Infill / development · October 1, 2026
Evaluating Austin infill: what actually pencils
HOME changed yield on a lot of SF lots. Fees, trees, and overlays still kill deals. Here is the underwriting order we use.
If you are turning a Central Austin lot into two or three homes, or buying a small multifamily near a future station, the code is more useful than it was five years ago. The market is less forgiving than 2021. Exit price is not a boom-year number with a story attached.
In September 2026 the metro median was about $432,000, with about 5.5 months of inventory. Inside the city the median was about $566,000, and months of inventory were about 5.1, tighter than the July 2025 stretch near 6.9. The submarket is still the only number that matters. Pressure-test the exit by product and by street, not by MSA. The September market note has the counts.
What you can build
HOME Phase 1: up to three units on many single-family zoned lots, modernized two-unit rules, tiny homes recognized. Confirm lot history and zoning before you pencil yield. The city’s HOME overview is the starting document, not a blog post.
HOME Phase 2: small-lot single-family as small as 1,800 SF in SF-1, SF-2, and SF-3, plus streamlined infill subdivision in some cases. Overlays, including Wildland-Urban Interface and displacement-risk tracts, may add constraints.
Near Project Connect, ETOD can add height with on-site affordable units — in some tiers up to about 120 feet. Citywide compatibility distance was reduced to 75 feet (May 2024 changes). DB90 can take some commercial/mixed-use sites to 90 feet with affordability. Model the obligation. Do not treat bonus height as free FAR.
Fees that show up in the first spreadsheet
Austin Water: for lots platted after October 1, 2023, the published combined water and wastewater impact fee has been about $7,700 per service unit. Older plats are on a different schedule. Confirm the current fee, the meter size, and the plat date.
Street Impact Fee varies by service area and land use. ADUs on an existing site often do not trip SIF because they usually do not hit the 10 PM-peak-trip threshold. Run the estimate anyway.
Parkland dedication or fee-in-lieu can trigger on new residential lots/units. Income-restricted units may be exempt. Ask PARD early.
Kill criteria before you go hard
Protected trees: generally 19 inches DBH and up. Heritage: 24 inches for listed species. Removals need permits and mitigation. Order the tree survey before earnest money gets serious.
Critical Water Quality Zones, floodplain, WUI, displacement-risk dashboard. Neighborhood plans, conservation combining districts, historic overlays, and private covenants can override what base zoning appears to allow. Read the title.
Permit path
Four units or fewer can often skip a full site plan and go through building permit / residential review. Mixed-use and larger multifamily usually need site plan. HOME added Site Plan Lite and Infill Plat for qualifying small-lot resubdivisions.
Development Services targets we plan against: completeness check about 10 business days, about 45 days to a complete file, formal review about 30 days, and an update about 15 days. Complexity still moves the calendar. Rezoning and a density bonus still add time. Drainage: June 16, 2025 is the lot-creation cut date we check. Lots created before that date can fall on a different review path than lots created after it, and a constrained watershed can still need a grading plan. Confirm the current rule for the plat.
- Zoning, lot size, plat date
- Yield under HOME 1 vs. HOME 2 vs. a small-lot split
- Water impact + Street Impact Fee
- Tree survey
- Flood / WUI / CWQZ / displacement risk
- Title restrictions and historic triggers
- ETOD or DB90 affordability if you are chasing height