Top-Ranked Housing Markets in the Austin Metro Area

Neighborhoods on the shores of Lake Travis, in Round Rock, and Driftwood are among the hottest housing markets in the Austin area.

That's according to The Business Journal's inaugural hottest housing markets ranking, which is based on third-quarter listing and sales data from Intercontinental Exchange Inc.

The ranking is intended to emphasize sales and pricing momentum in individual ZIP codes, using a weighted formula that includes quarterly and year-over-year comparisons. Only ZIP codes with complete data were included in the analysis. You can read more about the methodology at the bottom of this story.

Using those criteria, Austin's 78726 ZIP code was found to have the most momentum in the metro. Located in a somewhat rural stretch of Northwest Austin known as the Four Points area near Lake Travis, the 78726 ZIP code saw 16 new listings in the third quarter, compared to 18 listings sold. Homes had an average listing price of $835,331, an average sale price of $796,823, and spent an average of 86 days on the market.

While 16 new and 18 listings sold are relatively samplings, the rankings place extra weight on how prices have changed in a given ZIP code. In 78726, the average listing price has risen 71% since the third quarter of 2023.

Overall, the 78726 ZIP code ranked No. 21 among the hottest ZIP codes in Texas. One nearby ZIP code outperformed it, though. Located close to Marble Falls, Horseshoe Bay's

78657 ZIP code in Llano County wasn't counted as part of the Austin-Round Rock metro in the analysis, but it ranked as the No. 13 hottest in the state. There, listings sold for an average of $888,889 and sat on the market for an average of 111 days.

The second hottest ZIP code in the metro is Driftwood's 78619, which saw 31 new listings compared to 22 listings sold in the third quarter 2024. Homes there carried an average listing price of $1.4 million, an average sale price of $1.1 million, and spent an average of 95 days on the market.

The metro's top three ranked ZIP codes each fell in either Travis, Hays, or Williamson counties, and the ZIP codes that round out the remainder of the area's top 25 are just as geographically diverse, landing in cities in those three counties as well as Bastrop and Blanco counties. Here's a look at the other 22 hottest markets in the region, including the average sale price of a home and the average number of days on the market per listing:

4. Austin's 78732 - $965,075, 85 days.

5. Austin's 78737 - $873,881, 94 days

6. Austin's 78756 - $1 million, 89 days

7. Austin's 78731 - $1.1 million, 117 days

8. Austin's 78739 - $892,337, 75 days

9. Round Rock's 78681 - $578,588, 69 days

10. Leander's 78641 - $568,939, 98 days

11. Austin's 78724 - $462,498, 80 days

12. Austin's 78717 - $607,048, 65 days

13. Georgetown's 78626 - $432,211, 84 days

14. Pflugerville's 78660 - $439,277, 94 days

15. Austin's 78749 - $586,874, 68 days

16. Austin's 78750 - $692,075, 74 days

17. Cedar Park's 78613 - $540,287, 72 days

18. Austin's 78758 - $412,671, 83 days

19. Austin's 78757 - $720,662, 82 days

20. Austin's 78748 - $467,528, 62 days

21. Cedar Creek's 78612 - $488,219, 144 days

22. Austin's 78729 - $473,169, 72 days

23. Manchaca's 78652 - $524,986, 89 days

24. Wimberley's 78676 - $634,027, 131 days

25. Dripping Spring's 78620 - $798,377, 128 days

America's hottest housing markets

Home sales have flatlined nationally in recent months as high mortgage rates and continued home-price appreciation have sidelined many potential buyers and discouraged would-be sellers.

Despite those transactional challenges, plenty of areas are still seeing stiff competition.

ZIP code 81144 in Monte Vista, Colorado, ranked as The Business Journals' hottest housing market for the third quarter.

The average home sale price in 81144 was $565,818, 87% more than the national average listing price of $303,055. Homes there spent an average of 123 days on the market last quarter.

A community of just over 4,000 residents adjacent to the Sangre de Christo and San Juan mountains, Colorado's 81144 is an outlier among the ZIP codes that topped The Business Journals' hottest housing markets ranking.

Eight of the top 10 ZIP codes for the third quarter are in states along the East Coast, from Maine to Florida, including two ZIP codes in Pennsylvania: Bethlehem-18015 and Easton-18042.

Four ZIP codes from Maine were among the nation's top 20, more than any other state.

Waldoboro-04572 came in fourth in the nation, and Union-04862 ranked 14th. The two other high-ranking ZIP codes from Maine - Harrison-04040 and Ogunquit-03907 - are both within the Portland metro area.

Among The Business Journals' top 10 ZIP codes, the average home sold for $1.2 million after spending 98 days on the market.

In those 10 ZIP codes, home prices on average more than doubled from 2019 to 2024, surging 154%.

Home prices on the rise

Home prices continue to rise despite weaker buying activity nationally. According to data from the National Association of Realtors, the median existing home price in September was $404,500, up 3% from the same time a year ago.

According to NAR data, existing home sales dropped 1% monthly at the national level in September, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.84 million. Sales in September were down 3.5% from the same month a year ago.

While there's hope the Federal Reserve's recent rate cut - and anticipated future cuts will unlock more sales activity, experts have warned there are no guarantees that mortgage rates will continue to fall.

That means the "lock-in effect," which is one of several factors that have kept would-be sellers from listing their homes, could linger well into 2025.