Moving to Austin, without the brochure.
People move to Austin for work, for the tax position, or because someone they know already did. What follows is the practical side — the part that decides whether the move works, and the part nobody puts in a relocation brochure.
What it actually costs to own here.
The no-income-tax headline is real. So is the property tax bill that pays for it, and the two need to be considered together rather than one at a time.
- No state income tax
- Texas has none
- Property tax, roughly
- 1.8% – 2.2%
- Closing timeline
- 30 – 45 days
- Homestead exemption
- File it yourself
The single largest financial difference for most people arriving from California, New York or Illinois. It is also the reason property taxes are what they are — the state funds itself somewhere.
Travis CAD · 2026-01-01Of assessed value, annually, split across several taxing entities. On a $600,000 home that is north of $1,000 a month, and it is the number that surprises people who budgeted with a mortgage calculator.
Travis CAD · 2026-01-01From executed contract to funding, with financing. Cash closes faster. The option period sits in the first week or two of that window.
Sprout Realty records · 2026-08-01It reduces taxable value and caps how fast the assessment can rise while you hold it. It is free, it is not automatic, and anyone charging you to file it is selling you something you can do in a few minutes.
Travis CAD · 2026-01-01Buying here is not buying where you are.
Four things catch almost every buyer arriving from another state. None of them is a problem if you know about it in advance; all four are expensive if you do not.
You get a paid window to walk away
The Texas option period lets you terminate for any reason at all and get your earnest money back. You pay a negotiated fee for it and it lasts days, not weeks. Most states have nothing like it, and buyers arriving from those states routinely waste it by scheduling an inspector too late.
The tax figure on the listing is not your tax figure
It is the previous owner’s bill under their exemptions and their assessment cap. When the home sells, that history does not transfer — the assessment resets toward market and the first full-year bill can be a large step up from what the listing sheet showed.
There is no published sold price to look up
Texas is a non-disclosure state and Unlock MLS does not permit sold prices on public websites. Any site showing you what a specific house sold for is either guessing or breaking a rule. Your agent can pull real comparable sales; a portal cannot show them to you.
A survey and a title policy are normal here
The seller usually provides an existing survey and the title company handles closing rather than an attorney. If you are coming from an attorney-state, the absence of one at the table is not an oversight — it is how Texas does it.
Three sources. And the gap between them.
Refreshed weekly and dated on their face. Where the sources disagree we say so, because the disagreement is the useful part.
- What a home costs
- $424,339
- How long a home takes to sell
- 78
- Homes available
- 15228
Three different questions. Zillow models a typical value, Redfin reports what closed, Realtor.com reports what sellers are asking. Asking above closing is normal.
Zillow · 2026-07-31 · spread 6%Zillow counts days until a listing goes pending; the other two count days on market. The gap between them is roughly the time spent under contract.
Zillow · 2026-07-31 · spread 16.4%All three count active for-sale inventory over slightly different footprints and periods, which is where the difference comes from.
Zillow · 2026-07-31 · spread 21.7%Across the metro, sellers are asking about 4.5% more than homes are closing at. That is negotiating context, not a promise about any particular house. See how each figure is calculated.
You do not have to be here for most of it.
Remote purchases are ordinary now. This is the sequence, in elapsed time rather than in steps, because the real question is how long before you can be in a house.
- Before you fly
Preapproval and a price band
A lender letter takes a few days and decides everything downstream. Without it, a Texas seller will not take your offer seriously and you will spend your visit looking at the wrong homes.
- Week one
Areas, not houses
Drive the parts of the metro you are considering at the hour you would actually commute. Individual listings turn over; the decision about where you want to be does not.
- Week two to six
Offers
With current inventory you will usually get a second look and time to think. Remote offers are routine — video walkthroughs, electronic signature, and an option period that gives you a real exit.
- Contract to keys
30 to 45 days
Inspection and any renegotiation happen inside the first stretch, financing and appraisal fill the middle, and you sign at a title company. You do not have to be in Texas for most of it.
Five areas, same categories for each.
We publish the same information for every area we cover, in the same order, with the source on each figure. We do not rank them and we will not tell you where you belong.
Downtown
High-rise condos and the shortest commute in the city. Almost entirely attached product, so HOA structure matters more here than lot size.
- Typical home value
- $660,440Zillow Research · 2026-07
- Homes for sale
- 239Zillow Research · 2026-07
The Domain
North Austin's second downtown. Mixed-use density built around the tech corridor, with newer construction than almost anywhere else in the city.
- Typical home value
- $512,816Zillow Research · 2026-07
- Homes for sale
- 143Zillow Research · 2026-07
West Austin
Hills, larger lots and the top of the market. Eanes ISD boundaries drive a meaningful share of the price difference against comparable square footage elsewhere.
- Typical home value
- $1,409,384Zillow Research · 2026-07
- Homes for sale
- 117Zillow Research · 2026-07
East Austin
The most varied housing stock in the city — 1930s bungalows next to new infill, often on the same block. Two homes at the same price can underwrite nothing alike.
- Typical home value
- $518,157Zillow Research · 2026-07
- Homes for sale
- 130Zillow Research · 2026-07
South Austin
Detached single-family at the widest range of price points in the city, stretching from Bouldin down through the 78745 corridor.
- Typical home value
- $568,930Zillow Research · 2026-07
- Homes for sale
- 292Zillow Research · 2026-07
Central Austin
Hyde Park, North Loop and the blocks around the university. Pre-war bungalows on small lots, a high share of duplex and converted-multifamily product, and the shortest bicycle commute to campus of any area we cover.
- Typical home value
- $545,809Zillow Research · 2026-07
- Homes for sale
- 104Zillow Research · 2026-07
Mueller
A planned redevelopment on the old airport site, plus the established blocks around it. Almost entirely post-2007 construction to a single design code, which makes it the most predictable stock in the city to underwrite.
- Typical home value
- $397,704Zillow Research · 2026-07
- Homes for sale
- 159Zillow Research · 2026-07
Southwest Austin
Circle C, Shady Hollow and the hill-country edge past MoPac. Larger lots, newer detached construction, and the longest drive downtown of the Austin-proper areas we cover.
- Typical home value
- $681,989Zillow Research · 2026-07
- Homes for sale
- 144Zillow Research · 2026-07
Southeast Austin
Riverside, Montopolis and the blocks toward the airport. The lowest entry prices of any area we cover, a large rental share, and the shortest drive to the airport in the city.
- Typical home value
- $325,282Zillow Research · 2026-07
- Homes for sale
- 141Zillow Research · 2026-07
Round Rock
North of the city line in Williamson County, which means a different tax structure and a different set of school districts. Predominantly detached subdivision construction from the 1990s onward.
- Typical home value
- $407,455Zillow Research · 2026-07
- Homes for sale
- 288Zillow Research · 2026-07
Cedar Park
Cedar Park and Leander, at the northwest edge of the metro. The newest housing stock outside Mueller, and the only area we cover served by the commuter rail line.
- Typical home value
- $448,780Zillow Research · 2026-07
- Homes for sale
- 592Zillow Research · 2026-07
Area information is provided for every neighborhood we cover, to every visitor, without regard to any protected characteristic. Sprout Realty does not steer clients toward or away from any area.
Tell us the month you need to be in, roughly what you want to spend, and what your commute has to look like. An agent who works the areas you are considering will come back with the practical version — including whether the timing works at all.