The questions we hear
across every kitchen table.

It varies more than most people expect, and the spread is the point. As of mid-2026 the median sale price ran roughly $665K in Lakeway (78734), $2.39M in Westlake (78746), $950K in Bee Cave (78738), $850K in Spicewood (78669), $749K in downtown Austin (78701), and $639K in Horseshoe Bay (78657). Each community guide carries the current figure with its source, refreshed monthly.

It is your unrestricted right to walk away. Under Paragraph 5B of the TREC One to Four Family Residential Contract, paying the option fee on time buys you a negotiated number of days to terminate for any reason at all, by 5:00 p.m. local time. Miss the payment deadline and you keep the contract but lose the exit. Our buying guide walks the contract paragraph by paragraph.

Yes, and that is new. Since January 1, 2026, Texas Occupations Code Sections 1101.562 and 1101.563 require a written agreement with a residential buyer before showing property, or before presenting an offer if nothing is shown. It has to state the services, a termination date, and disclose that broker compensation is not set by law and is fully negotiable.

The contract sets the pace more than the lender does. The title commitment is due within 20 days after the title company receives the contract, and federal law puts your Closing Disclosure in hand at least three business days before closing. No attorney is required in Texas; a title company escrow officer closes and funds the sale.

Water and septic decide what you can build, not the view. Travis County requires lots supplied by an individual water well to be at least 5 acres, and septic permitting runs through the county after a licensed site evaluation. Rules differ by county and by groundwater district. Our Hill Country acreage guide covers the specifics.

Materially, yes. Lake Travis is a water supply reservoir designed to fluctuate, full at 681 feet and historically ranging from 614 to 710 feet. Lake LBJ is a pass-through lake LCRA holds in a band of roughly seven inches around 825 feet. That difference decides whether a dock is usable in a dry summer.

Longer than the market's peak years, and it varies sharply by area. Recent readings put median or average days on market near 48 in Bee Cave, 72 in Horseshoe Bay, 77 in Lakeway, 78 in Westlake, and 82 in Spicewood, with downtown condos in a 60 to 80 day range. Each community guide carries the current number and its source.

It has stopped falling, which is not the same as recovered. The metro median rose 1.1% year over year to $450,000 in June 2026, the first annual gain of this cycle, with active listings down 14.8% and months of inventory at 4.4. The median sold price remains roughly 20% below the May 2022 peak.

That requires a walk-through and current comparable sales, which is why we do it in person rather than by algorithm. An automated estimate cannot see a renovation, a view corridor, or the condition of a roof. We provide a written opinion of value at no cost and with no obligation.

Usually not structurally. Presentation work such as paint, landscaping, lighting and staging tends to be the better use of money before a sale, and it is faster. We would rather walk the house with you and give you a specific scope than have you spend against a general rule.

Commissions are negotiable in Texas and are agreed in writing before listing. Since the 2024 NAR settlement, buyer-side compensation is negotiated separately rather than posted to the MLS, and the TREC contract states plainly that brokerage compensation is not set by law. We will walk through the whole structure in the first conversation.

School districts must exempt $140,000 of a qualified homestead's value, raised from $100,000 when voters approved Proposition 13 in November 2025. Travis County and the City of Austin each exempt another 20% of appraised value. It also caps your assessed value increase at 10% a year. Filing is free and the deadline is April 30.

Texas has no state income tax and no state property tax, so local rates carry more of the load. Travis County adopted a 2025 rate of $0.375845 per $100 of valuation, one line on a bill that also carries school, city and college districts. Combined rates inside Austin run near $2.07 per $100 before exemptions.

Yes, and usually yes. File with the Travis Appraisal Review Board by May 15, or 30 days after TCAD mails your notice, whichever is later. Filing is free and opens an informal settlement round before any formal hearing. Even a capped homestead benefits, because the cap limits appraised value while the district still records a higher market value.

Paragraph 12A(2) of the TREC contract lists them: appraisal, loan application and origination, credit reports, recording fees, the loan title policy, inspection and underwriting fees, half the escrow fee, and prepaid insurance and tax reserves. Who pays for the owner's title policy is a negotiated checkbox, not a fixed rule.

A municipal utility district is a statutorily created district providing water, sewer, drainage or flood control, and yes, it adds to your bill. Chapter 49 of the Texas Water Code requires the seller to deliver and the buyer to sign a notice of the district's tax rate, bonded indebtedness or standby fee before the contract is finally executed.

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 after a medical discharge from the Air Force, 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.

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.

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 would rather understand what you are trying to do before anyone talks about houses.