The questions we hear
across every kitchen table.

As of spring 2026, the median sale price for a luxury estate in Lakeway is $3.8M, with the most active band running from roughly $2.4M to $5.5M. Lakefront and country club homes routinely cross $6M, and a small handful of trophy estates trade above $12M each year. Property taxes in Travis County add roughly 1.8–2.1% of assessed value annually, and homeowners insurance typically runs $0.45–$0.65 per $100 of replacement cost.

Lakeway is a country club community on Lake Travis, organized around tennis, golf, and the marina, with median estates near $3.8M. Westlake is the established estate corridor closest to downtown — older money, mature pecans, Eanes ISD, with a median near $5.2M. Spicewood sits further west and is true Hill Country: ranches, vineyards, and acreage, where homes often pass between families before they ever hit MLS.

You are not legally required to use one, but in luxury transactions it is strongly advisable. A buyer’s agent represents only your interests, negotiates terms, coordinates inspections, and — in our market — opens doors to off-market inventory you would not otherwise see. Roughly 28% of the homes we place each year never appear on MLS.

A typical financed luxury transaction closes in 35 to 45 days from contract. Cash purchases routinely close in 14 to 21 days. The longest pole is usually the appraisal and the survey; jumbo financing in the $3M+ range adds 5 to 10 days for underwriting.

Yes — and in the upper price tiers, much of our inventory is private. Roughly one in four estates we sell each year is transacted off-market, often before signage ever goes up. We maintain a quiet inventory of pre-market and pocket listings for established clients; introductions come through our usual buyer process.

Combined property tax rates in Travis County typically fall between 1.80% and 2.10% of assessed value. Lakeway residents pay City of Lakeway, Travis County, Lake Travis ISD, ESD, and various MUD components. Texas has no state income tax, so property taxes carry a heavier share of the local burden than in most states.

A meaningful valuation requires a walk-through and recent comparable sales — automated estimates from public sites are typically off by 8–14% in our markets because so much of the inventory trades privately. We provide a complimentary in-person opinion of value, with a written report, within seven days of a request.

Average days-on-market for properly priced estates in our markets in the past 12 months: Lakeway 38 days, Westlake 52 days, Bee Cave 46 days, Spicewood 74 days, Downtown Austin 61 days. Mispriced listings can sit for six months or more, which is why pricing strategy matters more than any other lever in a luxury sale.

Commissions are negotiable in Texas and are agreed in writing before listing. Following the 2024 NAR settlement, buyer-side compensation is also negotiated separately and disclosed in the listing agreement. We are happy to walk through our fee structure in our first conversation.

Almost never major renovations. Targeted improvements — paint, landscape, lighting, the right staging — typically return three to five times their cost. Structural or systems upgrades rarely return more than $0.60 on the dollar in a luxury sale. We bring a stager and contractor into your first walk-through to give you a clear scope before you spend anything.

A pocket listing is a property marketed privately, without entering MLS, typically through a single agent’s network of qualified buyers. Owners choose this path for privacy, to test pricing without a public DOM clock, or to transact between families. Roughly 28% of our annual volume is off-market.

Historically, the strongest months for closing in our markets are April through June, with a secondary window in September and October. Listings going live in late February or early March give buyers time to tour before peak relocation season. That said, the right house finds the right buyer in any month — timing matters less than pricing and presentation.

I am a Real Estate Advisor with Kuper Sotheby’s International Realty, licensed by the Texas Real Estate Commission (#547237). I work as part of Creath Partners, the family business my father Garry founded in 1971 and brought to Austin in 1989. Before real estate I sold software to Fortune 500 companies.

Creath Partners is a family business rather than a franchise team — my father founded it, my mother Jo joined him in 1992, and my brother Garry and I carry it now. Since 2008 we have been affiliated with Sotheby’s International Realty, which pairs a small local practice with a global referral network.

A conversation. We come to you, or we host you at the office in the Hill Country Galleria. There is no presentation deck, no obligation, and no charge — we want to understand your story before we talk about houses.

Westlake, Lakeway, southwest Austin, the Lake Travis areas, and downtown Austin. We have also been helping people buy and sell in Tarrytown for over 25 years. For relocations outside Texas, we work through the Sotheby’s International Realty network and personally vet every introduction.

It is a measured time. The 2021–2022 frenzy is fully behind us; inventory in the $2M+ tier is up 18% year-over-year, and the median estate is selling for 96.4% of asking. Patient, well-represented buyers are finding real value, particularly in homes that have been on market longer than 60 days. We are not in a falling market — we are in a sane one.

In aggregate, no — luxury inventory in our markets is up 4.2% year-over-year as of Q1 2026. The narrative of “Austin prices crashing” largely reflects the entry-level and condo segments, not the estate market. Below $1M, the picture is softer; above $3M, the market has been remarkably resilient.

Less than the headlines suggest. Roughly 62% of our $3M+ closings in the last twelve months were cash, and most financed buyers in this tier are using portfolio loans rather than conforming products. Rate moves of 50–75 basis points have a noticeable effect on pace; they have not meaningfully moved pricing in our markets.

Combined LTISD-area tax rates for 2025 sit at approximately 1.94% of assessed value, with school district taxes the largest single component (~$0.91 per $100). Texas allows a homestead exemption for primary residences and a separate cap on annual assessment increases of 10%, which becomes meaningful in rising markets.

It is a real consideration and we discuss it openly with every lakefront client. Lake Travis is a flood-control reservoir; levels fluctuate meaningfully across drought and rain cycles. Buyers who understand the long-cycle nature of the lake — and who choose homes with appropriate dock and shoreline configurations — have done very well over twenty-year holding periods.