Austin Housing Inventory at 16,505 Listings

Austin Housing Inventory at 16,505 Listings
May 2026 Market Update

Austin Real Estate Market Update May 11, 2026 | Daily Briefing

Austin Inventory Holds Steady While Demand Quietly Builds Momentum : The Austin housing market entered the second week of May with a story that does not fit neatly into either a recovery headline or a downturn warning. As of Monday, May 11, 2026, there are 16,505 active residential listings across the region, which is just slightly below the 16,616 active listings on the same date last year. That is a difference of only 0.67 percent. After several years of supply expanding faster than demand could absorb it, this is the first spring in a long time where the active listing count is not climbing year over year. For anyone watching the austin real estate forecast closely, that stabilization is worth paying attention to.

Scroll down to view the full Austin Daily Real Estate Briefing PDF for May 11, 2026.

The bigger story today, however, is not on the supply side. It is the quiet but consistent strength showing up in the demand numbers. Pending contracts now sit at 5,137, which is 3.0 percent higher than the 4,989 pending listings recorded in May of last year. Pending sales are a leading indicator of where the market is heading, since these are homes that have buyers committed and are working toward closing. When pending counts rise while active inventory stays flat, it tells us that buyers are stepping back into the market in greater numbers than last spring, even if the change is gradual rather than dramatic.

This shift is reflected in the Activity Index, which measures pending listings as a percentage of total active plus pending inventory. The current reading is 23.7 percent, compared to 23.1 percent at this point last year. That 2.8 percent improvement may sound small, but it represents real movement in the market's efficiency. New construction continues to lead with an Activity Index of 32.07 percent, while resale homes sit at 20.82 percent. Builders are clearly more aggressive on pricing and incentives, and buyers are responding to that.

The austin housing market is also showing improvement in Months of Inventory, which has slipped from 5.95 last May to 5.77 this May. That is a 2.9 percent decrease and another sign that supply and demand are slowly moving back toward balance. For context, the historical absorption rate average for Austin is 31.40 percent, and today's reading is 20.66 percent. We are still well below the long-term norm, but the direction of travel is encouraging rather than alarming.

Pricing tells a more nuanced story. The median sold price for May 2026 is $465,200, which is up 5.0 percent from May 2025. This is the most meaningful year-over-year price gain we have seen since the correction began. The average sold price climbed to $609,972, up 4.6 percent from last May. For perspective, the May 2022 peak median was $550,000, so even with this recent improvement the market remains 15.42 percent below its all-time high. The gap between today's median and the peak is roughly $85,000.

Using Austin's 25-year compound appreciation rate of 4.919 percent and assuming we have reached the bottom of this correction, it would take approximately 44 months, or until December 2029, for the median sold price to return to a projected peak of $551,334. That timeline assumes steady appreciation from here, which is never guaranteed, but it gives buyers and sellers a realistic frame for thinking about the years ahead in the austin housing forecast.

Cumulative numbers for the year so far add useful context. New listings from January through May total 20,409, which is 18.3 percent below last year but still 10.3 percent above the long-term average. Sellers are clearly more cautious than they were a year ago, perhaps waiting to see how the spring market plays out before committing to list. Pending listings for the same period total 17,380, which is 11.2 percent below last year and 3.1 percent below the historical average. Sold properties from January through May reached 12,593, which is 2.5 percent ahead of last year and 14.8 percent above the long-term average.

Look at that combination carefully. New listings are down sharply, pending is down moderately, but actual closed sales are up year over year. This is the kind of mix that supports gradual price stabilization. When fewer homes hit the market while sales hold steady or improve, the math eventually works in favor of price firming.

For buyers, the takeaway from this austin market update is that the window of clear leverage may be narrowing in some segments. Resale listings still sit in what the Activity Index defines as the softening phase, but homes priced well are moving fast. The median days from listing to pending is just 6 days across the entire MLS. Of the 16,505 active listings, 4,818 of them, or 29.2 percent, hit the market in the last 30 days. The freshest, best-priced inventory is being absorbed quickly.

For sellers, the message is different. While conditions are improving, 49.0 percent of all active listings have had at least one price drop. That means nearly half of the homes currently on the market priced too high out of the gate. The sellers who win in this market are the ones who price correctly from day one, present the home well, and respond quickly to buyer feedback. The data is clear that overpricing is still the single biggest mistake a seller can make right now.

For investors, the price tier analysis offers a useful angle. The bottom 25th percentile of homes saw prices fall 3.03 percent year over year, while the top 25th percentile saw prices rise 1.57 percent. The luxury end of the market is holding firmer than the entry-level segment, which has implications for anyone thinking about where to deploy capital. Investors should also note that the Market Flow Score, which measures overall market efficiency, sits at 4.72 against a historical average of 6.56. The market is still operating below its long-term efficiency, which often creates the kind of conditions where patient capital finds value.

For real estate agents, the most important number this week may be the sellers-per-buyer ratio of 3.0. There are three sellers for every buyer in the austin metro area right now. Of 30 tracked cities, zero are classified as Hot, four are Warm, 19 are Balanced, seven are Cool, and none are Cold. That distribution argues for representing buyers aggressively in the suburbs where conditions favor them, and for coaching sellers to be realistic about pricing and concessions.

Across 75 Austin metro zip codes, the distribution shows 4 Hot, 19 Warm, 37 Balanced, 14 Cool, and 1 Cold. The Hot zip codes, including 78749, 78750, 78729, and 78739, all sit in established Austin neighborhoods where supply remains tight. Those pockets continue to behave like a different market from the broader region.

Pulling all of this together, today's data supports a careful, measured view of the austin housing market. Inventory has stopped climbing. Pending sales are up. The Activity Index is rising. Median prices are showing their strongest year-over-year gain of this cycle. None of this is enough on its own to declare a full recovery, but the directional signals are aligned in a way they have not been in years. The austin real estate forecast for the rest of 2026 will depend heavily on whether these trends hold through the summer selling season and into the fall.

Visit the Austin Daily Real Estate Briefing at teamprice.com/austin-daily-real-estate-briefing for the complete archive of daily market data.

If this PDF does not display, click here to open in a new tab .

FAQ Section

How long does it take to sell a home in Austin right now?

The median time from listing to pending contract across the entire austin real estate market is just 6 days as of May 11, 2026. That number can be misleading on its own because it reflects only the homes that are priced and positioned correctly. The reality is that 49.0 percent of all 16,505 active listings have had at least one price drop, which tells us many sellers are sitting on the market for weeks or months before adjusting. Homes that hit the market priced right typically go pending in under a week, while homes that come in too high often see 30, 60, or 90 days of stagnation before a price correction starts the clock again.

What is the median home price in Austin in 2026?

The median sold price in austin housing for May 2026 is $465,200, which represents a 5.0 percent year-over-year increase from May 2025. The average sold price for the same period is $609,972, up 4.6 percent year over year. These numbers show the strongest price improvement of the current cycle, though the median still sits 15.42 percent below the May 2022 peak of $550,000. Year to date through May, the running median sold price is $425,966, which gives a broader picture beyond just one month of data.

Is Austin real estate overvalued or undervalued?

That depends entirely on the timeframe you use to make the comparison. Compared to the May 2022 peak, austin real estate is clearly undervalued, sitting 15.42 percent below that high water mark. Compared to long-term appreciation trends, the picture is more balanced. The 25-year compound appreciation rate for Austin is 4.919 percent, and today's median of $465,200 tracks reasonably close to where that trendline would suggest. Different price segments tell different stories, with the bottom 25th percentile down 3.03 percent year over year and the top 25th percentile up 1.57 percent. The market is neither broadly cheap nor broadly expensive, but it is segmented in ways that reward careful analysis.

How much have Austin home prices dropped from their peak?

The median sold price has fallen 15.42 percent from its May 2022 peak of $550,000 to today's $465,200, a drop of roughly $85,000. The average sold price has dropped 10.55 percent from $681,939 to $609,972, a decline of about $72,000. The difference between average and median drops tells us that the high end of the market has held up slightly better than the middle. Using Austin's long-term appreciation rate of 4.919 percent, the projection model suggests it would take approximately 44 months from today, or until December 2029, for the median price to recover to a projected peak of $551,334.

What does the Activity Index tell us about the Austin market?

The Activity Index is one of the most useful leading indicators for the austin housing forecast because it measures pending contracts as a share of total active plus pending inventory. Today's reading is 23.7 percent, up from 23.1 percent in May 2025, which signals improving demand relative to supply. New construction is running at 32.07 percent, putting it firmly in the expansion phase, while resale homes sit at 20.82 percent, which falls in the softening range. The difference between these two segments is significant because it shows builders are pricing aggressively while resale sellers are still adjusting expectations. When the Activity Index rises while inventory stays flat, it typically precedes firming in prices, which is exactly what today's median price data is starting to show.

Austin's Real Estate Market. Right in Your Pocket.

Get instant access to the most accurate, up-to-date Austin housing market data anywhere you go. AustinMetrics delivers live stats across 30 cities and 75 zip codes, 55+ professional market reports, interactive charts, heat maps, and a daily market briefing, all completely free. Whether you're buying your first home, selling, investing, or just keeping a pulse on the market, you'll have the same data Austin's top agents rely on, available the moment you need it. No logins, no fees, no fluff. Just real numbers, updated daily.

Have a Question or Want to Dive Deeper?

If you’d like a custom breakdown of the data, want help interpreting today’s market trends, or just have a question about buying or selling in Austin, let us know. Fill out the form below and a member of our team will get back to you promptly.