How is the 78731 market for Northwest Hills homeowners?
Quick answer
That buyers hold the edge on the public side for the ZIP overall, and that much of the top of the market never shows up there. Northwest Hills, The Grove and the Balcones side sold more homes this past year at a lower typical price and price per foot. Several middle price ranges still ran as seller’s markets, so your own range can read differently.
Public-record median: $1,075,000 for ZIP 78731 sales recorded in the MLS, twelve months ending October 20, 2026. That is the floor of the public record, never the value of a Northwest Hills or Balcones home. The sales that would raise it trade privately and never reach the MLS, and a lot alone here rarely sells for less than a million dollars unless setbacks, trees or easements shrink what can be built.
What we analyzed
- 358 homes sold in ZIP 78731 (Austin city addresses) in the twelve months ending October 20, 2026
- 100 homes for sale in ZIP 78731 as of October 21, 2026, 12 of them builder listings
- 3.4 months of inventory in ZIP 78731, against 5.5 in the Austin metro
- ZIP 78731 sales by price range for the twelve months ending October 20, 2026 (annual basis; no 90-day ranges)
- The twelve months before, October 21, 2024 to October 20, 2025, on its own row
Sources: Unlock MLS, pulled October 21, 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
134 Northwest Austin 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 Northwest Austin, TX market report.
Last updated October 21, 2026. Sales data covers the twelve months ending October 20, 2026 (Unlock MLS via MLS Grid, the public MLS side only); listing inventory as of October 21, 2026. This page refreshes annually.
How does 78731 compare with Northwest Austin and the metro?
It is the busiest ZIP code in the area and the one buyer’s market of the six overall. Homes closed at 93.7% of original asking over the past twelve months, just under the 94% line my rule uses for the ZIP overall.
Table 1. ZIP code 78731 compared with Northwest Austin and the Austin metro. Sales are from the twelve months ending October 20, 2026; homes for sale are as of October 21, 2026. The ZIP column covers 78731 homes recorded with an Austin city address. “Failed to sell” means the listing expired or was withdrawn without selling. Figures describe the public (MLS) side only. Source: Unlock MLS.
| Measure | ZIP 78731 | Northwest Austin | Austin metro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes sold | 358 | 361 | 34,996 |
| Public-record median sale price | $1,075,000 | $715,000 | $415,000 |
| Median days on market | n/a (private sales) | 38 days | 58 days |
| What homes sold for relative to their initial asking price | 93.7% | 94.7% | 94.3% |
| Price per square foot (median) | $410 | $309 | $205 |
| Homes for sale | 100 | 426 | 16,078 |
| Months of supply | 3.4 | 3.5 | 5.5 |
| Buyer’s or seller’s market | buyer’s market | balanced | balanced |
| Listings that failed to sell | n/a (private sales) | 206 | 19,679 |
| Share of listings that failed to sell | n/a (private sales) | 36.3% | 36.0% |
| Active under contract | 9 | 59 | 1,422 |
| Pending | 15 | 43 | 2,064 |
| New listings in the last twelve months | 463 | 424 | 54,447 |
| Homes for sale priced below their original asking price | 56 (56.0%) | 235 (55.2%) | 59.1% |
| New builds for sale (builder listings) | 12 of 100 (12.0%) | 28 of 426 (6.6%) | n/a |
The price-per-foot row is the one that matters most on the Balcones side, and it is read on What is your Northwest Austin home worth to a buyer this fall?
Private sales make the unsold-listing figures hard to read here, which What keeps a Northwest Austin home from selling? explains.
With supply this light, the timing question is mostly about your price range; see Is this a good time to sell your Northwest Austin home?
Milestone Community Builders and several custom builders list in The Grove and the older streets nearby, named on Which homes is your Northwest Austin buyer touring besides yours?
Did Northwest Hills prices fall this year?
A little, on the public record. This past year’s recorded median of $1,075,000 compares with $1,100,000 for the year before it.
Price per square foot fell to $410 from $425 over those two years. Closings went the other way, 358 against 309. More buyers are coming out of the woodwork in Northwest Hills while prices are still going down. The table shows both years.
Table 2. 78731 sales in each period. Each row stands on its own. Figures describe the public (MLS) side only. Source: Unlock MLS.
| Period | Sold | Public-record median sale price | Median days on market | Share of original asking price | Price per square foot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twelve months ending October 20, 2026 | 358 | $1,075,000 | n/a (private sales) | 93.7% | $410 |
| Prior twelve months (October 21, 2024 to October 20, 2025) | 309 | $1,100,000 | n/a (private sales) | 94.0% | $425 |
Which market is my Northwest Hills price range in?
Below a million dollars the ranges split, judged by sale price against original asking over the past twelve months. The high $500,000s and low $600,000s, much of it condos and smaller houses, each closed as a seller’s market for that range.
Table 3. 78731 homes by price range. Sales are from the twelve months ending October 20, 2026; homes for sale are as of October 21, 2026. A range is a seller’s market when homes sell 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. Figures describe the public (MLS) side only; ranges at $1M and above trade largely on a broker-to-broker private network, so days on market and failed-to-sell figures are not shown for them. Source: Unlock MLS.
| Price range | Sold | Public-record median sale price | Median days on market | Share of listings that failed to sell | For sale | New builds for sale | Homes that cut their price | Months of supply | Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $250,000 to $299,999 | 12 | $251,300 | 90 days | 53.8% | 7 | 0 | 4 | 7.0 | balanced |
| $550,000 to $599,999 | 15 | $567,000 | 53 days | 21.1% | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1.6 | seller’s market |
| $600,000 to $649,999 | 12 | $609,000 | 10 days | 20.0% | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | seller’s market |
| $800,000 to $899,999 | 20 | $821,500 | 45 days | 23.1% | 7 | 0 | 5 | 4.2 | buyer’s market |
| $900,000 to $999,999 | 31 | $935,000 | 20 days | 20.5% | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1.9 | balanced |
| $1,000,000 to $1,249,999 | 53 | $1,010,000 | n/a (private sales) | n/a (private sales) | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1.6 | buyer’s market |
| $1,250,000 to $1,499,999 | 59 | $1,250,000 | n/a (private sales) | n/a (private sales) | 15 | 1 | 7 | 3.1 | buyer’s market |
| $1,500,000 to $1,749,999 | 28 | $1,500,000 | n/a (private sales) | n/a (private sales) | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2.1 | balanced |
| $1,750,000 to $1,999,999 | 20 | $1,650,500 | n/a (private sales) | n/a (private sales) | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2.4 | buyer’s market |
| $2,000,000 to $2,499,999 | 31 | $2,100,000 | n/a (private sales) | n/a (private sales) | 9 | 3 | 7 | 3.5 | buyer’s market |
| $2,500,000 to $2,999,999 | 14 | $2,607,500 | n/a (private sales) | n/a (private sales) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2.6 | buyer’s market |
The $900,000 range was balanced. Above a million dollars most of the busy ranges leaned toward buyers for those ranges, the low $1,500,000s being the exception, and a broker-to-broker private network carries part of the business at that level.
How does 78731 sit among the Northwest Austin ZIP codes?
Most sales, highest price per foot, and the only buyer’s market reading of the six for a ZIP overall.
Table 4. The other Northwest Austin ZIP codes, twelve months ending October 20, 2026. Source: Unlock MLS.
| ZIP | Sold | Median sale price | Median days on market | Share of original asking price | For sale | Months of supply | Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZIP 78731 | 358 | $1,075,000 | 39 days | 93.7% | 100 | 3.4 | buyer’s market |
| ZIP 78717 | 59 | $592,000 | 46 days | 95.0% | 93 | 4.7 | balanced |
| ZIP 78726 | 19 | $688,000 | 30 days | 95.6% | 33 | 5.2 | balanced |
| ZIP 78730 | 132 | $1,155,000 | 57 days | 94.4% | 46 | 4.2 | balanced |
| ZIP 78750 | 70 | $667,500 | 27 days | 95.9% | 64 | 2.7 | balanced |
| ZIP 78759 | 89 | $620,000 | 41 days | 94.0% | 90 | 3.0 | balanced |
Northwest Hills in the context of the six ZIP codes is on What should you know before selling a home in Northwest Austin?
Most of what sells in 78731 is older, from Highland Park West and Oakmont Heights to the Mesa Oaks and Northwest Oaks parts of Northwest Hills, and The Grove adds a newer community near the Mopac side. Many buyers on the older streets are paying for the lot and planning work, so land and setting move the price as much as finishes.
Which neighborhoods in 78731 have their own market report?
Table 5. Neighborhoods in ZIP code 78731 with their own page, by sales in the twelve months ending October 20, 2026. Source: Unlock MLS.
| Neighborhood | Sold, twelve months | Public-record median sale price | Market report |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Grove | 34 | $1,119,294 | The Grove market report |
| Northwest Hills | 26 | $1,428,606 | Northwest Hills market report |
Does the 78731 record describe your home?
For part of the market. Which part depends on your street, so start with your address.
- Closely, for a condo or smaller house under $700,000, where the record is thick and ranges ran as seller’s markets.
- Loosely, for a Northwest Hills or Highland Park West home above a million dollars, where many sales are private.
- Closely, in The Grove, where most sales are recorded and builders list beside resales.
- Best, for a home whose asking price is based on this year’s closed sales, not last year’s.
Your situation
78731 sold more homes this year at a lower typical price and price per foot, and the ZIP reads as a buyer’s market overall on the public side. Below a million dollars several ranges held up well; above it, part of the market is private.
For your house the question is which buyers are looking at your price, listed and private, and which homes they are comparing yours with.
Before You Put Your Home on the Market, See the Homes You’ll Have to Beat
If you are not sure how the public record reads for your Northwest Hills or Balcones home, start with the homes a buyer would compare, listed and private. Request my complimentary Home Competitor Analysis for your address. You get:
- The homes for sale near you that a buyer would likely tour alongside yours
- How recent sales in your part of 78731 compare with the ZIP as a whole
- How the walkthrough works and what we look at in your home
No obligation. The report for your part of Northwest Austin arrives within a minute; the pricing analysis comes after we walk the home. Nothing here promises a price, a timeline, or an outcome. 134 homes sold by Watters International Realty in Northwest Austin (Unlock MLS, all time).
Why do I watch months of supply in Northwest Hills?
Chris’s position, Watters International Realty positions library, approved September 9, 2026.
Months of supply is the number I watch. It means: if no more homes came on the market, how long would it take to sell everything listed at the pace homes are selling now.
In 78731 it is 3.4 months on the twelve-month pace, well under the metro’s 5.5, and sellers here still gave up more of their first price than the rest of the area.
About Watters International Realty in Northwest 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. 134 homes sold by Watters International Realty in Northwest Austin (Unlock MLS, all time).
See the homes you’d be competing against
You get the competing listings near you, how your part of 78731 compares with the ZIP, and a walkthrough before any pricing talk.
Contact me for off-market private luxury listings you will never see online.
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 Northwest Austin sellers
- What should you know before selling a home in Northwest Austin?
- Is 78717 a buyer’s or seller’s market for Avery Ranch owners?
- What are 78726 buyers paying in Canyon Creek and Four Points?
- How should a River Place owner read the 78730 market?
- How fast are 78750 homes selling around Jester and Spicewood?
- What does 78759 mean for a Great Hills or Mesa Park seller?
- Is this a good time to sell your Northwest Austin home?
- Which homes is your Northwest Austin buyer touring besides yours?
- What keeps a Northwest Austin home from selling?
- What is your Northwest Austin home worth to a buyer this fall?
- The Austin seller hub
