Real estate answers for Austin and its suburbs

Mason Bleasdell is a REALTOR® with Mark Martin and Company in the Austin, Texas area. He helps buyers and sellers in Georgetown, Leander, Round Rock, Pflugerville and greater Austin, and he's known for his YouTube neighborhood tours.

Georgetown, Leander, Round Rock and Pflugerville are his main markets, plus greater Austin, Cedar Park, Hutto, Manor, Liberty Hill and the Hill Country.

Mark Martin and Company, LLC (TREC broker license #9007885). Mason's own Texas license number is 0716373.

An individual agent. Mason works directly for his clients on showings, negotiation and communication. He isn't a team that hands clients off to other agents.

More than $140M in career sales, including 148 closed sales worth $86.7M in the last five years.

Yes. Much of his YouTube channel covers new construction communities and relocation guides for the Austin suburbs, and he represents buyers at new-build communities.

He is a 2026 Platinum Top 50 Finalist in Austin and a Real Producers 500 agent, and he holds the GRI designation.

Call or text (512) 983-7331, or email mason@masonsellsaustin.com.

In almost every case, having bought and sold several solar homes, it doesn't add the full cost. Even modern systems may only get half the cost back, and I've even seen appraisers value solar at zero.

Make sure your finances line up so that you may only receive about $20,000 in actual value back, unless you own the house long enough to even out with your electric bill savings.

It can be a huge selling point to some buyers, who may even choose your house over the competition, but that's sellability, not necessarily value.

Be very careful. Buyers are wary of taking over payments because it opens a new trade line that counts toward debt-to-income and could disqualify them. Most buyers will want you to pay it off anyway.

There are costs for the buyer and seller, and typically the seller has the larger portion. I've seen those be $5,000 before.

Most solar companies do provide transferable warranties, but make sure. If the warranty doesn't carry over, a buyer is likely to question buying the house.

Be aware of how long you have to keep the solar before you may have to pay tax credits back. I've seen a seller who sold within two years have to pay back the full credit, over $10,000.

If you're considering moving in the next couple of years, it's probably not a good idea at all, especially with a tax credit, loan or lease, unless you're paying outright.

As a general statement Austin has done really well historically in terms of appreciation, and that's what the investors doing it well are in it for. They're looking 10 or 20 years out; this is a long-term hold.

With the way our property taxes are set up, it's really hard if not impossible right now with a traditional 30% down investor mortgage. Negative cash flow is typically $300 to $500 a month. Cash flow is "basically dead in Austin."

Looking at median sales prices back to 1996, both Austin and Round Rock have almost doubled every 10 years. It's not just the tech boom or a COVID boom.

Austin averaged $797,000 in sales price (median $600,500) with average rent of $2,853. Round Rock averaged $477,000 with average rent of $2,208, so it's a little closer to making sense but still negative.

If you're looking for cash flow, markets like Tennessee, Michigan or Massachusetts can be far more advantageous. Appreciation is the long game in Austin.

Buy a single-family home in a location that attracts young professionals, live in one bedroom and rent out the others. Rooms go for roughly $700 to $1,000 a month in Central Austin, so with a four-bedroom you can just about cover your mortgage.

They can be very advantageous. I have a client looking at one with a main house, a garage apartment and a detached ADU for around three-quarters of a million that could gross $3,500 to $4,000 a month.

Austin has relaxed how hard it used to be to get a short-term rental permit, so please dig into it. It usually has to be something special, and special costs a lot, so it's a risk, but some do six figures a year gross.

Condos are totally out. By the time you factor in condo fees, it just does not make sense at all.

"I'm not hired to list your home. I am hired to sell it." He plans the prep, stages, produces custom video and photos, prints materials for showings, and personally markets the home to other agents.

My goal is not to have you spend money necessarily, but to present the home in the best way possible, and I'll be completely honest about what it will take.

Yes. Whether your home is nearly a million dollars or $300K, we stage all of my vacant homes, at my own cost.

Yes, every house, no matter the price point. My videographer is a full-time staff member on my team.

The first half is lifestyle, building a story around the house (nearby schools, the coffee shop and bar down the street). The second half covers details buyers might miss, like the age of the air conditioning and water heater.

It's the nicest light of the day, and it makes your home stand out when buyers are scrolling through hundreds of listings on Zillow. Even interiors look nicer with the sunset out the windows.

I don't believe your home will just go on MLS and sell itself. Good agents are busy and not sitting on MLS looking for your house, so I bring it to their inbox with a pre-launch blast the day we go live.

A printed MLS sheet with all the specs and a flyer with everything to know about the house, so if they didn't read the description or watch the video, they won't miss it.

It really comes down to a math problem: is the monthly mortgage payment versus what the house could actually rent for going to make sense? It's a very personal decision, and every neighborhood is a little different.

Cash flow here really doesn't happen too much because of our higher property taxes, which are offset by not having state income tax. With 30% down at current investor rates, most homes we're seeing lose $300-$400 a month.

Yes. If you adjust that interest rate down to 3%, the math completely flips on its head, which is why folks sitting on super low mortgages are really starting to think about it.

Rent prices have pretty consistently gone up on average over the last 10 years, and after rising in 2021 they really haven't come down much, while sale prices came down about 20% from the peak. For single-family homes, I don't think there's too much to worry about.

Rental days on market have been very stable over 10 years, much more than sales. Assuming the house is nice, you have a good chance of renting it out really quickly, especially with professional photos.

Most I've dealt with charge about 7% of each month's rent, and usually 70% of one month's rent to list the house, including photos, tours and drawing up the lease.

Don't let anyone tell you that even with a property manager it's passive income. It does actually take work to manage a rental.

Get caught up on the Texas tenant code: a deadbolt not accessible by a key on each exterior door, including the door into the garage, and peepholes in every door. Also know the difference between squatters and trespassers.

Repairs like a $9,000 air conditioner, which wiped out a year and a half of profit for one client; a home warranty at around $600 a year; and property management and leasing fees.

The average Austinite's mortgage including taxes and insurance is about $3,400 a month, and it's going to cost you right around $2,660 to rent a home or condo here.

For my ~1,400 sq ft, 20-year-old home, electricity is as low as about $40 in December and peaks in July and August when AC runs almost 24/7. Water runs right around $70 for two people with no sprinkler system.

In almost every case in the Austin area, providers compete for your business, so you can pick a plan that fits your usage, like off-peak rates for an electric car. (He notes his own home is on a City of Austin bill.)

Everything is hovering right around $2.99 a gallon for regular, and premium is usually about 50 cents more. Texas has some of the lowest gas prices in the country.

No, it's zero. However, we have one of the highest property taxes of any state.

Most of the Austin area has an effective tax rate between 1.7% and about 3%. New communities tend to be higher while the city or county builds infrastructure, and rates creep down over 10 to 15 years.

No. What you paid is confidential, and it's on the county to decide the taxable value. If the assessment comes in above what you paid, you can use your purchase price to protest.

In my Cedar Park example, the Upper Brushy Creek Water Control Improvement District is the MUD, a separate tax line alongside city, county and school district taxes.

From the 2020 census: Austin $75,000, Pflugerville $95,000 and Round Rock $86,000.

It's a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage where discount points are paid to buy down the rate for the first two years, typically about 2% lower the first year, 1% lower the second year, and then your fixed rate from year three on.

No. It is a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, not an adjustable rate mortgage.

If the fixed rate is 7%, you'd pay 5% interest the first year, 6% the second, and 7% onward.

It can be really great when you're first buying a house. You've got furniture to buy and walls to paint, so it reduces your payment for the first couple of years and lets you keep more cash.

People sign on comfortable with the first-year payment, but not the third. Builders and lenders say you can refinance at any time, but we do not know if mortgage rates are going to go down, or how much.

Most financial advisors say your total mortgage with taxes and insurance shouldn't be more than about 25% of your gross monthly income. That's something I personally follow.

They're not bad, but don't use one to justify carrying a loan amount you're just not comfortable with. Make sure you understand the year one, year two and full payments.

I think so. It's one of my favorite suburbs around Austin, and because it was its own standalone town for so long, it doesn't live like a suburb. It has a historic square, live music on weekends and trails into downtown.

About 30 miles north. From near the square, downtown Austin was about 40 minutes without traffic and an hour or more at rush hour as of April 2024.

By far the biggest gripe has been traffic on University Avenue (SH-29) at rush hour. The Southwest Bypass connection to 29, which opened in 2023, gave people another route to I-35.

Most neighborhoods are Georgetown ISD. Santa Rita Ranch is split with Liberty Hill ISD and Parkside on the River is split with Leander ISD, so check the exact address.

It depends on the neighborhood. On my tours from 2024 to 2026, rates ran from about 1.78% (Highcrest Meadow, April 2024) to about 2.6% (the Leander ISD side of Parkside on the River, September 2025).

Of the ones I've toured, Highcrest Meadow (1.78%, April 2024), the Retreat at San Gabriel (1.8%, February 2024), and Riverstone and Broken Oak (about 1.8%, June 2025) were the lowest.

Yes, on the north edge of Georgetown. Before it opened, the nearest was about 20 minutes away in Pflugerville or Cedar Park.

The big HEB at Wolf Ranch Shopping Center opened in 2023, alongside Target, Chick-fil-A and Starbucks. Newer HEBs have gone in at Bar W Marketplace and near Williams Drive and Ronald Reagan.

Sun City Texas, with four 18-hole golf courses and homes from the low $200,000s to over $1 million (December 2024), and Santa Rita Regency, the Toll Brothers-built 55+ section of Santa Rita Ranch.

It's in the Liberty Hill / Georgetown area of Williamson County, outside city limits. Addresses read Liberty Hill, Georgetown or sometimes Andice.

The square has restaurants, coffee shops and live music on Friday and Saturday nights. There's a trail from Lake Georgetown into the square, the San Gabriel River trail from Wolf Ranch, and free Blue Hole Park.

About 30 miles northwest of downtown Austin, in Williamson County, just north of Cedar Park.

Yes. Leander and Cedar Park are the only Austin-area suburbs on the CapMetro MetroRail line, which runs into downtown Austin.

Most of Leander is in Leander ISD, which I'd call one of the highest-rated districts in Texas. Some Leander addresses, like Bar W Ranch, are zoned to Liberty Hill ISD, so check the specific address.

Roughly 86,000 people as of 2024, growing about 10% year over year.

It suits families and downtown commuters especially well, thanks to the schools and the rail line. It is distinctly suburban, with fewer local employers, so most residents commute.

It depends on the neighborhood. On my 2024–2026 tours, many City of Leander communities with no MUD or PID were about 2%, Palmera Ridge was 2.4% in May 2026 and Bar W Ranch was 2.7% in May 2026.

Northwest Leander. Greatwood is the under-the-radar resale option, and Leander Estates, Woodland Estates and Hilltop Ranch are newer acre-homesite communities nearby.

A large Domain-style, open-air mixed-use development set to become Leander's new downtown. As of August 2026, the residential side is open and the commercial buildings have gone vertical.

In October 2025 I drove from the Domain to South Brook in north Leander in about 25 minutes on the 183 toll road, off-peak and against traffic. Rush hour will be longer.

The City of Leander requires xeriscaping across all builders to cut back on residential watering. It's a Leander rule, not a builder choice.

Honest read: Leander feels suburban, with strip centers, national franchises and master-planned communities rather than dense walkable blocks. Old Leander is where the town character lives.

For a lot of families, yes. It was one of the fastest-growing suburbs in the country for a few years, and people are drawn to the schools, the parks and a location that's easy to get around from.

Almost 120,000 people as of my May 2024 tour. Almost two-thirds of households had three or more people, so it's a very family-heavy city.

The west side (Brushy Creek area) has more mature trees, rolling hills and trails, and it's easier to commute from, so there's a price premium. The east side has more going on, with downtown, Old Settlers Park, Dell Diamond and the Kalahari.

As of my December 2023 tour, about 30 to 35 minutes without traffic and 45 to 50 minutes at rush hour. From the west side or the south end near SH 45, the Domain is about 12 to 14 minutes.

Most of Round Rock is Round Rock ISD. Some Round Rock addresses aren't, though. Siena is zoned to Hutto ISD, so always check the specific address.

It depends on the neighborhood. On my 2024-2025 tours I saw 1.7% in Saul's Ranch, 1.77% in Avery Centre and Monarch on Main, 1.9% in Paloma Lake, about 2% in Cielo and 2.3% in Siena.

Round Rock is known as one of the safest suburbs in the Austin area. I'd let my daughter ride her bike around Old Settlers Park and not really worry.

Old Settlers Park is the big one, with trails, fields, a lake, a water park and Music in the Park. Play for All Park is a hidden gem for kids, and the Brushy Creek Trail runs from Cedar Park to near downtown Round Rock.

Yes, which is rare for an Austin suburb. Main Street restaurants, live music, coffee shops, the new public library and trails are all close together, and the Depot Townhomes and Monarch on Main were built around that walkability.

Yes. Hidden Ridge is a small, recently built community with acreage home sites backing up to Brushy Creek, 3,000 to 5,000 square foot homes, in about the $1 million to $2 million range as of May 2024.

I-35 traffic is the biggest gripe, though the 620 extension and flyovers helped. The west side carries a price premium, and tax rates and school districts vary by neighborhood.

My family and I live here and have no plans on leaving. It's a nice balance of quieter suburban life without being far from Austin, and it has a good reputation for being safe.

It's the very first suburb north of Austin, right off I-35. As of October 2025 we're about 15 minutes from the Domain, so you avoid the long downtown commutes of suburbs like Leander.

SH130 splits the city in half. The west side is older and more established, with mature trees and easy toll-free commuting. The east side has more new construction, easy toll road access and higher property taxes.

As of October 2025, roughly 2% on the west side compared to about 2.6% in some east-side neighborhoods. Kuempel Estates is under 2%.

On the west side you can avoid most of them. On the east side you'll use them. At $2.50 each way, that's five bucks a day if you commute five days a week.

Neighborhoods I've toured like Falcon Pointe, Carmel and Lisso are in Pflugerville ISD. Around Falcon Pointe, Hendrickson High, Kelly Lane Middle and Murchison Elementary were all rated 8/10 or higher on GreatSchools as of October 2025.

Yes. Harmony, IDEA and a new BASIS K-12 campus are along Wells Branch, and Valor is nearby, technically in Austin. You have to apply and it can be competitive.

A new downtown on FM 685 with a five-story city hall and a 140,000 sq ft rec center with a natatorium, expected in 2026 as of October 2025. The Kelly Lane extension and a new H-E-B off 130 also just opened.

The governor signed off on it. As of October 2025 there are 70+ miles of trails including the ETJ, and reportedly no resident is more than a mile from one.

Yes. The city built a sand beach, you can use non-motorized watercraft like kayaks and paddleboards, and it's stocked for fishing.

Blackhawk, Pflugerville's golf course community. It has multiple amenity centers, pools, playgrounds, pocket parks and trails, and they're still building new construction there.

Homes 20 to 30 years old are not bad at all, but that's typically when the AC, roof and kitchen need replacing. You get a lot of charm for it.

Liberty Hill is an Austin suburb northwest of the city along Highway 183, in Williamson County.

It's grown from a tiny town into a place you'd actually want to live, with restaurants, a brewery and coffee shops moving into downtown. It fits people who want space and value and don't mind driving about 15 minutes for most things.

As of late 2024, new construction started around $300,000 in communities like Butler Farms, and acre-lot homes ran mostly $700,000 to $800,000.

It depends on the neighborhood. On my 2024 tours, rates ran from below 1.9% in Northfork to 2.3% in Stonewall Ranch, 2.34% in Butler Farms and 2.6% in Santa Rita Regency.

Right now it's a little bit of a commute. In 2024, I measured about 35 to 39 minutes to downtown off-peak using the 183 toll road, and the toll road extension will make it easier.

Not in town as of December 2024. The nearest one from the west side is about 15 minutes away in Leander, and the east side has a new H-E-B about 5 to 10 minutes away. There are plans to bring a grocery store to Liberty Hill.

Northfork and North Haven both offer 1-acre lots, mostly in the $700,000 to $800,000 range as of December 2024, some with greenbelts and mature trees.

On my tours: Meritage and Saratoga in Butler Farms, six builders including Perry Homes in Lariat, Chesmar in Northfork, GFO Home in North Haven, Taylor Morrison in Stonewall Ranch and Toll Brothers in Santa Rita Regency.

Most of Liberty Hill is in Liberty Hill ISD. Parts of Santa Rita Ranch are in Georgetown ISD, so check the zoning for any specific address.

Yes. Santa Rita Regency is a Toll Brothers 55+ section of Santa Rita Ranch, on the eastern edge of Liberty Hill.

Getting on it sooner than later really isn't a bad thing. I don't think you'll recognize this place in a couple of years.

For a lot of people, yes. It's about the closest suburb on the east side of Austin, you get a lot of house for the money, and Manor Crossing brought H-E-B and Home Depot to town. The trade-offs are 290 traffic at rush hour and tax rates around 2.6% to 2.8%.

About 12 miles east of downtown Austin on Highway 290.

Yes. The H-E-B at Manor Crossing had opened by my November 2025 tour. Before that, Walmart was Manor's only grocery store for a long time.

It's the retail development at 290 and FM 973 with H-E-B, Home Depot, Chick-fil-A, Chili's and more coming. It's an absolute game changer for daily life in Manor.

Highway 290 is really the only main way in and out, and it's also a route to Houston, so rush hour can be rough. Old Highway 20 and FM 973 are being improved, but some projects are years away.

Most of Manor is Manor ISD. Part of Carillon is Elgin ISD, and Whisper Valley was zoned Del Valle ISD as of 2025, so confirm zoning by address.

Most neighborhoods I toured in 2025 and 2026 ran about 2.6% to 2.8%. Carillon ranged 2.3% to 2.7% by section (March 2025), and Trails at Wildhorse, with an Austin address, was 2.1% (October 2025).

As of May 2025, Mustang Valley by KB Home started in the high $200,000s, and most homes landed in the very low $300s after a few upgrades.

Yes. Manor built a trail with the City of Austin that runs uninterrupted from Manor all the way downtown.

Yes, ShadowGlen. It's the only master-planned community in Manor with its own golf course, and membership is optional.

FM 973 is the main route south toward SH-130 and Tesla, and it's being expanded as a non-toll option.

It depends on what you want. My clients who want walkability love Allandale, Brentwood/Crestview and 78704, and families who want amenities often look at Circle C, Easton Park and Goodnight Ranch.

No. Cameron Place is Manor ISD, Foxfield is Pflugerville ISD, Easton Park and Addison are Del Valle ISD, and Sweetwater is Lake Travis ISD. Always check the specific address.

It varies by neighborhood. On my tours from 2024 to 2026 it ran from about 1.6% at Hills of Bear Creek to 2.57% at Easton Park, depending on city limits, MUDs and PIDs.

Southeast Austin and Del Valle. As of 2026, Stoney Chase started in the high $200,000s and Marble Creek Crossing in the low $300,000s. Cameron Place in North Austin started in the high $300s as of July 2026.

A lot of South Austin new construction is detached homes that are condos by legal definition, on private roads that are fire lanes. You own your home and land, but street parking is limited.

Allandale, Brentwood/Crestview, Mueller, 78704 neighborhoods like Travis Heights and Zilker, and newer spots like Foxfield and Goodnight Ranch, where you can walk to parks, coffee or groceries.

The Parmer Lane / Tech Ridge corridor in North and Northeast Austin is close to Samsung, Apple and General Motors. Southeast Austin, like Addison and Stoney Chase, is closest to Tesla via SH-130.

Yes. Allandale and Wells Branch had no HOA as of my 2024 tours. Onion Creek's HOA was only about $300 a year as of March 2024.

February is usually the coldest month, and winter storms usually bring ice, not snow. March through May is the wettest stretch, and August highs are near 100.

It can be. I-35 is usually the worst at rush hour. From Sweetwater, for example, I'd plan on at least 45 minutes downtown at rush hour and about 30 without traffic.