Austin luxury homes over $1.5 million: where the market stands

Sales of $1.5M and up in West Lake Hills, Austin, Lakeway, Dripping Springs and Horseshoe Bay: medians, days on market and inventory from Unlock MLS.

The headline numbers for Central Texas housing this fall point down. The luxury tier tells a more uneven story, and the details vary a lot from one ZIP code to the next.

This post looks at homes that sold for $1.5 million or more over the 12 months ending in early October 2026, using residential sales data from Unlock MLS that we update weekly for our market reports. The figures below were pulled on October 5, 2026. Every number is a median, a total or a ratio for an area. Texas is a non-disclosure state, and we never publish what an individual home sold for.

One note on geography: our reports cover selected ZIP codes, not whole cities. “Austin” here means 13 ZIP codes on the west and central side of the city (78701, 78703, 78704, 78731, 78746, 78730, 78732, 78733, 78735, 78738, 78739, 78750 and 78759), not the full city limits.

The wider market backdrop

Start with the region. In its August 2026 Central Texas Housing Report, published September 15, 2026, Unlock MLS reported 2,501 residential sales across the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro in August, down 7.3% from August 2025. The metro median price fell 6.4% to $412,000, and there were 5.1 months of inventory.

Within the city of Austin, the same report counted 844 sales in August (down 10.3% year over year) and a $560,000 median price (down 4.3%). Active listings in the city were down 14.5% from a year earlier.

Unlock MLS market research advisor Vaike O’Grady said in the release that “Higher interest rates mean fewer potential buyers,” while pointing to pending sales and building activity as signs the market is still moving. Metro pending sales rose 1.5% to 2,623 in August.

That is the whole market, where the median home is well under half a million dollars. The $1.5 million tier has behaved differently.

Austin ZIP codes: more sales, faster sales

Across our 13 Austin ZIP codes, 796 homes sold for $1.5 million or more in the 12 months ending October 2026, per Unlock MLS. That is up 3.8% from 767 in the prior 12 months.

The median sale price in this tier was $2,235,000, up 2.8% from $2,175,000. The bigger change was speed: median days on market in this tier fell to 40, from 60 a year earlier.

Supply is still ample. As of October 5, 2026, there were 379 active listings at $1.5 million and up in these ZIP codes, about 5.7 months of inventory at the current sales pace. By the common rule of thumb, around six months is a balanced market, so this tier sits close to that line.

One step down, the $750,000-and-up tier in the same ZIP codes recorded 2,373 sales over 12 months with a $1,200,000 median and 4.2 months of inventory.

West Lake Hills (78746): the sharpest shift in pace

West Lake Hills, measured by ZIP 78746, posted the clearest change. Unlock MLS shows 37 sales of $1.5 million or more over the last 12 months, up from 25 the year before.

The median days on market in this tier fell to 33, from 93 a year earlier. The median sale-to-list ratio was 100%, compared with 94.3% in the prior 12 months.

The median sale price was $2,900,000, slightly below the prior period’s $2,975,000. With only a few dozen sales a year, a median can move with the mix of homes that happen to close, so read small changes with care.

Inventory was thin: 12 active listings as of October 5, 2026, or about 3.9 months of supply. That is the lowest months-of-inventory figure among the areas in this post. See the West Lake Hills area page for more on the neighborhoods and the 78746 market report for monthly detail.

Lake Travis and the Hill Country

Farther west, the numbers point to slower absorption and more choice.

Lakeway (78734 and 78738). Unlock MLS recorded 26 sales of $1.5 million or more over 12 months, versus 28 the year before. The median sale price rose to $2,050,000 from $1,775,000 (up 15.5%), but median days on market lengthened to 70, from 54. With 22 active listings, Lakeway’s luxury tier had about 10.2 months of inventory as of October 5, 2026.

Dripping Springs (78620). Luxury sales rose to 34 from 28. The median sale price was $1,992,000, up 15.0% from $1,732,000, and median days on market fell to 46, from 86. Supply is deep, though: 45 active listings, or about 15.9 months of inventory.

Horseshoe Bay (78657). This Lake LBJ market recorded 38 sales of $1.5 million or more, up from 35. Its median sale price was the highest in this comparison at $3,073,000, up 31% from $2,346,000. Median days on market was 76, versus 78 a year earlier, and 56 active listings put inventory at about 17.7 months.

Bee Cave and The Hills. Each recorded fewer than five sales at $1.5 million and up over the last 12 months (two and four, respectively), so we do not report a luxury median for either. In the $750,000-and-up tier, The Hills recorded 50 sales with a $1,050,000 median and 26 median days on market, and Bee Cave recorded 19 sales with a $999,000 median, per Unlock MLS.

Price gains of 15% to 31% in markets with a few dozen sales a year should be read carefully. A handful of larger waterfront or acreage closings can move a median sharply. The months-of-inventory figures are the steadier signal: in Lakeway, Dripping Springs and Horseshoe Bay, there is more luxury supply on the market than recent sales would absorb in six months.

Downtown: new supply in the pipeline

Downtown’s luxury condo market has its own supply story. In a July 25, 2026 announcement, Pearlstone Partners said Viceroy Residences Austin, a 146-residence building at 300 Pressler Street between downtown and Lady Bird Lake, would open sales in August 2026. The developer listed pricing from under $1 million to penthouses above $6 million, with completion targeted for the fourth quarter of 2027.

Projects like this sell years before they deliver, so they add to the choices a downtown buyer weighs today even before they add to MLS inventory. In ZIP 78701, our data show 41 sales of $1.5 million or more over 12 months, with 47 active listings as of October 5, 2026. Our downtown area page covers the existing towers.

What this means if you are buying or selling

For sellers, the data argue for pricing by ZIP code, not by the metro headline. A West Lake Hills home is competing in a tier with under four months of supply. A Lake Travis or Hill Country home at the same price may be competing with a year or more of inventory.

For buyers, the deeper-supply markets offer more room to compare. In Lakeway, Dripping Springs and Horseshoe Bay, months of inventory in the luxury tier were above 10 as of early October 2026. Where inventory is tight, as in 78746, decisions tend to come faster.

None of this is a forecast. Rates, the job market and new construction will shape what happens next, and the 12-month figures here will keep moving as each week’s sales post.

If you want to see how your own ZIP code compares, browse the market reports, which update weekly, or talk with our team about a specific home.