An eclectic cast of characters put the priciest homes on the market in the Austin area this year, from government officials and CEOs to scholars and philanthropists.
Yet, they all faced the same challenge: struggling to find a buyer.
Austin’s priciest residential listings of 2024 reveal that, unlike its mega-metro siblings Dallas and Houston, the Texas capital’s luxury home market floundered. Only one known deal closed for a home last listed over $10 million — compared to 2023’s three and 2022’s five — along with a litany of price cuts and ever-increasing days on market.
Moreland Properties brokers Eric Moreland and Darin Walker represented the seller and buyer, respectively in that priciest deal. The 9,000-square-foot home at 2 Valbella Drive last listed at $10.3 million in West Lakes Hills. That’s down 38 percent from the $16.5 million it asked for months before.
Here were 2024’s priciest home listings in Austin — most, still, waiting for the right buyer:
1003 The High Road | $19.5 million
This rebuilt seven-bedroom home hit the Westlake Hills market in August, asking nearly $1,100 per square foot.
The 10,900-square-foot ultra-modern home includes a glass-enclosed wine vault, a lounge with a double-sided fireplace, a home office, library and a pool and spa, with a cabana and a swim-up bar.
The home was owned for over 20 years by William Nethercutt, a classical scholar and a professor at the University of Texas in Austin, who died in 2020. Austin builder Paradisa Homes bought the home and redeveloped it in 2023.
Kuper Sotheby’s Ramey has the listing.
13330 Shore Vista Drive | $17 million
This 8,200-square-foot home spans 3 acres on the shores of Lake Austin, near Bee Cave. It hasn’t taken any price cuts, asking about $2,060 per square foot since hitting the market in July.
The property includes a two-slip, covered boat dock, with a kitchen, fireplace and pizza oven outside. A cylindrical staircase and elevator give access to the five-bedroom estate’s three stories, including a primary bedroom in a wing of its own, two home offices, a greenhouse, three-car garage and a “world-class wellness center.” It was built from materials sourced from around the world, including century-old reclaimed timbers, Jerusalem stone and 11 antique doors, the listing says.
William and Sherry Kiker own the home, records show. William Kiker, an independent insurance agent from Abilene and a World War II veteran, died in 2021. Before them, it was owned by Moody International Companies CEO Brett Moody.
Ramey of Kuper Sotheby’s has the listing.
1700 Lakeshore Drive | $15.9 million
Another lakeside retreat, this almost 4,000-square-foot Mediterranean-style home has been on the market since November 2023, asking just over $4,000 per square foot. Since then, its price has dropped by over 10 percent.
The four-bedroom home features 445 feet of Lake Austin waterfront with a two-slip private boat dock, on just over three-quarters of an acre bordered by century-old trees. Built in 1982, it includes a pool and two fireplaces.
Warren and Rosie Bowker have owned the home since before 2001. Warren died in 2021. Keller Williams agent Patrick McGinley has the listing.
12400 Cedar Street | $15 million
This listing is $30 million less than it was three years ago. It dropped from $45 to $35 million before eventually, millions in cuts later, it asked just under $15 million in November, about $970 per square foot.
It spans almost 15,400 square feet on 20 acres overlooking Lake Travis on the outskirts of the city, built in 2004 with its own boat slip and dock. It has a five-car garage, six bedrooms, six half- and seven full bathrooms, a grotto and an indoor-outdoor “pavilion.” Its red-tiled roof and white stucco walls lend it a “Mykonos-in-Hill-Country feel.”
Edward Deery of Houston-based law firm Ytterberg Deery Knull owns the property, records show. Compass agent Gary Dolch has the listing.
8818 Big View Drive | $15 million
An ultra-modern home, also on Lake Austin, this 7,200-square-feet estate took a 15 percent price cut since first landing on the market in May.
It has five bedrooms, a media room and game room inside, where nearly everything, from the ceiling fixtures to the paint, is either sleek black or bright white with a consistently modern air. Outside there’s a wooden patio, outdoor bar, pool and boat dock.
The seller, Austin philanthropist and Ferrari-collector Milton Verret, enlisted architect Winn Wittman for an extensive three-year remodel before listing it in 2015, according to Austin Monthly.
It’s been on and off the market since. Verret, whose Instagram account highlights photos with celebrities Matthew McConaughey and Jay Leno between car posts, said in 2015 that director Terrence Malick requested to use the home for a film with Ryan Gosling and Natalie Portman — likely “Song to Song,” a 2017 romantic drama which featured numerous Austin locations.
Kuper Sotheby’s Wilcoxon has the listing.
3710 Meadowbank Drive | $12.9 million
This home spans 6,400 square feet on a little over half an acre, just off the lake with a separate boat house. It’s asking about $2,010 per square foot. It hit the market in June, taking an 11 percent price cut in October.
It was custom built in 2002 and features five bedrooms, a study, multiple dining and living areas, a wet bar and an elevator; out back there’s a garden with cypress trees, an outdoor kitchen, covered verandas and a pool and spa.
The estate’s been owned by Lee and Paula Aaronson since 2008, according to county records. Lee was formerly CEO of South Texas furniture chain Lacks Valley Stores, founded by his grandfather, while Paula was an engineer for Motorola and Freescale.
Ramey of Kuper Sotheby’s has the listing.
14132 Flat Top Ranch Road | $12.8 million
This home, listed for about $1 million more in August, spans over 12,400 square feet on over three acres in the Bellagio Estates neighborhood off Lake Austin. The six-bedroom estate, which includes a two-story private boat dock, is asking about $1,030 per square foot.
It brings a host of high-end amenities: an infrared sauna, high-end security features, a game room, a Tiger Wood’s golf simulator, indoor basketball court and workout room, along with two home offices. Outside, there’s a pool and hot tub with a cascading waterfall.
Eric Moreland has the listing. The seller’s identity is hidden behind an estate trust.
1708 Cromwell Hill | $12.5 million
This 8,000-square-foot estate in Old Enfield was built in 1932. A local steel company family, a state Supreme Court justice, an Austin socialite, a pair of rare books dealers and a former city council member all once called it home, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
The five-bedroom home features a gallery hall, outdoor terrace and reading nook tucked at the top of the stairs. The home includes a brick covered veranda next to a garden with a reflecting pool, a poolhouse and swimming pool all fitting on just over half an acre. It’s asking about $1,570 per square foot after taking a 4 percent price cut since it listed in May.
Robert Hicks — founder and managing partner of Austin private investing firm Capstar Capital — bought the home in 2016, before the deed was transferred to a trust in 2021.
Kuper Sotheby’s Wilcoxon has the listing.
3614 Murillo Circle | $11.5 million
This reconstructed Tarrytown estate hit the market in August, asking $1,100 per square foot. It spans almost 10,500 square feet on half an acre.
It has six bedrooms — each with an en-suite bathroom — and a nanny suite with its own bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room and laundry.
Kuper Sotheby’s Wilcoxin has the listing.
2 Valbella Drive | $10.3 million
The six-bedroom home spans 9,000 square feet on nearly an acre and a half, with notable features including plentiful floor-to-ceiling windows, two pools, a spa and an elevator servicing all three stories, with a bar and terrace on the third level.
Moreland had the listing. The buyer and seller were both entities in county records whose owners couldn’t be identified.
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