The Unlock MLS and Austin Board of REALTORS Central Texas Housing Report for July 2026, published August 12, is the number set I trust because it's the MLS's own data. Here's what it said and what I'd do with it if I were listing this fall.
The numbers
Across the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro, closed sales passed 2,700 in July, up 4.4% from July 2025, and the median price was $435,000, up about 1%. Inside the Austin city limits the median was $577,000, down 1.4% year over year, on more than 1,000 closed sales, up 11%. Travis County closed 1,290 homes, up 11.4%, at a median of $520,000, with 6,586 active listings and 1,323 pending sales, up 8.3%.
Read together: more deals are happening, prices are flat to slightly down depending on where you draw the line, and there's plenty of inventory for buyers to choose from. That's a working market, not a hot one.
What it means if you're selling
First, buyers have options. With more than six thousand active listings in the county, a house that's priced on last year's comps or on a portal estimate sits, and a house that sits gets a price cut, and a price cut tells every buyer who sees it that there's more to come. Price it right the first week. The listings that moved fast this summer were the ones that looked ready and were priced against what actually closed in the last 90 days, not what the neighbor listed at.
Second, condition is doing more of the work. When buyers can choose, they choose the house that needs nothing. The two or three prep items that move the price are worth doing. The other ten aren't.
Third, the metro number and your street are different things. Westlake, Tarrytown, Steiner Ranch and Georgetown each had their own July. A median tells you the weather. Your comps tell you what to wear.
What it means if you're buying
This is the most negotiable market Austin buyers have seen in a while, and sellers of well-kept houses still hold firm because they can. The edge is knowing which is which before you write. If you're deciding whether to list, get the number for your house and I'll put it against your street, not the metro.