Austin’s housing market has spent four years working its way back from the pandemic-era frenzy. The September 2026 numbers, sourced from Austin Board of REALTORS MLS data, show a market that is quieter and more balanced, but still not a buyer’s bonanza.
September 2026 Snapshot: Year-over-Year
| Metric | Sep 2024 | Sep 2025 | Sep 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Sale Price | $425,000 | $420,000 | $421,000 |
| Closed Sales | 2,286 | 2,416 | 2,223 |
| Dollar Volume | $1.26B | $1.33B | $1.27B |
| Months of Inventory | 5.0 | 5.7 | 5.4 |
| New Listings | 3,545 | 3,327 | 3,546 |
| Active Listings | 12,153 | 13,665 | 13,465 |
Compared with September 2025, the median price edged up just 0.2% to $421,000, essentially flat. Closed sales fell 8.0% (from 2,416 to 2,223), and dollar volume slipped about 4.5%. New listings rose 6.6%, while active listings dipped 1.5%. Compared with two years ago, prices are down about 1%, sales are 2.8% lower, and active listings are about 11% higher.
The takeaway: prices have stabilized, but buyer demand softened this September even as sellers continued to list.
Median Sale Price: A Long Plateau After the Peak
Austin’s median price peaked at $550,000 in April and May 2022, driven by ultra-low rates and an influx of newcomers. It then fell sharply, reaching $424,450 by November 2023, a decline of roughly 23% from the peak.
Since then, the market has moved sideways. Summer peaks have been remarkably consistent: $483,000 in June 2023, then $450,000 in June 2024, 2025 and 2026. Winter troughs, however, have been getting lower: $430,000 in January 2024, $409,765 in January 2025, and $400,495 in January 2026.
This pattern suggests the typical home price has stopped falling meaningfully in peak season, but weaker off-season demand still pulls prices down. Notably, 2026 monthly medians have trailed 2025 in several months, though the gap has narrowed to near zero by September. Sellers expecting a rebound toward 2022 levels should recalibrate; the market is pricing around $420,000 to $450,000, with an overall flat-to-slightly-soft trajectory.
Months of Inventory: Still Elevated
Months of inventory tells the story of the shift from seller’s to buyer’s market. In early 2022, inventory sat at just 0.4 months, an extreme seller’s market. By late 2022 it had climbed above 3 months, and it kept rising: roughly 4 months in late 2023, about 5 months through most of 2024, and 6.1 months in July 2025 and 6.3 in November 2025.
2026 has been choppy. Inventory dipped to 4.0 in January, spiked to 6.5 in February (a low-sales month distorts the ratio), then eased to 4.4 to 4.7 months during the spring and early summer. It has since drifted back up to 5.4 in September.
A balanced market is generally considered to be around 4 to 6 months. Austin has now lived in or above that range for roughly two years, which has given buyers real negotiating power. Active listings of 13,465 remain more than 39 precent higher what they were in September 2022 (9,671 is the comparison; they are about 39% higher), and far above the sub-2,000 levels of early 2022. The modest improvement from 2025’s peak suggests the supply glut has stopped growing, but it hasn’t cleared.
Closed Sales: Seasonal Rhythm, Muted Peaks
Closed sales follow a predictable seasonal curve, but the peaks have shrunk. The spring 2022 surge hit 3,633 sales in May. In 2023 the peak was 3,411, in 2024 it dropped to 2,968, and in 2025 it recovered slightly to 3,021. In 2026 the May peak was 2,953, and June reached 2,961, the strongest month of the year.
Encouragingly, 2026 closed sales ran ahead of 2025 in March, April and June, and total dollar volume in June 2026 ($1.81B) topped June 2025 ($1.62B). But the second half has softened: July, August and September 2026 all trail the prior year (2,739 vs. 2,492 was actually higher in July, but August at 2,501 and September at 2,223 are below 2025’s 2,545 and 2,416). The late-summer fade suggests affordability and mortgage rate sensitivity still constrain buyers.
Overall, annual activity sits well below the 2022 pace. Sales volume is stable rather than growing, indicating the market has found a “new normal” at a lower transaction level.
New Listings: Sellers Are Returning
New listings tell us about seller sentiment. In 2022, listings surged to 6,160 in June as sellers rushed to capitalize, then fell off. Through 2023 and 2024, spring listings peaked at roughly 4,600 to 5,200. In 2025 they hit 5,716 in May, the highest since 2022.
2026 shows a similar seasonal pattern but slightly lower spring volume (5,405 in April, 4,786 in May) than 2025. September 2026’s 3,546 new listings are up 6.6% year over year, ending a few months in which listings had trailed 2025. Fresh supply is arriving at a steady pace, and because sales are not keeping up, inventory stays high. Sellers who must sell are increasingly accepting that pricing aggressively matters.
Conclusion
Austin’s market has moved from a frenzy to a plateau. Prices have held in a tight band around $420,000 to $450,000 for nearly three years, sales volume is stable but well below the 2022 peak, and inventory of more than five months gives buyers leverage they haven’t had in years. September 2026 reflects this: flat prices, softer closings, and listings that remain plentiful.
For buyers, patience and negotiation are rewarded, especially heading into the winter months when prices traditionally dip. For sellers, realistic pricing and strong presentation are essential, as homes are sitting longer and competing against thousands of alternatives. Looking ahead, any meaningful improvement in mortgage rates could revive demand, but with active listings still elevated, price gains are likely to be modest.
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Data source: Austin Board of REALTORS MLS. This article is for informational purposes and is not financial advice.