Do you have to cut your price to compete with Manor’s builders?
Quick answer
No. You do not have to match a builder’s price, but you do have to price from this year’s sales. 194 of the 317 homes for sale in Manor’s ZIP code are already priced below their original asking price. Over the last ninety days, the median gap between a home’s first asking price and its sale price was $20,000.
What we analyzed
- 317 homes for sale in ZIP 78653 as of October 2, 2026, and how many are priced below their original asking price
- 140 homes sold in the 90 days ending October 1, 2026, and how far each closed from its original asking price
- Resale and builder listings counted separately
Sources: Unlock MLS, pulled October 2, 2026.
Selling above $1M? Part of this market never goes online
The figures on this page describe the public side of this market, the sales that were listed in the MLS. Above $1M in the Austin area, a large share of sales are never listed there and never appear online.
Those sales trade on a broker-to-broker private network, and I am a participating broker. Only the agents and brokers who do most of the business at this price point use it, and a surprising number of agents do not know it exists because they do not sell in this range. It covers homes, lots, ranches and condos priced over $1M, and much of it is waterfront or in the Austin core, West Austin, Westlake and Rollingwood, where prices run past $1.5M.
Sellers and their brokers use it for privacy: no public photos or floor plans, and no showings to buyers who have not been qualified.
Contact me for off-market private luxury listings you will never see online
124 Manor homeowners have trusted my real estate team to sell their home in the MLS, and that count 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.
What these numbers mean if you are selling is on the Manor, TX market report, and every number on this page is also broken out in the tables on the Manor ZIP code scoreboard.
Last updated October 3, 2026. Sales data covers the 90 days ending October 1, 2026 and the twelve months ending the same day (Unlock MLS via MLS Grid); listing inventory as of October 2, 2026.
Do I have to cut my price to compete with the builders?
You do not have to match a builder’s price, because a buyer is comparing two different homes. You do have to price against what buyers paid this year.
Builders are cutting too, and so are resale sellers. The table has both.
Table 1. Homes for sale in 78653 that are already priced below their original asking price, as of October 2, 2026. Source: Unlock MLS, pulled October 2, 2026.
| Homes for sale | Total | Priced below original asking |
|---|---|---|
| Resale | 199 | 117 |
| Builder listings | 118 | 77 |
| All homes | 317 | 194 (61.2%) |
The builders and what they ask are on What is your Manor home competing against?, and what the sales say about new construction and resale prices is on Is new construction hurting Manor resale values?
How far below the first price do Manor homes sell?
Most of the 140 homes that sold in the last ninety days, 117, closed below the price they first listed at.
Measured home by home, the median gap between the first asking price and the sale price over the last ninety days was $20,000. That is the middle of all the gaps, not the gap on the median-priced home.
Table 2. How the 140 homes that sold in 78653 compared with their original asking price, 90 days ending October 1, 2026. The dollar gap is the median of original asking price minus sale price, taken separately from the percentage. Source: Unlock MLS, pulled October 2, 2026.
| Measure | 78653 |
|---|---|
| Sold below original asking price | 117 of 140 (83.6%) |
| Sold at or above original asking price | 23 of 140 (16.4%) |
| Median gap, original asking to sale price, all homes | $20,000 |
| Median gap, resales | $20,000 |
| Median gap, new builds | $19,392 |
The MLS record I used here does not give the last asking price before each sale, so I cannot say how big a cut worked.
When does cutting the price make sense?
I ask three questions before a cut.
- Is the first price based on this year’s closed sales, not last year’s?
- Is the home move-in ready?
- Was the listing in front of buyers in its first month?
The first price and the first month matter more than a later cut, which is why I send owners to How long does it take to sell a home in Manor? before we talk about one. If your listing has already failed to sell, Why isn’t my Manor house selling? covers why, and what to spend before relisting is on How much should you spend fixing up your Manor home before selling?
If you are selling acreage or a farm-and-ranch property, there are far fewer sales to price from, and I cover that on Selling acreage or a higher-priced Manor home?
What is the price of the next house a buyer will see?
The next house is often a builder’s, and over the last twelve months new builds sold for more per square foot than resales of the same size in all five price ranges with enough sales. What your home would bring next to a new build is on What is your Manor home worth next to a new build?
Cut the price, or hold it?
Cut when your price is based on last year’s sales, or when the home has had its first month in front of buyers and drawn little interest. Hold when the price is based on this year’s closed sales, the home is move-in ready and it is still inside its first weeks. Run your address to see what a buyer would tour beside your home.
Neither choice promises a result. The sales show that most homes here close below their first price, and they do not show which cut worked.
Your situation
A cut is one move, and it is easier to judge once you see the homes your buyer is comparing yours with.
The report below shows those homes, so you can see whether you are priced against them or against last year.
Before You Put Your Home on the Market, See the Homes You’ll Have to Beat
Before you cut your price, see the homes a buyer would compare with yours. Request my complimentary Home Competitor Analysis for your address. You get:
- The homes currently competing for buyers in your area
- What they’re asking
- How long they’ve been sitting on the market
- Which homes have already reduced their price
- How your home may compare
Your report arrives instantly as a PDF, and someone from my team will call you within 24 hours to walk through it.
No obligation. The report shows the homes competing with yours. It does not include a price opinion or a valuation, and nothing here promises a price, a timeline, or an outcome. 124 homes sold by Watters International Realty in 78653 (Unlock MLS, all time).About Watters International Realty in Manor
Watters International Realty is a Texas real estate brokerage, and I am its broker of record. 124 homes sold by Watters International Realty in 78653 (Unlock MLS, all time).
See the homes you’d be competing against
The report shows the competing listings near you and how fast homes like yours have been selling. A walkthrough comes before any pricing talk.
Contact me for off-market private luxury listings you will never see online.
Your report arrives instantly as a PDF, and someone from my team will call you within 24 hours to walk through it.
No obligation. The report shows the homes competing with yours. It does not include a price opinion or a valuation, and nothing here promises a price, a timeline, or an outcome.More for Manor sellers
- Is new construction hurting Manor resale values?
- What is your Manor home competing against?
- How long does it take to sell a home in Manor?
- Why isn’t my Manor house selling?
- How much should you spend fixing up your Manor home before selling?
- What is your Manor home worth next to a new build?
- Selling acreage or a higher-priced Manor home?
- The Austin seller hub
