Buying a Home in Austin, Step by Step: From First Budget to Keys

Buying a home in Austin follows the same broad path as anywhere in the country, but Texas adds its own forms, deadlines and habits along the way. Some of them work in your favor, like the option period and the homestead exemption. Others catch newcomers off guard, like the written agreement you now sign before an agent can even show you a house. This guide walks through the whole purchase in order and points to the detailed guides for each stage.

Step 1: Set a budget with Austin numbers

Start with what owning actually costs here. The U.S. Census Bureau puts the median value of owner-occupied homes in Austin at $555,300 for 2020 to 2024, and the median monthly cost for owners with a mortgage at $2,679. For a Texas buyer the part of that monthly bill that surprises people most is property tax.

Property tax is the number most out-of-state buyers underestimate. For a home in the City of Austin and Austin ISD, the 2025 rates of the five main taxing units add up to about 2.05 percent of taxable value a year, before exemptions. Texas Property Tax for Austin Homeowners: Rates, Deadlines and Protests breaks that down, and Rent vs. Buy in Austin: Comparing the Monthly Costs Honestly compares the monthly cost with renting.

Step 2: Get preapproved and look at assistance

A lender’s preapproval tells you what you can borrow and shows sellers you are serious. If you need help with the down payment, look before you shop, not after. The City of Austin’s program offers up to $40,000 to income-eligible first-time buyers inside the city limits, with a sales price cap of $440,000, and the state’s Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation offers up to 5 percent assistance with its loans. Both require a homebuyer education course. See Down Payment Assistance for Austin Buyers: City and State Programs.

Step 3: Sign a written agreement before touring

This step is new. Under Section 1101.563 of the Texas Occupations Code, in effect since January 1, 2026, a license holder working with a buyer of residential property must have a written agreement with the buyer before showing any home, or before presenting an offer if no home is shown. The Texas Real Estate Commission explains that the agreement can be a full representation agreement or a limited, non-exclusive showing agreement, and that it must state the services, the term, and the broker’s compensation, which is not set by law and is negotiable. Working With a Buyer’s Agent in Texas: The 2026 Written Agreement Rules covers what to look for.

Step 4: Choose an area

Prices vary sharply across the region. The Census median home value ranges from about $286,000 in Taylor to $841,300 in Lakeway, with Austin itself in the upper middle. School district, commute and tax rate change from one suburb to the next. Start with Austin-Area Neighborhoods by Budget: Where Different Price Ranges Go Furthest and Round Rock, Cedar Park or Pflugerville? Comparing Austin’s Big Northern Suburbs.

Step 5: Make an offer

Most Texas resale purchases use the residential contract forms promulgated by the Texas Real Estate Commission, which licensed agents are required to use. Two parts deserve attention when you write an offer: the earnest money, which shows good faith, and the termination option. TREC explains that the option is a negotiable term: if you pay the seller an agreed option fee, you get the unrestricted right to end the contract for any reason by written notice during the option period. Under the resale contract, the earnest money and the option fee must reach the escrow agent within three days of the contract’s effective date; if the option fee is late, the right to terminate is lost.

Step 6: Read the seller’s disclosures

Texas sellers of a single-family home must give you a written disclosure notice under Section 5.008 of the Property Code, covering known defects and items such as previous flooding, flood insurance, and whether the property is in a 100-year or 500-year floodplain. If the home is in a property owners’ association, the seller must also give you a notice of membership under Section 5.012. Read both during the option period. Flood Zones and Home Buying in Austin: Maps, Atlas 14 and Insurance Timing and HOAs in Austin Neighborhoods: What Texas Law Says Before You Buy explain what to do with them.

Step 7: Inspect

The option period is when buyers usually hire an inspector. In Texas, a person may not act as a professional inspector for a buyer or seller unless licensed under Chapter 1102 of the Occupations Code. If the report turns up problems, you can negotiate repairs, a price change, or terminate within the option period. See Home Inspections in Texas: Licensed Inspectors, the Option Period and Repairs.

Step 8: The lender’s disclosures

Federal rules set the paperwork timeline. Your lender must deliver or mail a Loan Estimate no later than the third business day after receiving your application, and you must receive the Closing Disclosure, with the final terms, no later than three business days before closing. Compare the two line by line; the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes the Closing Disclosure as your chance to double-check that all the details about your loan are correct.

Step 9: Title, closing costs and closing

A title company handles the closing. Texas regulates title insurance premiums, so every company charges the same basic premium, according to the Texas Department of Insurance; the owner’s policy is optional, while lenders require a loan policy. Closing Costs in Texas: Title Insurance, Lender Fees and What to Expect lists the other costs to expect and how to estimate them.

Step 10: After you move in, file for the homestead exemption

The exemption that cuts your school taxes is not automatic. Texas law lets a buyer who acquires a home after January 1 claim the general homestead exemption for the rest of that year if the previous owner did not have it, and the application is due before the first anniversary of the purchase. The Travis Central Appraisal District takes applications online, by mail or in person. The Texas Homestead Exemption: How Austin Buyers Claim It and What It Saves has the details.

Stage	Key Texas or federal rule	Guide
Before touring	Written agreement with agent (Occ. Code 1101.563)	Buyer’s agent
Offer	Option fee to escrow within three days (TREC resale contract)	This guide
Disclosures	Seller’s disclosure (Prop. Code 5.008)	Flood zones
Loan	Closing Disclosure three business days before closing (12 CFR 1026.19)	Closing costs
After closing	Homestead application before the first anniversary	Homestead