Thousands of Austinites Have Relocated South for Affordability

Austinies fed up with the city’s soaring home prices are making their way to San Antonio and its surrounding suburbs.

Roughly 20 percent of new San Antonio-area residents have moved from Austin, marking the largest source of the city’s in-migration, the San Antonio Business Journal reported, citing change-of-address data compiled by housing market research firm John Burns Research & Consulting. San Antonio gained almost 19,000 new residents last year, according to the U.S. Census.

“Austin became very expensive very quickly, more than many other markets — if not the most expensive market.” Reid Randall, a senior consultant at John Burns, told the outlet.

While the Austin housing market has cooled off a bit this year, prices are still higher than they were several years ago. In 2021, the median home price jumped 31 percent to $476,700 in the metropolitan area, and it rose 19 percent to $555,000 within the city limits.

Unprecedented population growth, combined with low interest rates at the time and declining inventory, led to a surge in housing demand, making Austin the poster child of the post-pandemic housing boom.

A number of Austinites may be ditching the capital city in favor of residences due south, but they’re not cutting ties completely. Many outbound residents are heading to suburbs like New Braunfels and San Marcos, which are part of the booming megaregion between the two cities. New development and growth in this area has been especially prominent along the highway connecting them.

“It really speaks to those areas starting to merge; it’s telling you how much growth is happening along the Interstate 35 corridor,” Randall told the outlet.

Despite this migration trend, plenty of people are still moving to Austin at a rate that’s well above nation levels, although the influx of new residents pales in comparison to the years following the pandemic.

—Quinn Donoghue