Austin

Austin's housing market is leaning toward buyers, though it's inched back toward neutral over the past month. The composite score sits at -0.9 now on our -3-to-+3 scale, up from -1.3 a month ago — still buyer-friendly, just not as lopsided as it was.

About 28% of homes that closed in July sold at or above their asking price, and the typical home that sold spent around seven and a half weeks on the market before closing. A little over 55% of everything currently for sale has had at least one price cut since listing. Put together, there's about four and a half months of supply on hand at July's sales pace — comfortably in buyer's-market range.

Prices pulled back a bit: the median sold price is down about 4.5% from June and down roughly 1.8% from a year ago. Just over 840 homes closed in Austin in July. Buyers are still holding more of the cards here, but sellers who price sharply are finding buyers within a couple of months.

You're negotiating from a position of strength, even if it's softened slightly since last month. More than half of what's on the market has already seen a price cut, so don't be shy about countering below asking or asking for concessions. With homes averaging around seven and a half weeks to sell, there's no need to rush a decision.

Sharp pricing matters more than ever with under a third of homes closing at or above asking. Look at what's actually closed in the last month, not last year's comps, and be ready for a sale that takes closer to two months than two weeks. A well-priced home still moves — it just takes a realistic number to get there.