Austin Waterfront Home Asks $11 Million as Buyer Pool Recedes

A waterfront estate hit the market in Austin for $11 million, as a shrinking buyer pool pushes ultra-luxury properties onto public listing services.

The eight-acre property at 11941 Overlook Pass includes a 4,000-square-foot main house as well as a guest house and a saloon-styled party hall. The property is one of a few that fronts Barton Creek, a popular Austin recreational spot.

“It’s difficult to build on Barton Creek,” said Douglas Elliman agent Jeanne Parker, who has the listing along with with Julie Mack.

Parker and Mack are expecting a buyer who values privacy and family considerations.

“Three of the best private schools in Austin are within a 10- to 15-minute drive of this property,” Parker said.

“A lot of celebrities live there, a lot of professional athletes, because of the privacy. They don’t like drones following them around, and you can’t do that here,” Mack said.

Most agents would prefer to market a property of this price in private. However, fewer buyers means more luxury homes are hitting the MLS, Mack said.

Austin has one of the highest median days on market of any luxury market in the country, according to Redfin. Toward the end of the hot season, the market overall had more than two sellers for every buyer, making Austin one of the most seller-saturated markets in the country.

As a result, price cuts have become more common for luxury homes in the area. The two most expensive homes sold on the MLS last week cut their asking prices before selling, and one spent over 190 days on the market.

While Parker and Mack are marketing the nearby schools, most people who have taken an interest in the property are retired grandparents, the agents said. Single-family properties in the area are attracting more luxury buyers than condos are, suggesting that the tech industry’s waning interest in Austin is siphoning more single, childless workers than parents back to the coast, Parker speculated.

“During the pandemic, we had a lot of people coming in from California, which raised the prices, and that has slowed down,” Parker said.

“Most of our people are coming in from New York, New Jersey, Chicago, probably for tax reasons,” Mack said.