Travis County Entry-Level Homes: Affordability Check

What does it cost to buy an entry-level home in Travis County today? The bottom quartile of the market closed at a median price of $485,000 across 965 sales in October 2026. This figure represents the threshold for the most affordable tier of homes sold in the county over the trailing 12 months. ALEX Intelligence analyzed the current mortgage environment to assess affordability for these buyers. With a median sale price of $485,000 and a prevailing 30-year fixed rate of 7.24% (Freddie Mac, week of Oct 29, 2026), a buyer faces a principal and interest payment of $2,644 per month. To compare the impact of financing incentives, we modeled two common buydown structures based on the median sale price. A 3-2-1 buydown would reduce the rate to 4.24% in year one, saving $738 monthly for a total cost of $18,000 (3.71% of the price). A 2-1 buydown offers a smaller reduction with a total cost of $9,144 (1.89% of the price). While the median entry-level price is down 4.4% from October 2025, the higher interest rates significantly impact monthly cash flow compared to previous years. Buyers entering this tier must weigh the lower purchase price against the cost of financing and potential buydowns to determine true affordability in the current market. Want to see this home? Call or text George at 713.918.9951 for a private showing. Data from Unlock MLS. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Model outputs are ALEX Intelligence estimates, not appraisals. Read more Central Texas market data on the ALEX blog: https://alex-companies.com/blog