Austin vs San Antonio

**Price Trends & Correction Depth**

Austin and San Antonio are both experiencing price softness, but the scale differs markedly. Austin's median home price sits at $469,500 as of March 2026 — down 7.9% year-over-year and roughly 16% off its April 2024 peak of $557,748 in this data series. San Antonio's median is $323,950, off 3.3% year-over-year and down about 6% from its mid-2024 peak near $349,000. The $145,550 price gap between the two metros is substantial. Buyers in San Antonio are getting more home per dollar in absolute terms, and the correction they're buying into is far shallower. Austin's steeper decline reflects a specific structural cause: approximately 31,000 new apartment units delivered in 2024 alone flooded the market and pushed rents down 17–22% from their 2022 peak, cooling investor demand and softening the broader for-sale market simultaneously. Both markets have shown a tentative MoM recovery in March 2026 — Austin up 3.2% and San Antonio up 1.2% month-over-month — but it is too early to call either a confirmed floor.

**Inventory Conditions & Market Velocity**

Inventory dynamics tell a nuanced story. Austin's active listings stand at 10,147 with 2.4 months of supply and a days-on-market of 53. San Antonio has more listings — 12,651 — with 2.7 months of supply and a slightly slower pace of 61 days on market. Both are currently tighter than they were in late 2024, when inventory peaked at 5.7 months in Austin (December 2024) and 5.5 months in San Antonio (December 2024). That late-2024 inventory spike gave buyers considerable leverage; the sharp compression back to the low-to-mid 2s by March 2026 suggests seasonal demand absorption is happening in both markets. Austin's inventory tightening is more dramatic — dropping from 5.7 to 2.4 months in roughly three months — which may partly reflect sellers pulling listings rather than buyers clearing them, a distinction worth investigating before interpreting it as pure demand strength. San Antonio's 61-day average days on market versus Austin's 53 days suggests slightly less urgency from buyers in San Antonio, consistent with its more stable (if slower-growing) demand profile.

**Buyer & Seller Dynamics**

Cash buyers represent 25.2% of Austin transactions versus 21.0% in San Antonio. Austin's higher cash share likely reflects a mix of institutional investors and tech-sector relocators with equity from prior home sales. Neither figure signals the frenzied all-cash environment of 2021–2022, but both indicate meaningful non-leveraged competition. Property taxes are a significant consideration in both Texas markets: Austin (Travis County) averages around 2.07% of assessed value, while San Antonio ranges from 2.1% to 2.5% depending on taxing district — potentially higher than Austin on a rate basis. On a dollar basis, however, Austin's higher price point means annual property tax bills run roughly $9,700 at median versus approximately $6,800–$8,100 at median in San Antonio, a $1,600–$2,900 annual difference that compounds over a holding period. San Antonio's cost of living index of 91.2 (8.8% below the national average) compares favorably to Austin's 113, meaning non-housing expenses also stretch further there.

**Economic Fundamentals & Long-Term Positioning**

Austin's economic engine is more concentrated in high-growth, higher-variance sectors: Dell, Apple, Tesla's Gigafactory, Oracle, and Samsung's new Taylor semiconductor fab anchor a tech-heavy base. Median household income of $99,897 reflects this premium labor market. San Antonio's foundation is more diversified and less cyclical — Joint Base San Antonio with 80,000+ personnel provides a government-guaranteed employment floor, USAA anchors financial services, and H-E-B contributes a large retail/logistics employer. San Antonio's median household income of $78,112 is 22% lower than Austin's, which partly explains the affordability gap but also suggests slower future price appreciation ceiling. Both metros share identical state income tax treatment (none) and similar commute times (~28 minutes). Austin's population grew faster (10.8% from 2019–2024 vs. 8.0% for San Antonio), but that same growth accelerated the supply overshoot now driving its correction. San Antonio's steadier growth trajectory has produced more predictable supply-demand balance over the same period.