Unlock MLS — the multiple listing service covering Austin and the surrounding Central Texas metro — publishes a monthly residential market snapshot. This post is our read of the numbers as of the Sep 19, 2026 pull, covering closed sales through August 2026.
The headline numbers
August 2026 median sale price across the Unlock MLS footprint was $403,000, down 5.2% from August 2025. Sales volume was 2,971 closings, off 2.5% year over year. Homes sold in a median of 45 days, and the typical sale closed at 93.12% of list price. None of that describes a crash — it describes a market that's still cooling gradually off its 2022 peak.
Zoom out and the trend is a slow descent, not a cliff: median sale price for the full year was ~$490K in 2022, $440,158 in 2023, $430,000 in 2024, and $422,000 in 2025. Year-to-date through Sep 19, 2026, the median sits at $415,000 — with 25,557 sales closed, actually up 3.1% from the same period last year. More homes are trading at lower prices, which is exactly what a market absorbing four years of rate-driven demand destruction looks like.
The part that isn't one-speed: days on market by price
The headline "45 days, down 2 from last year" hides a much more interesting split once you break it out by price bracket (closings, Jun 21–Sep 19, 2026 vs. the same window a year earlier):
| Price range | Median DOM | Δ vs. last year | % under asking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $200K | 52 | +14 | -6.17% |
| $200K–$300K | 50 | +6 | -2.58% |
| $300K–$400K | 47 | +1 | -2.06% |
| $400K–$500K | 45 | -6 | -2.24% |
| $500K–$600K | 41 | -5 | -2.30% |
| $600K–$700K | 46 | -4 | -2.29% |
| $700K–$800K | 40 | -7 | -2.44% |
| $800K–$1M | 40 | 0 | -2.98% |
| $1M–$1.19M | 37 | -16 | -3.77% |
| $1.2M–$1.39M | 30 | -12 | -3.30% |
| $1.4M+ | 41 | -19 | -4.51% |
Two things jump out. First, homes under $300K are the only segment getting slower — up 6 to 14 days on market versus a year ago — and they're also selling at the steepest discount from asking of any bracket (up to -6.17% under $200K, deeper than even the $1.4M+ segment). That's the soft spot in this market right now.
Second, $1M+ homes are moving noticeably faster than they were a year ago — 12 to 19 fewer days on market — even though they're also selling further below asking. Fewer $1M+ buyers, but the ones shopping are moving decisively when a listing is priced right.
Supply: mostly a buyer's market, unevenly
Months of supply — how long it would take to sell every active listing at the current sales pace — sits at 5.7 months overall as of Sep 19, 2026. Anything north of ~5–6 months is generally read as buyer-favorable. It's not even across price points, though: the $200K–$500K core of the market is the tightest, at 5.0–5.3 months, while the very top (8.5 months for $1.4M+) and the very bottom (7.1 months under $200K) are the most oversupplied relative to demand.
The pricing-discipline gap: 21% vs. 8%
As of Sep 19, 2026, 57% of all active listings in the Unlock MLS footprint have taken at least one price cut, averaging 21% off the original list price. But homes that actually closed in August with a price drop needed an average cut of just 8% to get there.
Read those two numbers together and the lesson is blunt: the listings stuck with deep, repeated cuts are overwhelmingly the ones priced wrong on day one. Homes priced close to market from the start needed a modest correction, if any, to close. Overpricing doesn't just delay a sale — in this market, it tends to compound into a much larger eventual discount.
What this means if you're buying
Outside of the $300K–$600K core, you're shopping in a market with real leverage — 5.7 months of supply overall, 57% of listings already discounted at least once, and typical closings landing ~2–4% under asking (more under $300K and over $1M). Below $300K especially, don't feel pressure to match list price; the data says sellers in that bracket are already conceding the most.
What this means if you're selling
Price to the current comps, not to 2022 or even 2024. The gap between the 8% cut that closed sales actually needed and the 21% average cut sitting on stale active listings is almost entirely a pricing-strategy problem, not a demand problem — 25,557 homes have sold in this market so far in 2026, up 3.1% from last year. If you're in the $1M+ range, the faster DOM trend is a genuinely good sign right now; don't let it tempt you into overpricing on top of it.
Source: Unlock MLS Residential Market Snapshot, data pulled Sep 19, 2026, covering the Unlock MLS service area across Central Texas. Figures are regional aggregates, not neighborhood- or ZIP-specific, and can move as the MLS refreshes. This is market commentary, not a valuation of any specific property — ask your agent for a comp-based CMA before pricing a listing or an offer.