Market · November 9, 2026

Brian Copland

Sell now or wait for spring? What the numbers say in four close-in Austin ZIP codes

Spring pays sellers a little more, about 3% per square foot in each of the last two years, and homes sell faster. You also compete with more than twice as many new listings.

Modern Austin home shown half in holiday lights at dusk and half in spring bluebonnets

Every fall someone asks me whether they should list before the holidays or wait for spring. Across the whole Austin area, the answer from eight years of MLS data is pretty clear. Spring pays sellers a little more, about 3% per square foot in each of the last two years, and homes sell faster. But you also compete with more than twice as many new listings.

I wanted to see if that holds up block by block, so I pulled the same monthly numbers for four close-in ZIP codes. I compared homes that closed in November and December with homes that closed the following April and May, for six seasons: 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2022-23 through 2025-26. I left out the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, when prices went up almost every month no matter what.

One honest warning before the numbers. These ZIPs only close somewhere between about 10 and 60 homes a month, so one big sale can swing a median a lot. I only call something a pattern if it showed up year after year.

What held up in all four ZIPs

Spring brings a flood of new listings. In every one of the six seasons, in every one of these ZIPs, more homes came on the market in April and May than in November and December, usually two to three and a half times as many.
Spring homes sell faster. Median days on market was lower in spring in 23 of the 24 ZIP seasons I looked at.
The holidays are the quietest stretch for new listings. From 2019 through 2025, November, December or January had the fewest new listings of the year in 26 of 28 ZIP-years, and most of the time it was December. The two exceptions were Downtown in 2020 and 2021.

What did not hold up is the idea that spring always means a higher price per square foot. That depends a lot on the ZIP.

78731, Northwest Hills

This is where the spring premium looks most real. Price per square foot was higher in spring in five of the six seasons. Last season it went from about $393 for November and December 2025 closings to about $448 for April and May 2026, though most of that came from an unusually strong May. The one miss was 2024-25, when it slipped about 2%.

The catch is competition. New listings went from an average of about 18 a month last November and December to about 59 a month in April and May. December 2025 had only 13 new listings, the fewest of the year, and it was the fewest of the year in each of the last four years.

About 363 homes sold in 78731 in the 12 months through October 2026.

78746, Westlake and Rollingwood

Here the spring price story falls apart. Price per square foot was actually lower in spring than the holidays before in four of the six seasons, and higher in only two. In 2025-26 it went from about $562 to about $586, but the three seasons before that all went the other way.

What does hold is the competition math. New listings ran about 2.6 to 3.9 times higher in spring every season. December 2025 had 13 new listings, compared with 67 in April 2026.

About 322 homes sold in 78746 in the 12 months through October 2026. At these prices, a handful of big sales moves the median, so take any single month with a grain of salt.

78701, Downtown

Downtown is mostly condos, and it is the noisiest of the four. Some months only 8 to 16 homes closed. Price per square foot swung anywhere from 26% lower to 28% higher between the holidays and spring, so I would not read a seasonal price pattern into it at all.

Two things were consistent. More new listings came on in spring every season, and the number of homes for sale was higher in spring every season too. If you own downtown, the competition you face is the bigger seasonal story, not the calendar price.

About 220 homes sold in 78701 in the 12 months through October 2026.

78704, South Austin, Zilker, Bouldin and Travis Heights

78704 is the busiest of the four, and the price story is mixed. Price per square foot was higher in spring in four seasons and lower in two, and none of the moves were bigger than about 7% either way. Last season it went from about $500 to about $507, which is about 1%.

The new listing pattern is as steady as it gets. December had the fewest new listings of the year in every year from 2019 through 2025. December 2025 had 39 new listings, compared with 155 in April 2026, and about 390 homes were for sale in April and May compared with about 240 last December.

About 571 homes sold in 78704 in the 12 months through October 2026.

So what does this mean for you?

If you are selling in Northwest Hills, the data says spring has usually paid a bit more, and you have to decide if that is worth waiting several months and facing three times the new listings. In Westlake, Downtown and 78704, the spring price bump is not something I can promise from the numbers. The extra competition is.

If you are buying, the holidays are when you will see the fewest other listings, which also means the fewest new choices.

If you would like to talk through what these numbers mean for your home and your street, give me a call at 512-576-0288 or email me at brian@coplandpg.com.

Brian Copland, REALTOR®

Copland Property Group I eXp Realty

Source: Unlock MLS via MLS Grid, via AgentIntel. Residential sales, monthly data from July 2018 through October 2026. Holiday figures are November and December closings, spring figures are the following April and May closings. These numbers are context, not an appraisal.

Questions

Does spring pay more than the holidays in Austin?

Across the whole Austin area, spring pays sellers a little more, about 3% per square foot in each of the last two years, and homes sell faster. You also compete with more than twice as many new listings.

Does spring always mean a higher price per square foot?