The market had buyers. It just did not have pricing power.
March pending sales jumped 15.4% year over year while the median price fell 3.0%. Demand was there. Sellers still had to negotiate for it.
April 2026 MSA data · Unlock MLS · published April 2026
01 : Market Pulse
Demand improved. Seller leverage did not.
March gave us a market with stronger contract activity, longer selling times, and a wider gap between asking and closing price.
73%
Buyer Advantage
5.5 months of inventory, 85 average days on market, and a 92.8% close-to-list ratio gave buyers unusually strong negotiating room.
27%
Seller Advantage
Pending sales rose 15.4% YoY, but the median price fell 3.0% and homes closed at 92.8% of original list. Demand improved without restoring pricing power.
61%
Renter Advantage · directional
March rent fell 7.0% YoY while lease listings and closed leases both increased. This 61% is the documented April published renter score from the legacy renter methodology, so no month-over-month delta is shown.
The April read: demand was not the problem. Pricing power was. Buyers were signing more contracts, but sellers were still conceding on price, time, or both.
$426.2KMedian sale price-3.0% YoY
5.5Months inventory+0.8 months YoY
3,357Pending sales+15.4% YoY
61Average DOMslower market time
02 : Pressure Points
The market was negotiating harder than the headlines suggested
March was a reminder that buyer demand and seller leverage can move in opposite directions at the same time.
$426.2K-0.9% YoY
Median Sale Price
A slight decline, not a reset.
+
The MSA median came in at $426,220, down 3.0% year over year. Price was still moving in the buyer's direction even as contract activity strengthened.
3,357+15.4% YoY
Pending Sales
The strongest demand signal in the March report.
+
Pending sales rose 15.4% year over year. Buyers were clearly willing to transact, but they were doing it in a market that still required sellers to compete for the deal.
10,86710,867 active
Active Listings
Inventory was lower than last year, but leverage stayed buyer-heavy.
+
The MSA carried 10,867 active listings and 5.2 months of inventory. That was enough supply to prevent the higher sales count from turning into a broad seller market.
61slower market time
Average Days on Market
Enough time for strategy. Not enough to ignore good listings.
+
Average market time reached 85 days, five days longer than a year earlier. That gave buyers more time to compare, inspect, and negotiate before committing.
92.8%slower market time
Average Close-to-List
The market was still negotiating, not just accepting asking prices.
+
Homes closed at an average of 92.8% of original list price. More sales did not eliminate negotiation. Buyers and sellers were simply finding more workable terms.
03 : What Shifted
What March made impossible to ignore
More pending contracts did not mean sellers were back in control. The terms of the market still leaned heavily toward buyers.
+15.4%
Demand was not missing
Pending contracts jumped even while prices fell and market time lengthened. Buyers were participating, but on terms that still favored them.
92.8%
Asking price still had to meet reality
The average close-to-original-list ratio sat at 92.8%. That gap is why stronger pending demand did not automatically translate into stronger seller leverage.
-7.0%
The rental market was telling a different story
Median rent fell to $2,000, down 7.0% YoY, while new lease listings rose 13.0% and closed leases rose 10.5%. Renters had more price relief and more leasing activity than the for-sale market.
04 : County View
Where leverage changed the most by county
Tap a county to see where demand was accelerating, where inventory stayed loose, and where closed sales told a very different story.
Travis County: buyers were active even as the median moved lower.
$499KMedian · -4.0% YoY
5.9Months inventory
+15.9%Pending sales YoY
93.4%Close-to-list
Haus take: Travis pending sales rose 15.9% while the median fell 4.0%. Buyers were active, but sellers still had to meet the market on price.
Williamson County: tighter supply and stronger pending demand.
$410KMedian · -1.9% YoY
4.6Months inventory
+16.1%Pending sales YoY
92.7%Close-to-list
Haus take: Williamson had the tightest inventory of these four counties, but pending sales still rose much faster than prices. The 92.7% close-to-list ratio kept negotiation central.
Hays County: the outlier in the demand story.
$381.3KMedian · +0.8% YoY
5.3Months inventory
+12.6%Pending sales YoY
92.7%Close-to-list
Haus take: Hays held pricing better than Travis or Williamson, but pending sales still outpaced closed activity. It was the most balanced county in this set.
Bastrop County: the most negotiating room in this group.
$330KMedian · slower market time
8.5Months inventory
+16.7%Pending sales YoY
90.1%Close-to-list
Haus take: Bastrop was the clearest buyer-leverage market: 8.5 months of inventory, an 8.3% median-price decline, and a 90.1% close-to-list ratio.
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05 : Your Move
What this negotiating market meant for your move
The same data can support different decisions depending on what you are trying to accomplish.
The opportunity was not lower prices everywhere. It was better terms with enough time to think.
March gave buyers time, selection, and negotiating room even while more contracts were being signed.
Use market time85 DOM made stale listings especially relevant.
Negotiate beyond priceThe close-to-list gap still left room for terms.
Watch local demandCounty conditions were already diverging.
The Haus Index is named for the month it is published. The most current complete monthly Unlock MLS report available in April covers March.
What does a 73 Buyer Advantage score mean?
It is a directional leverage score, not a forecast. The current mix of inventory, price movement, market time, close-to-list behavior, pending activity, and sales pace leaned more favorable to buyers than sellers.
Why is the renter score labeled directional?
A renter score is still published, but two renter sub-scores were not yet governed by objective formulas. April's 61% is the documented historical published score, so it is labeled directional and shown without a month-over-month delta.
How can pending demand rise while seller leverage stays weak?
Because demand and leverage are different things. March had more contracts moving forward, but buyers still had 5.5 months of inventory, 85 average days on market, and a 92.8% close-to-list ratio.
Data: March 2026 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA sales and leasing data from Unlock MLS / Austin Board of REALTORS®. Detailed Unlock MLS / Austin Board of REALTORS market reports updated April 9, 2026.
