New vs Existing Homes in Austin Suburbs: October 2024 Market Update

Last September, 182 new homes sold across our five suburbs. This September, 185. Basically the same number, but where those buyers went changed a lot. One suburb lost almost a third of its new home sales. Another nearly doubled. In one city, a brand new home costs less per square foot than a used one. In another, new and used are selling for about the same price, and the new ones are going faster.

I pulled every existing home too and lined them up against the new ones. By the end, you'll know where buying new makes sense and where it really doesn't. And I'll show you the one new home in each suburb I'd go see first.

Two quick things before the numbers. When I say typical, I mean the home right in the middle, half sold for more and half sold for less. And the prices you'll hear, that's what buyers actually paid. They don't include builder incentives, so a new home's real deal is usually a little better than it looks. Texas doesn't make sales prices public, so these come from the records only we as agents can see.

If you're thinking about buying a home in Austin, make sure you reach out to us first before you contact any builders. A lot of builders let you bring an agent if that agent's with you on the very first visit. Walk in alone once and you may have given that up. We break down the prices, incentives, and fine print because we want you to know what you're entitled to before you sign anything.

Table of Contents

• Hutto: New Homes Selling Faster Than Existing
• Georgetown: Biggest Slowdown on the Map
• Pflugerville: Sales Speeding Up
• Round Rock: Sellers Hold All the Cards
• Manor: Existing Homes Are the Bargain
• Which Area Is Right for You
• Conclusion

Hutto: New Homes Selling Faster Than Existing

Last September, 28 new homes sold in Hutto. This September, 54. Nearly double. More than half the homes sold in Hutto last month were brand new, 58% to be exact. And here's what I didn't expect: the typical new build sold for $326,000 in September. The typical existing home sold for $317,000. That's roughly $8,800 apart. On a house, that's close to a rounding error.

Per square foot, it's even closer. $170 for new, $167 for existing. The taxes match too. Both ran a typical rate of about 2.16%. So if you're paying almost exactly the same money, one option is brand new with a builder warranty. The other was built around 2012. Which one would you choose?

The new homes sold faster. A typical 56 days for new and 66 for existing. Hutto is the only suburb where that happened. Everywhere else, existing homes sold faster than new ones. Buyers paid the builder's full advertised price, not 97 or 98%, a full 100%. But don't let that number fool you because what we can't see is what incentives the builder provided on the back end.

New prices did come down from last year, but mostly because the homes got smaller. Three neighborhoods, Prairie Winds , Firefly Point , and Windfield Park , sold 10 apiece. That's more than half of Hutto's new sales. If you're shopping in the low to mid $300s, Hutto is the one place where new and used are really a fair fight on price. And when the price is tied, the warranty and the brand new roof tend to break it. HOA dues run around $55 a month, which is typical for the area.

Just so you know, builder prices and incentives can change week to week, and the best offers usually aren't the ones posted online. We keep track of what each builder is actually doing right now, so you're not working off of last month's numbers.

Georgetown: Biggest Slowdown on the Map

Georgetown sold 67 new homes in September, down from 96. That's almost a third fewer. Existing home sales fell there too, from 146 all the way down to 114. It's actually the biggest slowdown on our map. And builders noticed.

The typical builder's advertised price dropped 6% to around $505,000, and buyers paid closer to it. About 98 cents on the dollar, up from about 97 cents a year ago. Meanwhile, the homes got bigger. The typical new home sold was around 2,600 square feet, up from roughly 2,480. Put those together and price per square foot fell 8% to about $196.

Here's why that matters. Existing homes in Georgetown sold for a typical $200 a square foot. So right now, a brand new home in Georgetown costs a little less per square foot than a used one. The sticker price still favors existing. The typical existing home went for $400,000, down 14% from last year. The typical new one was about $505,000.

If you've been waiting on Georgetown, you've got more room right now than you've had in a while. Builders with fewer buyers got a lot more flexible. We had a client that closed in Nolina up in Georgetown, and they had $22,000 in equity after the home was appraised, after we really knuckled up with the builder rep on the discounts and everything.

The catch is taxes. New homes that sold there carried a typical property tax rate of 2.43%, whereas existing homes ran 1.82%. On a $505,000 house, that gap is roughly $3,000 a year before exemptions. Call it $250 a month. That's the trade-off for a brand new home in a new community. New communities often carry an extra district, it's called a MUD or PID district, that pays for roads and utilities. So the rate can run higher than in older neighborhoods.

About one in three homes sold in Georgetown are new construction. If you're set on Georgetown, existing homes are the better deal on sticker price, but new homes cost less per square foot and builders are ready to talk.

Pflugerville: Sales Speeding Up

New home sales in Pflugerville went from 19 to 33 and sold a lot faster. The typical new home took about 64 days, down from 116 days. Things are speeding up in Pflugerville. Driving through Pflugerville, Hutto, and our hometown Manor, new construction is being built everywhere.

Buyers in Pflugerville paid builders full price too. Edgebrook and Lissow led the way with 8 sales each. Against existing homes, Pflugerville looks a lot like Hutto. The typical new home was around $380,000. The typical existing home around $371,000. Only about $9,000 apart.

The difference shows up per square foot. New ran $207 a square foot while existing ran $186. So in Pflugerville, the price tag is close, but new homes are getting smaller. Good to know that before you tour. About one in three homes sold are new construction.

In Hutto and Pflugerville, new and existing homes had nearly the same tax rate, so you're not paying a penalty for buying new. If you're weighing a specific used home against a new one in Pflugerville, let's talk. We'll run the taxes and builder incentives with you to see which one is the best deal for you.

Round Rock: Sellers Hold All the Cards

Round Rock barely builds anything new anymore. Only 12 new homes sold there in September. Less than one in 10 homes sold are new. It's a really established market, so there's a lot of existing homes there and not a lot of land to build on.

The typical existing home sold for $429,000, up 10%, and it sold in 41 days, a week faster than last year. Buyers are paying 99% of the seller's asking price in Round Rock. Sellers are holding all the cards.

New construction, however, is a different story. The typical new home in Round Rock sold for $513,000. That's around $85,000 more than existing and 7% more per square foot. And the typical one took 135 days to sell. That's almost twice as long as last year. Small sample, but a builder sitting on a finished home for 4.5 months is usually ready to talk.

If you're set on Round Rock, existing homes are moving fast. New homes are where you'll find a builder willing to deal. Double Creek Crossing built by David Weekley Homes is one community that's got great amenities. They're building beautiful homes. So if you're interested in Round Rock and especially Double Creek Crossing, reach out to us.

The typical existing home that sold in Round Rock was built around 2001. That's even before I graduated college. So the roof or AC has probably been replaced or is due to be replaced. A new home comes with a builder's warranty and today's code. A used home comes with whatever the last owner did. Sometimes that's a beautifully kept house. Sometimes it's a weekend project nobody finished.

To be fair, existing homes usually come with a finished yard, real trees, and no construction crews next door at 8 AM. All of that is worth weighing. Price is just where the conversation starts.

Manor: Existing Homes Are the Bargain

Our hometown Manor. Just about everything slowed down. Now that's for sales, not for building, because it's just exploding. Right around us in Shadow Glen , where we live, Perry Homes is about to build, and it's literally right down the street from us. Mustang Valley , Monarch Ranch , New Haven , Ochre Creek , those are all within seriously 8 minutes from our house. So when we talk about being Manor experts, it's so much new construction and we are new construction experts.

About half of homes sold in Manor are new construction. The typical new home took 95 days to sell. Last September, it was 35. That's nearly 3 times as long. New sales dropped from 25 to 19, and the typical new price fell 6% to $360,000. Existing homes slowed down too. They went from 57 days to 85. Interest rates were definitely one reason.

This one actually surprised us. The typical existing home that sold in Manor was about 2,400 square feet. And it went for about $288,000. Can you believe you can get a home under $300,000 that's so close to downtown Austin? For 2,400 square feet? Per square foot, that's $127 for existing against $164 for new. In Manor, used homes are a bargain right now if the seller doesn't have to bring money to the table.

We actually had someone call about potentially selling their existing home in Manor, and unfortunately they purchased it in 2024. They would really have to bring about $30,000 to the table in order to sell that home, just based on where the numbers are right now and how much things have slowed down and how much things have gone down in value since when they purchased in 2024. Those are hard conversations for us to have with potential clients.

On the new side, Carillon carried the town again. 12 of Manor's 19 new home sales were in Carillon. If you're shopping in Manor, look at both. And if you go new, you've got leverage because builders here are waiting a lot longer than they used to. We're getting our clients into Manor homes. It's living here, being able for them to experience the growth that Manor is experiencing and a lot of the new restaurants, the new businesses that are coming in. We actually have gone to dinner with both of our Manor clients since they moved in. We like being friends with our clients and building a long-term relationship.

HOA dues in Manor run around $50 a month. The total didn't really move across all five suburbs. The buyers just shifted east toward lower prices. Toward our market. Manor, right above that is Pflugerville, right above that is Hutto, and just to the west is Round Rock and Georgetown.

Why Interest Rates Matter

The increase in interest rates has a lot to do with this brand new home sale mix, because the builders are able to offer below-market interest rates, and it helps get more people into homes that otherwise couldn't do it with an existing home. Incentives, rate buydowns, closing costs, things that existing homes can't compete with.

Which Area Is Right for You

So the question is, new or used? In Hutto and Pflugerville, they're close enough on price that it comes down to what you want. In Georgetown, new is the better deal per square foot. In Round Rock, existing homes are hot and new homes are where the leverage is. In Manor, used homes are the bargain right now, so look at both.

Remember, none of these numbers include what builders throw in to close the deal. That part you'll only find out by asking or hiring good agents who ask. You don't know unless you ask.

Every month we score every new home in our five suburbs on price, space, taxes, time on market, and location. Here's the one new home in each suburb I'd go see first:

• Choose Manor if you want the lowest price per square foot on our list. DRB Homes has one in Carillon at just under $390,000 with 5 bedrooms, 3 baths, and nearly 2,750 square feet. That's $142 a square foot. Carillon's got a pool with a splash area, trails, a fishing pond, dog park, and a plaza set up for food trucks. Taxes are the catch at 2.73%, around $887 a month before exemptions. HOA dues are $50 a month. It's finished and it's been listed for about 11 weeks. That's usually when a builder starts taking our calls a little more seriously.

• Choose Hutto if you want to pay less per square foot than used homes. Lennar has a home in Cottonbrook just under $405,000 with 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, and nearly 2,800 square feet. That's $146 a square foot. Used homes in Hutto went for $167, so you'll pay less per square foot for brand new. Cottonbrook is close to downtown Hutto with a pool and walking trails. Lennar also offers an optional home battery backup, which is nice when you both work from home. Taxes run 2.16%, roughly $730 a month before exemptions, plus a $55 a month HOA fee. It's still under construction, so you can't walk the finished home yet. But it's been listed there for over 3 months, and that gives you room to ask questions.

• Choose Pflugerville if you want lake access. Meritage has a 5-bedroom, 3-bath home in Lakeside Meadows with nearly 3,000 square feet for just under $482,000. Lakeside Meadows sits on the south shore of Lake Pflugerville. Kayaks, paddleboards, waterside trails. If your dog or dogs like water, you'll hear about it every weekend. It comes in at $162 a square foot. Used homes in Pflugerville sold for $186 and new ones for $207. This one is priced well below both. The tax rate here is 2.19%, which is roughly $880 a month before exemptions, and then HOA dues are $950 a year. It's still being built and it's been on the market for a few months already. With 5 bedrooms, you've got 2 offices and a guest room. Two offices, a lake down the street, and nobody fighting over the kitchen table for Zoom calls.

• Choose Round Rock if you want the lowest property tax rate. Scott Felder has a 4-bedroom, 3-bath home in University Heights with nearly 2,900 square feet for around $517,000. University Heights has fiber internet to the homes, a pool and walking trails, and you're close to Old Settlers Park and Dell Diamond if an Express game sounds like a good Tuesday night. It works out to $180 a square foot. Used homes in Round Rock went for $193. In the one suburb where existing homes are actually getting pricier, that matters. And at 1.86%, it has the lowest property tax rate on our list, around $801 a month before exemptions with a $50 monthly HOA fee. The lot's small, roughly an eighth of an acre. So the dog gets a modest backyard, but Scott Felder has several similar homes listed in there, and that usually means room to negotiate. Low taxes, fast internet, and a builder with options.

• Choose Georgetown if you want the highest score of the month. It's in Parkside on the River , built by Taylor Morrison, with 5 bedrooms, 4 baths, and nearly 3,200 square feet for just under $600,000. Parkside sits on the San Gabriel River with trails that run along the water. It's got a pool and pickleball courts and Gary Park that has a dog park just a few minutes away. At $189 a square foot, it comes in under both used homes in Georgetown at $200 and new ones at $196. Taxes are 2.48% or around $1,236 a month before exemptions, and HOA dues are $210 a quarter. Georgetown homes do have more expensive homes and higher HOA fees. The amenities are great, and you get a lot for your money. It sits on a fifth of an acre, which is a huge yard by today's standards, and it was finished in 2025. So this builder has been carrying it for a while. In the suburb that lost the most buyers this year, that's the kind of house where a good offer gets heard.

If you're interested in any of the homes I showed you today, please reach out. And maybe not even the homes, just the communities themselves or the builders themselves. Just reach out to us. Contact us first before you go into any model home. You want to make sure that you have an agent on your side to protect you from the very beginning.

Conclusion

That's last month's numbers across Hutto, Georgetown, Pflugerville, Round Rock, and Manor. The total new home sales stayed flat, but buyers shifted east toward lower prices. In some suburbs, new and used are nearly tied. In others, one is clearly the better deal.

If one of these homes caught your eye, call or text us and tell us the community. We'll find out what the builder's offering before you set foot into the sales office with us. And if you want to hear about new pricing, lot releases, and model openings before everybody else, get on our interest list by sending us your information.

Book a call with us and we'll walk you through everything you need to know, neighborhoods, pricing, schools, and more. We'll be back next month with the newest numbers.