A rendering shows a design for the Upper Clubhouse at Four Seasons Private Residences Lake Austin. The luxury residential community west of the Loop 360 bridge is planned on 210 acres overlooking Lake Austin
DBOX/Austin Capital Partners
Austin’s housing market has cooled recently, but the area’s luxury buyers seem to have missed the memo.
While much of the Austin metro’s housing market has slowed under the weight of high borrowing costs and affordability pressures, its most expensive homes are changing hands faster than properties priced for entry-level buyers.
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Austin Board of Realtors market research advisor Vaïke O’Grady in August described luxury as the fastest-moving segment of the region’s market. Data presented by O’Grady using Unlock MLS figures showed homes priced at $1 million or more spent an average of 58 days on the market in July, compared with 82 days for homes listed between $250,000 and $300,000. That’s a 24-day difference between the highest and lowest price ranges.
Other high-end price bands moved even more quickly. Homes priced from $700,000 to $800,000 averaged 54 days on the market, while those between $800,000 and $900,000 averaged 52 days, the lowest of the group.
The data provides insight into the behavior of buyers across price ranges. Entry-level buyers face economic barriers to home ownership, including mortgage rates, while wealthier households are less exposed to financing costs. In some cases, those in the luxury market are able to purchase homes outright.
The trend is also showing up in the scale of luxury projects developers are willing to pursue.
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Four Seasons Private Residences Lake Austin, a long-planned residential resort west of the Pennybacker Bridge, secured an $870 million construction loan this summer. The loan marks one of the largest financings for a luxury residential development in Texas. The project has expanded to 210 acres with nearly a mile of Lake Austin shoreline and is planned to include private residences, 28 villa lots, a marina, a members club and extensive wellness and recreation amenities.
Viceroy Residences Austin is now selling in Old West Austin, bringing 146 new luxury residences between downtown and Lady Bird Lake. Residences range from under $1 million to penthouses exceeding $6 million.
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Closer to downtown, Pearlstone Partners is developing Viceroy Residences Austin at 300 Pressler St. in the historic Old West Austin neighborhood. The project is the brand’s first residential project in Texas. The 146-residence development is expected to be completed in late 2027, with homes ranging from below $1 million to penthouses priced above $6 million. The plans include direct access to the Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail, a lap pool, wellness facilities and resort-style amenities.
Bill Knauss, CEO of Pearlstone Partners, said a smaller inventory of luxury homes combined with high interest rates can help explain why luxury is moving faster.
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“People in the luxury market are not really as concerned with what their monthly payment is,” Knauss said. “Oftentimes, they’re cash buyers. They’re looking at it as an overall investment. I think that allows them more flexibility and, frankly, the opportunity to take advantage of opportunities in the market right now.”
Knauss said Pearlstone, and other development groups in the luxury space, are looking to Austin as a destination for those reasons. He said, the demand is there.
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“Once upon a time, we were a very young startup type city, and a lot of those startups have grown up,” Knauss said. “The amount of wealth has just increased significantly over the past decade. With that, what people are looking for in a residence and in a home has grown with that.”
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The trend extends beyond home sales. More than 12 million U.S. households now use private or semi-private personal chef services, according to a recent report by luxury household staffing agency Morgan & Mallet.
Based on visits to “hire a private chef” web pages, Texas saw the fourth-highest demand for the service in the country, capturing 9.1% of the national traffic to those sites between January 2024 and July 2026, the report said.
International buyers are another piece of the picture. They purchased about $4 billion worth of Texas residential real estate from April 2025 through March 2026, accounting for roughly 7,780 transactions, according to a report from Texas Realtors. Thirty-eight percent of those buyers paid cash in full.
Texas had the third-highest international buying activity among states, trailing California and Florida, the report said.
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Knauss said across the spectrum of prices for residences at Viceroy, most early interest has come at the high end — more than $6 million listings. He attributes that to the desire for amenities and location that many luxury developments offer.
“I think the branded residential, the luxury residential, is as much about the lifestyle, the service, the amenities, just kind of that that whole package, that totality of the of the purchase, than it is just about the four walls that you live inside of,” he said.