Austin’s residential market declined this year, but the average price of the top 10 public home sales is higher than it was in 2024. Why?
It’s not that Austin is a K-shaped market, with luxury rising while the lower tiers sink. Home prices have fallen across all tiers in Austin since 2022, according to the Texas Real Estate Research Center.
Instead, the trend may be due to Austin’s uniquely robust private market, which agents say has been losing high-value homes to the Multiple Listing Service this year.
Austin has always relished secrecy. Dallas-Fort Worth has Billy Bob’s, the world’s biggest honky-tonk; Austin has the Cloak Room, a literally underground speakeasy near the Capitol tunnels. While DFW has Reunion Tower, Austin’s most iconic symbols are alley murals, like Jeremiah the Frog near the University of Texas and the “i love you so much” inscription on South Congress.
Accordingly, Austin has perhaps the most thriving off-market real estate scene in Texas. That’s why the biggest public sales of 2025, topping out at $17 million, shrink beside the private deals that have occasionally entered the spotlight, like Emma Stone’s $23.5 million home in Tarrytown, or Ross Moody’s Westlake purchase that almost certainly exceeded $20 million.
However, Austin is now in a buyer’s market, and even luxury sellers are feeling the change. Homes that would have normally sold off-market are increasingly going public, trading the tax advantages of privacy for the competitive boost of exposure.
Who knows? As more homes above $10 million trickle to the MLS, a continued downturn might bring bigger sales to next year’s ranking.
All prices below are asking prices; final sales prices are undisclosed.
13330 Shore Vista Drive | $16.9 million
The biggest public sale of the year was also the first. A Lake Austin estate at 13330 Shore Vista Drive went under contract on New Year’s Eve and closed in February after last listing for almost $17 million, or about $2,000 per square foot for the 8,220-square-foot home. The estate of Abilene insurance agent William Kiker, who in 2021 bought the home from Moody International Companies CEO Brett Moody, sold it to an LLC managed by a David J. Miller for an undisclosed price.
Built in 2013 on 3.17 acres, the five-bedroom, seven-bathroom property is west of Austin proper on the Colorado River, near Horseshoe Bay. The listing paragraph offered the rare amenity of access “by air, land or water, as helicopter landings are allowed.”
Kuper Sotheby’s International Realty agent Bridget Ramey had the listing.
3500 Bunny Run | $13 million
With five bedrooms, seven bathrooms and 8,600 square feet, the second-place home is comparable in size and location to the frontrunner. However, the property at 3500 Bunny Run isn’t quite on the river, and the lot is about half the size at 1.64 acres. Its listing price of $13 million comes down to about $1,000 per square foot. Compass Real Estate agents Saira Ukani and Ross Speed marketed the property, which sellers Darren Kocs and Beth Hellerstedt sold in May to Kalan Wagner.
907 Terrace Mountain Drive | $9.6 million
Moreland Properties agent Cord Shiflet audaciously marketed the West Lake Hills home at 907 Terrace Mountain Drive with just one full sentence: “Dick Clark, architect. John Luce, builder. They say a picture is worth 1,000 words so I’ll just stop here.” With four bedrooms, five bathrooms, a lot under an acre and 4,700 square feet, the value of this home lies in its historically significant design and its location in West Lake Hills, a neighborhood west of the city in the bow of the Colorado River between Highway 360 and Mopac. The listing price amounts to about $1,500 per square foot.
A trust held by inventor Harold Shockley sold the home to another trust registered to investor and former publisher Sandra Cunningham in February, according to public records.
1401 North Weston Lane | $9 million
This West Lake waterfront home just missed the Austin tech boom of 2021 and 2022. The sellers, Paul and Jennifer Gregory, listed the house for $13 million in May of 2023 and cut the price several times that year. They took the home off the market until May 2025, when it was listed for $9.4 million. The 5,600-square-foot home finally sold in September with an asking price just under $9 million, about $1,600 per square foot, to a trust connected to Joseph Lum. Eric Moreland of Moreland Properties had the listing.
5009 Spanish Oaks Club Boulevard | $9 million
It helps to be near a golf course. The Spanish Oaks neighborhood is a guard-gated community by the Spanish Oaks Golf Club, offering easy access for whoever leads The Perseverance Trust, which bought the property from Norman and Cecilia Davis in April, according to public records.
The $9 million listing price for the 10,000-square-foot contemporary comes down to about $890 per square foot.
The Davises bought and sold the property at inopportune moments, though some of their neighbors have fared worse. The six-bedroom, seven-bathroom home last traded in 2022, the peak of the honeymoon phase between Austin and the big tech industry.
Peyton Tomson of The Agency Austin had the listing.
5217 South Scout Island Circle | $8.5 million
Billed by Kuper Sotheby’s agents Joseph Longton and Kirk Lewis as Austin’s “most spectacular waterfront home under $9 million,” this four-bedroom, five-bathroom property asked about $1,400 per square foot for almost 6,200 square feet on a third of an acre. Seller John Reardon sold the property to an LLC in September, according to public records.
200 Congress Avenue, Unit 50T | $8.3 million
The only condo on the list is also the first deal east of Texas State Highway Loop 1, better known as Mopac. Thomas J. Henry sold this penthouse in the Austonian to entrepreneur, author and dramatic producer Sir Mallory Factor and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Factor, in May, according to public records. The $8.3 million asking price amounts to about $1,600 per square foot for the 5,000-square-foot condo. Ramey had the listing.
2701 Slow Turtle Cove | $8 million
Steven Howse, who may be either the rapper or the creator of Slither.io, sold the 8,000-square-foot, five-bedroom, eight-bathroom Westlake Highlands home to Stewart Hudson in September, according to public records. Howse asked about $1,000 per square foot. Michael Lamendola of The Austin Home Company had the listing.
2001 Cueva De Oro Cove | $8 million
Venture capitalist Joe Aragona sold the 7,900-square-foot, five-bedroom, seven-bathroom home at 2001 Cueva de Oro Cove to Vijay and Rachana Iyengar in October, according to public records. The home turned around quickly after listing in September. The asking price equates to about $1,000 per square foot. Shiflet had the listing.
3500 Ranch Road 620 Road North | $7.9 million
Dubbed “The Bond House” for its mid-century sleekness, the 5,200-square-foot, four-bedroom, five-bathroom home was designed by renowned Texas architect O’Neil Ford in 1962. It was also the viral listing of “Spy Kids” director Robert Rodriguez, who originally listed it for $8.9 million in 2024. It sold when it was asking $7.9 million, or about $1,500 per square foot. The home is on a lot that spans almost 4 acres on Lake Travis.
The Ryan Chen and Chia Jung Living Trust purchased the property in March, according to public records.
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