A waterfront property at 1604 Bruton Springs Road in Austin recently sold for $5 million after being on the market for more than a year and undergoing a significant price reduction. The listing, handled by Aimee Chilton of eXp Realty, included an acre of land with a two-bedroom, three-bathroom house built in 1965 and a 2021 Xcursion pontoon boat. Despite the age and condition of the home, Chilton did not promote its interior, expecting that buyers would be interested in tearing it down to build anew.
“The main draw for this property is obviously the land itself,” Chilton said.
Contrary to expectations, however, the buyer decided to keep the existing house. According to Chilton, “Austin is definitely in a buyer’s market.” She noted that while current conditions are clear, Austin’s real estate sector has yet to recover from its pandemic-era growth period. “This property would have easily sold for $7 million in 2022 or 2021,” she said.
The home was originally listed for $6.5 million in August of last year. Its price was reduced to $6 million in December before settling at $5 million in May. Market shifts have contributed to longer sales periods and falling prices for luxury properties like this one.
Chilton also observed that some luxury buyers who moved to Austin during the pandemic are now returning to places such as California, which has impacted local demand: “That’s affected the market in addition to our pendulum swing downward. The people who came here are now leaving,” she said.
Luxury homes around Lake Travis and high-end condos have been slower to sell compared with previous years. For example, another recent top sale—a mansion built in 2023 on two acres at 4800 Mondonedo Cove—saw its price drop from $6 million when it listed in April to $5.9 million at closing.
Austin’s luxury housing market continues to experience extended listings and price adjustments as trends shift following an influx of out-of-state buyers during the pandemic era.
