The Austin and Central Texas residential real estate market continued to show signs of adjustment in August 2026. Compared with August 2025 and August 2024, home prices and transaction activity remained under pressure, while inventory conditions improved from last year but remained substantially higher than historical levels. Overall, the data points to a market that continues to provide buyers with more choices and negotiating opportunities than in the strong seller-market years.
Median Sale Price Continues to Move Lower
The median sale price in August 2026 was $412,000, down from $444,490 in August 2025, a decline of approximately 7.3%. Compared with August 2024’s $438,990, the median price was also down approximately 6.1%.
Looking at the longer-term August trend, the median sale price has changed significantly:
- 2022: $496,039
- 2023: $460,000
- 2024: $438,990
- 2025: $444,490
- 2026: $412,000
After a modest price rebound in 2025, August 2026 shows a renewed decline. The current median is approximately 17% below August 2022, indicating that the market has undergone a substantial price adjustment from its earlier peak.
The 2026 monthly data also shows that the median reached $450,000 in June before declining to $435,000 in July and $412,000 in August. This suggests that pricing momentum weakened as the summer progressed.
Inventory Has Improved From Last Year
Months of inventory stood at 5.1 months in August 2026, compared with 5.9 months in August 2025—an improvement of 0.8 months. Compared with August 2024, however, inventory was essentially unchanged at 5.1 months.
The longer-term August trend tells an important story:
- 2022: 2.9 months
- 2023: 3.8 months
- 2024: 5.1 months
- 2025: 5.9 months
- 2026: 5.1 months
Inventory has therefore moved considerably higher than the exceptionally tight conditions of 2022 and 2023. At the same time, the decline from 5.9 months in 2025 to 5.1 months in 2026 indicates that the supply-demand balance has improved somewhat for sellers compared with last year.
With more than five months of inventory, buyers generally have considerably more selection and time to evaluate properties than they did several years ago.
Closed Sales Remain Relatively Soft
There were 2,501 closed sales in August 2026, compared with 2,545 in August 2025 and 2,669 in August 2024. That represents a decline of approximately 1.7% year over year and 6.3% compared with two years ago.
August closed sales have followed a downward trend:
- 2022: 2,924
- 2023: 2,939
- 2024: 2,669
- 2025: 2,545
- 2026: 2,501
Although 2026 experienced stronger activity during May and June, with nearly 3,000 closings each month, the market cooled during July and August. This indicates that buyer demand remains below the levels seen earlier in the decade.
New Listings Also Decline
August 2026 recorded 3,579 new listings, down approximately 3.0% from 3,691 in August 2025 and 5.0% from 3,767 in August 2024.
The August trend has been relatively consistent:
- 2022: 4,121
- 2023: 4,084
- 2024: 3,767
- 2025: 3,691
- 2026: 3,579
The declining number of new listings suggests that some potential sellers may be holding off on listing their homes, particularly given today’s lower prices and longer marketing periods.
Conclusion
August 2026 data paints a picture of a more balanced but still adjusting Austin and Central Texas housing market. Home prices are lower than both 2025 and 2024, closed sales remain subdued, and new listings have continued to decline. At the same time, months of inventory has improved from last year’s elevated level, giving buyers more choices than during the earlier years of the market cycle.
For buyers, the combination of elevated inventory and lower prices creates a market with greater negotiating opportunities. For sellers, accurate pricing and strong property presentation remain particularly important. The key question heading into the fall will be whether lower prices and improving affordability can stimulate enough buyer demand to stabilize sales activity and home values.
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