How does a Novel resale compete with Risewell Homes’ new builds?
Quick answer
Mostly on price and finished extras, because the builder sets the yardstick. Every Novel sale on the public record this past year was new construction, and those homes closed at 93.5% of original asking over the last three months, a buyer’s market for Novel as a whole.
What we analyzed
- 14 homes sold in Novel in the 90 days ending October 20, 2026, 42 in the twelve months ending the same day
- 10 Novel homes for sale as of October 21, 2026, 4 of them below their original asking price
- 2.9 months of inventory in Novel on the twelve-month pace, against 5.2 for South Austin as a whole
Sources: Unlock MLS, pulled October 21, 2026. Novel is the MLS subdivision name, with its recorded spellings counted as one.
207 homes sold by Watters International Realty in South Austin. That count is every home we listed and closed in South Austin, and it doesn’t include a single buyer we’ve represented. Everything on this page comes from the same MLS record we used to price those homes.
How South Austin as a whole is doing is on the South Austin, TX market report, and the town and ZIP code tables are on the 78745 housing market report.
Last updated October 21, 2026. Sales data covers the 90 days ending October 20, 2026 and the twelve months ending the same day (Unlock MLS via MLS Grid); listing inventory as of October 21, 2026.
Who is a Novel resale competing with?
Risewell Homes, which has all 10 of the homes for sale here right now.
Table 1. Builders with new homes in Novel, as of October 21, 2026: 10 new-build listings for sale. Builder names come from the MLS record and our builder inventory; presence only. Source: Unlock MLS.
| Builder | New homes for sale |
|---|---|
| Risewell Homes | 10 |
A buyer touring Novel can choose a brand-new house with a builder warranty, so a resale has to win somewhere else: on price, on upgrades already paid for, or on a finished yard and blinds the new house won’t have.
What have Novel buyers paid?
The typical sale was $459,445 over the past twelve months, at about $250 a square foot.
Sales closed at 93.6% of original asking over the same twelve months, a buyer’s market for the neighborhood as a whole, and the range table shows how that split by price.
Table 2. Novel sales in each period, from the MLS subdivision records for Novel in South Austin. Each row stands on its own. A median is left out when a period has fewer than 5 sales. 10 Novel homes were for sale as of October 21, 2026. Source: Unlock MLS.
| Period | Sold | Median sale price | Price per square foot (median) | Median days on market | Share of original asking price | Median living area (square feet) | Median build year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90 days ending October 20, 2026 | 14 | $425,802 | $249 | 56 days | 93.5% | 1,698 | 2026 |
| Same 90 days a year earlier (July 23, 2025 to October 20, 2025) | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Twelve months ending October 20, 2026 | 42 | $459,445 | $250 | 52 days | 93.6% | 1,698 | 2026 |
| Prior twelve months (October 21, 2024 to October 20, 2025) | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Table 3. Novel homes by price range, twelve months ending October 20, 2026; homes for sale as of October 21, 2026. A range is a seller’s market when homes sold for at least 97% of their original asking price, balanced from 94% to 97%, and a buyer’s market below 94%. Only price ranges with at least 10 sales in the twelve months are shown. Source: Unlock MLS.
| Price range | Sold | Median sale price | For sale | New builds for sale | Homes that cut their price | Months of supply | Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $400,000 to $449,999 | 14 | $399,990 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2.6 | balanced |
| $450,000 to $499,999 | 12 | $469,990 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | balanced |
| $500,000 to $549,999 | 10 | $480,000 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4.8 | buyer’s market |
The higher-priced homes, from $500,000 to $549,999, gave up the most, a buyer’s market for that range this past year.
How much room does that leave for a resale?
Some. Supply is short, at 2.1 months for the recent pace, and fewer than half the listings have cut.
Novel has no resale track record yet, so the first owners who sell are setting it. In my experience the resale that does well here is priced just under the builder’s comparable plan and shows the things a buyer would otherwise have to buy after closing.
Sell now, or wait?
The builder’s price list is the yardstick for every Novel sale.
- Sell now if your house has upgrades a buyer would pay extra for in a new Risewell Homes plan.
- Sell now if your asking price is based on this year’s closed sales, not last year’s sales sheet from the builder.
- Wait if Risewell Homes has several homes of your plan listed at once, and watch how they sell.
- Wait if you need more than a new build of the same size is asking.
Your situation
Novel is new enough that every buyer here is choosing between your house and one the builder is still finishing. Your plan, your lot and your upgrades decide whether yours looks like the better buy.
Before You Put Your Home on the Market, See the Homes You’ll Have to Beat
If you own in Novel and want to know how your house stacks up against the builder’s current listings, we can put them side by side. Request my complimentary Home Competitor Analysis for your address. You get:
- The Risewell Homes listings a buyer would compare with yours
- Which of your upgrades a buyer would weigh against a new build
- How the walkthrough works
No obligation. The report for your part of South Austin arrives within a minute; the pricing analysis comes after we walk the home. Nothing here promises a price, a timeline, or an outcome. 207 homes sold by Watters International Realty in South Austin (Unlock MLS, all time).
About Watters International Realty in South Austin
Watters International Realty is a Texas real estate brokerage, and I am its broker of record. This page is based on Unlock MLS data analyzed on October 21, 2026. 207 homes sold by Watters International Realty in South Austin (Unlock MLS, all time).
See the homes you’d be competing against
You get the builder listings a buyer would weigh against your Novel home, what your upgrades are up against, and a walkthrough before we talk price.
No obligation. The report arrives within a minute; the pricing analysis comes after we walk the home. Nothing here promises a price, a timeline, or an outcome.
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