How hard are buyers negotiating on University Hills homes?
Quick answer
Much harder than a year ago. University Hills homes closed at 90.8% of original asking over the past twelve months, a buyer’s market for the neighborhood as a whole, after closing at 97.4% the year before. Price per square foot barely moved.
What we analyzed
- 9 homes sold in University Hills in the 90 days ending October 20, 2026, 36 in the twelve months ending the same day
- 8 University Hills homes for sale as of October 21, 2026, 5 of them below their original asking price
- 2.7 months of inventory in University Hills on the twelve-month pace, against 5.9 for East Austin as a whole
Sources: Unlock MLS, pulled October 21, 2026. University Hills is the MLS subdivision name, with its recorded spellings counted as one.
70 homes sold by Watters International Realty in East Austin. That count is every home we listed and closed in East 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.
Homes I’ve sold in University Hills: 1.
How East Austin as a whole is doing is on the East Austin, TX market report, and the town and ZIP code tables are on the 78723 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.
What changed for University Hills sellers this year?
The bargaining did. Sellers kept 90.8% of original asking this past year, down from 97.4% the year before. The typical sale also took 52 days to go under contract.
Table 1. University Hills sales in each period, from the MLS subdivision records for University Hills in East Austin. Each row stands on its own. A median is left out when a period has fewer than 5 sales. 8 University Hills 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 | 9 (thin) | $490,000 | $287 | 54 days | 90.7% | 1,786 | 1964 |
| Same 90 days a year earlier (July 23, 2025 to October 20, 2025) | 3 (thin) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Twelve months ending October 20, 2026 | 36 | $500,000 | $291 | 52 days | 90.8% | 1,805 | 1964 |
| Prior twelve months (October 21, 2024 to October 20, 2025) | 28 | $514,750 | $292 | 16 days | 97.4% | 1,710 | 1964 |
A year earlier homes here went under contract in a typical 16 days. Buyers now have time, and they are using it to negotiate.
Did University Hills prices fall?
Barely, by the square foot. Buyers paid $291 a foot this past year, against $292 the year before.
The median eased to $500,000 from $514,750, even though the typical home sold was slightly larger. The bigger change is how far below asking those sales landed.
What are University Hills sellers competing with?
Each other. No builder has a listing here, and nearly every sale this past year was a house built before 2000.
Of the 8 homes for sale, 5 have cut their price, so a buyer touring the neighborhood sees reductions on most of the signs.
Sell now, or wait?
With buyers bargaining this hard, the opening price matters more than the season.
- Sell now if your asking price is based on this year’s closed sales, not last year’s.
- Sell now if the house is move-in ready, which sets it apart from listings that have cut.
- Wait if inspection items are likely, and take care of them first.
- Wait if you are counting on last year’s near-full-asking result, which this year’s buyers have not repeated.
Before a University Hills home goes public, I market it to my buyer network in the coming-soon stage, including 4,000 cash buyers in the black book, a figure that leaves out buyers using traditional financing. You see each option and make the call.
Your situation
University Hills sells older houses to buyers who now feel they have room to negotiate. How your home shows and where its first price lands against the few listings nearby decide the result.
Before You Put Your Home on the Market, See the Homes You’ll Have to Beat
With most University Hills listings already cut, the price you start at matters, and the listings around you show where it should sit. Request my complimentary Home Competitor Analysis for your address. You get:
- The University Hills listings a buyer would see alongside yours
- Which of those listings have cut, and by how long they have been for sale
- What we look at during the walkthrough
No obligation. The report for your part of East Austin arrives within a minute; the pricing analysis comes after we walk the home. Nothing here promises a price, a timeline, or an outcome. 70 homes sold by Watters International Realty in East Austin (Unlock MLS, all time).
About Watters International Realty in East 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. 70 homes sold by Watters International Realty in East Austin (Unlock MLS, all time).
See the homes you’d be competing against
You get the University Hills listings a buyer would weigh against yours, which have cut, 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.
More for East Austin sellers
- What should you know before selling your home in East Austin?
- Do buyers or sellers have the upper hand in 78702 right now?
- Is 78721 a buyer’s market or a seller’s market for your home?
- How much room do buyers have to negotiate on a home in 78722?
- How is 78723 treating sellers in Mueller and Windsor Park?
- Should you sell your East Austin home this fall or wait?
- Which homes is your East Austin buyer touring besides yours?
- Why aren’t more homes selling in East Austin, and what helps?
- What is your East Austin home worth when a new build is nearby?
- What are Mueller homes really selling for this year?
- What are Windsor Park buyers paying for an older home today?
- Who are you competing with when you sell a home in Chernosky?
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