Though area housing sales were slightly down in April, the pricing made Hutto and Taylor properties some of the most affordable in east Williamson County, officials said.
According to the latest figures available, the cost of homes sold dropped 4% in the Hutto area to $355,000, while Taylor-area median home prices leapt 18% to $360,000 compared to last year.
That makes them some of the most economical purchases north of Austin compared to all of Williamson County, which boasted a median sales price of nearly $436,000 in April, up just 1.1% from the same period in 2024, according to the Austin Board of Realtors and Unlock MLS.
The agency compiles the statistics for the five-county Austin-Round-Rock-San Marcos Metropolitan Statistical Area.
“What’s unique to the Central Texas housing market is its supply of affordably priced inventory,” said Clare Knapp, housing economist for Unlock MLS and the Austin Board of Realtors.
In Williamson County, inventory was up by nearly half to 4.8 months.
In the 76574 ZIP code that includes Taylor, the inventory rose to 6.6 months from 4.2 months last April. Statistics for the Hutto ZIP code 78634 show that inventory doubled to 3.3 months for the same period.
In comparison, home sales prices in Austin are still considered the least affordable, plodding up just 1.6% in April to a median of $595,000 on 870 closed deals. Themedian for the entire MSA was $450,000. For Travis County, the median sales price last month was $520,000 as overall sales slowed by 14.2% In general, more houses coming onto the market across the region gives buyers more choices and stabilizes prices compared to a buying boom during and immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
Prices soared as buyers could afford more house thanks to record low mortgage lending rates. The tight inventory of houses up for sale created bidding wars and set off another building boom, analysts said.
“Central Texas’ move toward more balanced market conditions mirrors housing market corrections nationwide, underscoring that what is happening in our market isn’t an anomaly,” Knapp said.
She added, “What’s unique to the Central Texas housing market is its supply of affordably priced inventory. Austin was one of the most affordability-constrained markets emerging from the pandemic. Many parts of the country are still supply-constrained, but in April, the Austin area posted the highest inventory level affordable to the standard household since 2012.”
Overall affordability is still an issue.
Of the 3,869 active listings in Williamson County as of the end of April, only 300 are priced at $300,000 or less, Knapp said.
“While this signals progress, especially for first-time homebuyers, significant work remains to improve long-term housing affordability across the region, especially as higher mortgage rates and economic turbulence impact buyer confidence,” she added.
A balanced market usually occurs when there are about six months of inventory available. Lower numbers make it a seller’s market and higher inventory is usually to the advantage of the buyer.
Mortgage rates are expected to stay below 7%, but above 6.5% for the rest of the year as the Federal Reserve weighs interest rate cuts against rising inflation in the face of supplychain challenges and uncertainty brought on by the Trump administration’s tariffs.
