Is there luxury real estate in Austin, Texas?  You might be surprised by the answer.  Of course, it depends on your definition of luxury.  If you define luxury real estate as large homes with impeccable finish-out on acreage, Austin has it.  If you define luxury real estate as million dollar homes, Austin has it.  If you define luxury real estate as the top floor on a downtown high-rise condo, Austin is getting that as well.

As I write this in early March, 2007, there are over 400 homes priced for over one million dollars on the market in the Austin area.  The average price of these Austin luxury homes is $1.8 million and the average size is over 5,000 square feet.  The most expensive listing is an over 17,000 square foot home that is listed for $7.5 million.  There are more than 40 homes on the market in Austin priced over $3 million. 

So just where are these homes?  Some are in subdivisions on the south shore of Lake Travis.  These include Costa Bella, Vineyard Bay, Angel Bay, Barton Creek Lakeside and the Coves on Lake Travis.  These are exclusive, gated communities in the beautiful central Texas Hill Country that offer frontage on or quick access to Lake Travis. 

More Austin luxury homes are in Barton Creek.  Barton Creek is a large subdivision in the Hill Country about 20 minutes west of downtown Austin.  Two of the newer gated areas within Barton Creek are Mirador and Escala.  In these subdivisions you will find high-end homes on 2-10 acres priced from about $1.5 million to over $4 million.  Some have distant views of downtown Austin.  Homes in these areas range from around 5,000 square feet to over 41,000 square feet.  There isn’t historical MLS data available for a number of these homes because they have either been custom homes or private sales, but many have come in at well over $10 million.

There are also high dollar homes in other parts of Austin.  The suburb of West Lake Hills is closer to downtown than Barton Creek and may have the most dramatic hills in the area.  Home owners in West Lake Hills include Michael Dell.  Some of the homes in this area have absolutely spectacular views of downtown Austin and Town Lake.  Others have lake frontage on Town Lake of Lake Austin.

What is making its way into Austin is the luxury high-rise condo and loft market.  The tallest of the announced downtown Austin hi-rise market will be the Austonian.  Rising 55 stories, it will be the tallest building in downtown Austin.  There are a number of other high-end high-rises coming to Austin that will redefine the skyline.

So there you have it.  Not only is Austin a fabulous place in which to live and own real estate, it is a fabulous place to own luxury real estate.  Whether waterfront, on acreage within 20 minutes of downtown or downtown Austin high-rise living, you can definitely live in luxury in Austin, TX.