Austin's housing market, long one of the nation's fastest-moving, has slowed winded down, becoming the slowest among the 50 largest U.S. metros, according to Redfin.
The typical Austin home that went under contract in December spent 106 days on the market, the longest pace that this month has posted on record and nearly double the 60-day nationwide median. A year earlier, homes were selling in just 91 days, underscoring how quickly the city's once red-hot market has cooled.
Several factors are driving the slowdown. Rising inventory, higher mortgage rates and growing affordability pressures have reduced buyers' sense of urgency, Redfin said. Many prospective purchasers are waiting for more favorable conditions, while sellers are recalibrating expectations after years of rapid price growth. Homes that once sparked bidding wars now often sit for months, shifting negotiating leverage to buyers.
Nearby Texas metros have also cooled, with San Antonio homes averaging 99 days on the market, Fort Worth 92 days and Houston 79 days. Other Sun Belt markets show similar trends, including Fort Lauderdale at 99 days, Miami at 92 days and West Palm Beach at 87 days.
By contrast, several northern and western metros maintained faster sales cycles. Homes sold in 29 days in Boston and 44 days in Baltimore, while San Francisco and Seattle averaged 45 to 50 days and Chicago came in at 61 days.
A widening seller-buyer imbalance is reinforcing the shift. In December 2025, Austin had roughly 128% more sellers than buyers, the largest gap among major U.S. metros. That surplus has given buyers greater negotiating power, with many offers coming in below list price, a stark reversal from the pandemic-era market when sellers routinely held the upper hand.
Price trends also reflect the cooling. Austin's median home price fell about 4.2% year-over-year in December, one of the steepest declines among large metros. At the same time, inventory increased roughly 11% from a year earlier. Redfin noted that closed sales ticked up in some neighborhoods, suggesting that while overall activity has slowed, pockets of demand remain.
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