Asking price and asking price per square foot are the median original list price, before any price cut. The late-August best buying week comes from Redfin's August 21, 2026 seasonality analysis. Figures are medians unless stated. Published November 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest month to buy a house in Austin?
July, by asking price. The median original asking price per square foot in Austin bottomed out at $317 in July, and 57.2% of July listings cut their price before leaving the market. Redfin's August 2026 analysis puts Austin's best buying week in late August.
What is the worst month to buy a house in Austin?
February is the most expensive month by asking price: the median original asking price per square foot was $359, the highest of the year. Even then, 61.7% of February listings cut their price before leaving the market.
Is winter a good time to buy in Austin?
Partly. Price cuts stay near 60% in winter (59.6% of December listings cut price), but choice is thin: only about 492 new listings come on the market in December, versus about 2,878 in April.
How much can I save by timing my Austin purchase?
The median original asking price per square foot was $42 lower in July ($317) than in February ($359), about 12%. That is asking price, not sale price, and a median, not a guarantee: the home, the neighborhood and your offer still matter more than the calendar.
When do the most homes come on the market in Austin?
April brings the most new listings, about 2,878 a month. December brings the fewest, about 492.
Related TurboHome guides
- Best time to buy a house, by city
- Greater Austin home buying guides
- Down payment on a house in Austin
- How long it takes to close in Austin
- HOA fees in Austin
- Best Austin neighborhoods for first-time buyers
- Income needed to buy a home in Austin
- Texas home buying guides
Buy in Austin with a flat-fee buyer's agent
About the Author
Vinura Abeysundara
Vinura Abeysundara is a real estate and growth professional with experience scaling homebuying platforms across Canada and the United States. Formerly Head of Growth at Zown, he now works with TurboHome and writes about homebuyer savings, flat-fee real estate, commissions, and technology in real estate.
View Vinura on LinkedInAbout Jake Shuler
Agent, Texas
Jake Shuler is a Texas REALTOR® with more than 10 years of real estate experience and over 200 successful transactions. As an agent at TurboHome, he helps buyers navigate the Texas housing market and writes about homebuying, negotiations, local market trends, and ways buyers can save throughout the process.
View Jake's profile