10/20/2026
Austin residential activity through October 19 marks an important milestone as cumulative closed sales move slightly ahead of 2025, with 28,313 transactions compared with 28,309 last year. Although the four-sale advantage is statistically negligible, it represents a recovery from the 303-sale deficit recorded at the end of September. New listings remain 2.3% below 2025, while pending contracts are 2.0% higher, producing 817 additional pending contracts despite 1,130 fewer new listings. The pending-to-new ratio remains stronger at 0.87 versus 0.83, indicating better relative absorption of incoming inventory. Historically, the new-listing deficit has narrowed from roughly 4%–5% in May and early June to just over 2%, while pending growth has moderated from the 4%–5% range earlier this summer to approximately 2% in October. Withdrawn and expired listings are down 39.5% year over year, an unusually large difference that still warrants verification of consistent MLS reporting. The key development entering the second half of October is that 2026 has fewer new listings, more pending contracts, and has now matched 2025 in completed sales, suggesting stronger relative absorption even as the year-over-year advantage in buyer activity continues to moderate.
