How Long Do Homes Stay on the Market in Austin?
Published | Posted by Dan Price
How Long Do Homes Stay on the Market in Austin? A 2025 Perspective
As of mid-2025, a key question among homebuyers, sellers, and analysts alike is: how long do homes stay on the market in Austin? The answer depends on whether you’re looking at homes currently for sale or those that have already sold. These two groups—active and sold listings—tell very different stories, especially in a complex market like Austin. Understanding the difference between them is essential for accurate pricing, buyer strategy, and interpreting market health.
According to Team Price Real Estate, the median number of days for an active home on the market in June 2025 is 56 days across the entire MLS. That number means that, at any given moment, half of all active homes have been listed for less than 56 days, and the other half for more. However, this active number can be misleading if taken in isolation. Active Days on Market (DOM) includes all currently unsold properties—many of which may be overpriced, poorly located, or otherwise unattractive to the current buyer pool. These homes can linger for months, skewing the DOM higher. In slower markets, where many listings end up being withdrawn or expire without ever selling, these stale listings continue to weigh on the DOM calculation but are never reflected in the “sold” data.
In contrast, the Days on Market for sold homes—also reported by Team Price—tells us how long it took for homes that actually closed to go under contract. This figure eliminates the noise of expired and withdrawn listings and gives a cleaner picture of what is successfully selling. For June 2025, the median days on market for sold listings in the Austin-area MLS is just 30 days. That’s nearly half the median DOM of active listings, even though overall buyer activity remains below average. The contrast here is stark and offers critical insight.
Looking at broader historical trends, the average days to sell a home in 2025 year-to-date is 44 days, and the median is 39 days. This is higher than the record low of 6 median days in 2021 but still well below the median of 56 for current active listings. This supports the interpretation that while many homes are indeed selling quickly, the inventory that isn’t selling is aging significantly and pushing up the DOM for active listings.
The discrepancy between active and sold days on market is particularly important in today’s environment of high inventory and softening demand. Many homes that are not selling—particularly those with price mismatches or condition issues—remain on the market for 100 to 200+ days and are eventually withdrawn or expire. These listings do not affect the sold DOM metrics, but they remain embedded in the active DOM stats. For example, imagine a scenario where 10 homes sell: 3 might sell in under 10 days, 4 might sell in 30–50 days, and 3 could take over 100 days. That alone would stretch the median DOM to 50. But if an additional 5 homes sit for 250 days and are later withdrawn, the DOM for the active market becomes inflated—even though they will never be counted in the “days to sell” metric. This creates a misleading signal unless both active and sold figures are analyzed side by side.
In certain submarkets, the difference is even more dramatic. In Cedar Park and Pflugerville, where buyer demand remains relatively strong, 60% or more of active listings are selling in under 50 days. But even there, listings that don’t price correctly or are poorly positioned can remain on the market for months, affecting the city-wide DOM. Meanwhile, high-end and rural markets like Burnet, Wimberley, or downtown Austin ZIPs like 78701 are seeing over 30% of listings exceed 100 days on the market—yet even in these markets, the homes that do sell are often transacting within a month or two.
Understanding this split is critical for sellers. If your home is priced appropriately and in good condition, it’s likely to fall into the “sold within 30–40 days” category, not the 100+ days that dominate the active stats. For buyers, the key takeaway is that the longer a home sits on the market, the more likely it is overpriced or facing limited demand. These become opportunities for negotiation—especially in a market with rising inventory and more cautious buyer sentiment.
From a historical perspective, today’s market is experiencing a return to normalized selling timelines. After the hyper-competitive years of 2020–2022, where median selling times dropped into the single digits, the 2025 numbers reflect a more measured, balanced market. The median days to sell in June 2021 was just 14; today it’s back to 30. Still fast by historical standards, but clearly part of a broader correction cycle.
To truly understand how long it takes to sell a home in Austin, both active and sold DOM must be interpreted together. Active DOM reflects the burden of unsold, often mispriced inventory, while sold DOM captures what’s actually moving in the market. In today’s market, that distinction is not just academic—it’s essential.
FAQ
1. What is the difference between Days on Market for active listings and sold listings in Austin?
Days on Market for active listings represents how long currently available homes have been listed without selling. As of June 2025, that figure is 56 median days across the MLS. In contrast, sold Days on Market reflects how long it took for recently sold homes to go under contract, which is currently 30 days median. The discrepancy exists because withdrawn and expired listings that sit unsold for long periods inflate the active DOM but are not included in sold statistics.
2. Why is the active Days on Market often higher than the sold Days on Market?
Active DOM includes all listings still on the market—including those that are overpriced, outdated, or in less desirable locations. Many of these will eventually be withdrawn or expire without selling. These listings can skew active DOM higher. Sold DOM, on the other hand, only includes properties that actually closed, giving a cleaner and more accurate picture of how long marketable homes take to sell.
3. Are homes still selling quickly in Austin in 2025?
Yes, many homes are still selling quickly. The median Days on Market for sold listings in June 2025 is just 30 days. Homes in high-demand ZIP codes and price points continue to sell within a few weeks. However, rising inventory and selective buyer behavior are making it harder for overpriced or poorly presented homes to move.
4. How should sellers interpret Days on Market when listing their home?
Sellers should not assume that just because the median active DOM is 56 days, their home will take that long to sell. Well-priced, well-presented homes are often going under contract within 20–40 days. If a home is sitting longer than that, it may indicate a need to adjust pricing, staging, or marketing strategy. Understanding sold DOM is a better benchmark for planning.
5. What happens to homes that don’t sell? Do they affect Days on Market numbers?
Yes, but only for active DOM. Homes that sit unsold for long periods and are eventually withdrawn or expire will inflate the DOM for active listings. However, they do not affect the Days on Market for sold listings, since they never sold. This is why active DOM can appear much higher than the average time it takes to actually sell a home.
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