Texas · 25th largest metro area

Buying a home in Austin, Texas

In Austin, the median value of owner-occupied homes is $555,300, Travis County's effective property tax rate is 1.48%, a purchase mortgage carried a median $8,377 in total loan costs in 2025, and median gross rent is $1,729 a month.

Data as of : Census ACS 2020-2024, Census Vintage 2024, HMDA 2025, HUD FY 2027. Sources

Austin home costs, fact by fact

About Austin

Austin is in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX metro area, ranked 25th among US metro areas. Owners occupy 43.4% of homes, and median gross rent is $1,729 per month.

Reading the Austin figures

Austin's owner estimate of $555,300 sits far above the Texas figure of $318,100. Frisco reports $642,100, with The Woodlands in the same range at $511,700; Dallas shows just $320,700. Only 43.4% of households own here, a share nearer Dallas (42.4%) than The Woodlands (72.5%) or Sugar Land (80.3%).

Travis County's effective tax rate of 1.48% looks modest, yet the yearly median bill reaches $7,727 because homes in the county are valued at a median of $523,000. Loan costs in 2025 had a median of $8,377 across 11,266 loans, with the typical spread running from $5,845 to $12,406. Rent is $1,729 a month. HUD's reference for the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro is $1,817 for a 2-bedroom and $2,292 for a bigger home, and, again, that is not a market median.

Inside the city the spread is wide. Payotte tracks the 10 most populous neighborhood planning areas. Allandale has the top owner estimate, $804,000, together with the largest owner share, 65.6%. East Oak Hill follows at $707,000, then West Oak Hill at $599,000. Highland shows $569,000, Windsor Park $530,000. Pleasant Valley shows $317,000 while Franklin Park shows $330,000, both close to the statewide median. Ownership runs on a different axis. Riverside has only 8% owners, West University 10.3% and Pleasant Valley 13.7%, so those areas are mostly rented; Franklin Park reaches 55.3%. Rent climbs from $1,390 in North Austin Civic Association to $1,960 in West Oak Hill, topping out at $1,990 in East Oak Hill. Housing age separates the areas too: Allandale's median construction year is 1964 and Windsor Park's is 1969, with 64.5% of its homes predating 1980. West Oak Hill and West University share a median of 2002, and only 13.2% of West Oak Hill homes predate 1980. Anyone budgeting repairs should keep that range in mind. Sector figures are owners' estimates and survey medians, so use them to compare areas against each other, not to price a particular home.

Calculate for Texas

If you buy

Texas state transfer tax

Texas has no real estate transfer tax. Change the price: the amount is recalculated instantly.

Price$318,100
State transfer tax$0
Share of the price—

Default price: the Texas median value of owner-occupied homes, $318,100 (Census ACS 2025). Rule: No transfer tax exists. Buyers pay county recording fees and a state-set title insurance premium. Who pays: No transfer tax to assign. Recording fees and the title insurance premium appear on the closing statement. Not included: county and city transfer taxes, recording fees, title insurance and lender charges. Texas transfer tax guide · all 50 states.

If you sell

Capital gain and the federal tax on it

Same federal rule in every state: Section 121 of the Internal Revenue Code excludes up to $250,000 of gain on a main home ($500,000 for a married couple filing jointly).

Capital gain$350,000
Section 121 exclusion$250,000 (limit $250,000)
Taxable gain$100,000
Type of gainLong-term (owned over 1 year), 15% chosen
Federal tax on the gain$15,000

Section 121 excludes $250,000; the rest is taxable.

Gain = sale price minus your adjusted basis (purchase price, buying costs and improvements); selling expenses reduce it (IRS Publication 523). Long-term rates for sales in 2026, by taxable income including the gain (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 4.03): 0% up to $49,450 single or $98,900 married filing jointly, 15% up to $545,500 single or $613,700 jointly, 20% above. Not included: Texas state income tax on the gain (not computed), the net investment income tax, depreciation recapture on a rental or home office, and the reduced exclusion for an early sale. Agent commissions are negotiated and never set by law. Capital gains on a home sale.

Sectors of Austin

Austin is divided into the ten most populous of 65 neighborhood planning areas, one open spot per trade in each.

Source: City of Austin GIS, Neighborhood Planning Areas. Population per area is a Payotte estimate: the sum of Census ACS 2020-2024 populations (table B01003) of the 2020 census tracts whose internal point lies inside each official boundary. These areas do not cover the whole city.

Questions about buying a home in Austin

How much is property tax in Austin?

Homeowners in Travis County pay a median $7,727 a year in property tax, 1.48% of the county median home value of $523,000 (Census ACS 2020-2024). Your bill depends on your assessed value and local rates.

What are closing costs on a mortgage in Austin?

Home-purchase mortgages in Travis County carried median total loan costs of $8,377 in 2025; half of the 11,266 loans fell between $5,845 and $12,406 (HMDA). Total loan costs are the lender and settlement-service charges of the Closing Disclosure; transfer taxes and prepaid items come on top.

Is there a transfer tax when you buy a home in Austin?

Texas has no real estate transfer tax. Article VIII, Section 29 of the Texas Constitution, added November 3, 2015, says no law enacted after January 1, 2016 may impose a transfer tax on a transaction that conveys fee simple title to real property.

Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Austin?

It depends on your mortgage rate, down payment and how long you stay. As a benchmark, the median value of owner-occupied homes in Austin ($555,300) equals 26.8 years of the median gross rent ($1,729 a month), both from Census ACS 2020-2024.

What natural hazards affect home insurance in Austin?

Across Texas, the main hazards for home insurance are flood, tornado, wind and hail, and the insurer of last resort is Texas FAIR Plan Association (TFPA). Texas gets more tornadoes than any other state, according to the Texas Department of Insurance; on the coast, windstorm coverage comes from a separate policy, often from TWIA, in 14 coastal counties plus part of Harris County.

Run your own numbers: rent vs buy calculator · closing costs calculator.

Texas rules that apply in Austin

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Sources

Texas · All states · Federal guides