Austin, TX House-Hack Report 2026-03-31 — Paid Edition 548 listings scanned · 4 ZIPs · 10 house-hack deals + 5 rental picks |
Market Pulse **548 listings scanned across 4 ZIPs this week.** 78744 (McKinney Falls) had the most inventory at 206 listings, while 78724 (Colony Park) had just 94. Fewer listings near Colony Park signals tightening supply as the $257M development draws buyer attention. **Foreclosure opportunities surfacing in 3 of 4 ZIPs.** Foreclosures at $160K (78741), $235K (78753), and $390K (78724) are producing the strongest deal math this week. Condition is the variable — inspection before offer is mandatory for all three. **Apartment concessions still compressing rents.** Austin metro apartment vacancy sits at 14.2% (Q4 2025), with complexes offering 6-10 weeks free on 12-month leases. All rent estimates in this report account for that pressure. But deliveries drop 74% in H2 2026, which should start lifting the ceiling. **Three catalysts advanced this quarter.** The Blue Line light rail received its FTA Record of Decision (Jan 2026) and a $60M design-build contract (Feb 2026) in 78741. Southwest Airlines opened a 2,000+ job crew base at ABIA (March 2026) in 78744. The NLTC ETOD Station Area Vision Plan was adopted (May 2025) with SB 840 zoning changes (Sept 2025) in 78753. These are funded milestones, not speculative. |
Where We're Looking 78741 East Riverside Austin's highest catalyst density: five Blue Line light rail stations with FTA approval plus Oracle's global HQ. The pre-construction pricing window closes when the first trains run in 2033. | 78724 Colony Park A $257M city-led master-planned community by the developer behind Mueller, where starter homes have tripled since 2007. Colony Park runs the same playbook at a 30-50% discount. | 78744 McKinney Falls Dual employment anchors: Tesla Gigafactory (21,000 metro employees) and ABIA airport ($5B expansion). No transit premium baked into prices. Best value for employment-driven rental demand. | 78753 North Lamar The NLTC ETOD Vision Plan plus SB 840 create regulatory certainty for redevelopment. Domain tech spillover (Apple, Indeed, Amazon) drives high-income room rental demand at $700-$900/room — a tenant pool most ZIPs don't have. |
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House-Hack Picks | Live in it, rent part of it, convert after 2 years |
All figures use cautious estimates. Sensitivity tables show the full range for top deals. #1 | 2220 Mission Hill Dr East Riverside (78741) · $599,000 |
8 bd / 6 ba | 4,560 sqft | Built 1968 |
Live in one unit, rent the other three $4,350/mo live-in rent | $5,850/mo full rental | 2.5%/yr appreciation |
Near () 16.5% S&P must return this to compete | +$415K more wealth over 10 years |
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WHY THIS IS A STEAL A fourplex at $599K where three rented units generate $4,350/mo while you live in the fourth — more rental income than any single-family home in the entire metro analysis. The S&P would need 16.5% annual returns for ten straight years to compete, and that's at the most cautious rent estimate. |
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#2 | 5303 Spring Meadow Rd McKinney Falls (78744) · $385,000 |
6 bd / 4 ba | 1,914 sqft | Built 1984 |
Live in one unit, rent the other $1,900/mo live-in rent | $3,800/mo full rental | 2.5%/yr appreciation |
Near Easton Park buildout (2.5 mi) 13.3% S&P must return this to compete | +$193K more wealth over 10 years |
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WHY THIS IS A STEAL A duplex at $385K generating $3,800/mo when both units are rented — an 11.8% gross yield before any appreciation. A new H-E-B is opening 1.8 miles away in 2027, and ABIA's $5B expansion is under construction 3.9 miles north. Both catalysts are funded. |
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#3 | 6706 Cruz St East Riverside (78741) · $159,900 |
3 bd / 2 ba | 1,450 sqft | Built 1962 | Foreclosure |
Rent out spare bedrooms while you live there, then rent the whole house after you move out $900/mo live-in rent | $2,200/mo full rental | 2.5%/yr appreciation |
Near () 13.1% S&P must return this to compete | +$180K more wealth over 10 years |
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WHY THIS IS A STEAL A 3-bedroom foreclosure at $160K in a ZIP where the median single-family home is $352K — 55% below market. Even with $20K budgeted for repairs, the purchase price is so far below market that the cautious estimate still produces $180K more wealth than index investing. Fourteen days on market. |
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#4 | 8203 Colony Loop Dr Colony Park (78724) · $350,000 |
4 bd / 2 ba | 1,748 sqft | Built 1983 |
Live in one unit, rent the other $2,025/mo live-in rent | $2,380/mo full rental | 5.5%/yr appreciation |
Near Colony Park Loyola Town Center, a $257M master-planned community (0.42 miles) 12.9% S&P must return this to compete | +$163K more wealth over 10 years |
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WHY THIS IS A STEAL A multi-family a quarter-mile from the $257M Colony Park development — built by Catellus, the same developer behind Mueller, where starter homes have tripled in value since 2007. At $350K with 5.5% projected appreciation, this is the Mueller playbook at a 50% discount. |
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#5 | 9505 N Creek Dr North Lamar (78753) · $235,000 |
4 bd / 1 ba | 1,284 sqft | Built 1970 | Foreclosure |
Rent out spare bedrooms while you live there $1,950/mo live-in rent | $2,100/mo full rental | 2.5%/yr appreciation |
Near Rundberg MetroRapid station (0.34 miles) 12.6% S&P must return this to compete | +$144K more wealth over 10 years |
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WHY THIS IS A STEAL The cheapest 4-bedroom in North Austin sits 0.34 miles from the Rundberg MetroRapid station, inside the adopted ETOD planning overlay. At $235K — 36% below the ZIP median — even the most cautious estimate produces $144K more wealth than the S&P over 10 years. The Rundberg corridor perception discount is the thesis: buy the stigma, hold for the redevelopment. |
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#6 | 8611 Georgian Dr North Lamar (78753) · $185,000 |
3 bd / 1.5 ba | 960 sqft | Built 1962 |
Rent out spare bedrooms while you live there $1,300/mo live-in rent | $1,900/mo full rental | 2.5%/yr appreciation |
Near Rundberg MetroRapid station (0.46 miles) 12.5% S&P must return this to compete | +$141K more wealth over 10 years |
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WHY THIS IS A STEAL The lowest entry price in the entire metro analysis. $185K for a 3-bedroom inside the Rundberg MetroRapid 0.5-mile radius. At this price, the property only needs $1,300/mo in room rent to beat the S&P over 10 years. Two rooms cover that. |
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#7 | 9602 N Creek Dr North Lamar (78753) · $210,000 |
3 bd / 1.5 ba | 1,024 sqft | Built 1970 |
Rent out spare bedrooms while you live there $1,300/mo live-in rent | $1,900/mo full rental | 2.5%/yr appreciation |
Near Rundberg MetroRapid (0.42 mi) 12.0% S&P must return this to compete | +$110K more wealth over 10 years |
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WHY THIS IS A STEAL The only property in the batch near two major transit nodes — 0.42 miles from the Rundberg station and 0.69 miles from the North Lamar Transit Center. That dual positioning drives the strongest appreciation setup in north Austin, and you're paying $210K to access it. |
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#8 | 5507 Burgundy Dr Colony Park (78724) · $285,000 |
4 bd / 2 ba | 1,428 sqft | Built 1980 |
Rent out spare bedrooms while you live there $2,025/mo live-in rent | $1,700/mo full rental | 5.0%/yr appreciation |
Near Colony Park Loyola Town Center (1.47 miles) 11.9% S&P must return this to compete | +$104K more wealth over 10 years |
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WHY THIS IS A STEAL The cheapest 4-bedroom in Colony Park's ZIP at $285K. Room rental income of $2,025/mo nearly covers the entire mortgage from day one — you live for almost nothing while the property appreciates at 5%+ from the $257M Colony Park transformation 1.5 miles away. |
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#9 | 6109 Caddie St, Unit A East Riverside (78741) · $535,000 |
0 bd / 0 ba | 0 sqft | Built Unknown |
Live in one unit, rent the other $2,000/mo live-in rent | $4,000/mo full rental | 2.5%/yr appreciation |
Near Grove Blue Line station (0.71 mi) 11.8% S&P must return this to compete | +$97K more wealth over 10 years |
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WHY THIS IS A STEAL The newest multi-unit in the batch (built 2005) sitting between two Blue Line stations — Grove at 0.71 miles and Montopolis at 0.49 miles. Newer construction means lower maintenance risk than anything else at this price. Dual-station transit positioning is rare in any ZIP. |
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#10 | 603 W Grady Dr North Lamar (78753) · $295,000 |
4 bd / 3 ba | 1,510 sqft | Built 1949 |
Rent out spare bedrooms while you live there $2,100/mo live-in rent | $2,100/mo full rental | 3.0%/yr appreciation |
Near North Lamar Transit Center ETOD zone (0.58 miles) 11.8% S&P must return this to compete | +$98K more wealth over 10 years |
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WHY THIS IS A STEAL A 4-bed/3-bath on a 10,289-sqft lot at $295K. Three full baths mean room premiums of $700+/room compared to $550 for shared-bath properties, and the oversized lot qualifies for a future accessory dwelling unit. At 0.58 miles from the North Lamar Transit Center, it sits in the ETOD zone where SB 840 has unlocked denser development. |
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Top Rental Picks | Ranked by gross yield |
R1 | 6706 Cruz St East Riverside (78741) · $159,900 |
3 bd / 2 ba | 1,450 sqft | Built 1962 | Foreclosure |
$2,200/mo monthly rent | 16.5% gross yield | 2.5%/yr appreciation |
Near Yellow Jacket Blue Line station (0.08 miles) |
WHY THIS IS A STEAL A foreclosure at $160K generating $2,200/mo — a 16.5% gross yield in a market where 6% is considered strong. Even with $20K in repairs, the purchase price is so far below the $352K ZIP median that the math works at almost any rent level. |
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R2 | 8611 Georgian Dr North Lamar (78753) · $185,000 |
3 bd / 1.5 ba | 960 sqft | Built 1962 |
$1,900/mo monthly rent | 12.3% gross yield | 2.5%/yr appreciation |
Near Rundberg MetroRapid station (0.46 miles) |
WHY THIS IS A STEAL At $185K, this 3-bedroom generates $1,900/mo — a 12.3% gross yield. Inside the Rundberg station 0.5-mile radius, where an adopted redevelopment overlay is changing the corridor's trajectory. The cheapest standalone house in the batch. |
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R3 | 5303 Spring Meadow Rd McKinney Falls (78744) · $385,000 |
6 bd / 4 ba | 1,914 sqft | Built 1984 |
$3,800/mo monthly rent | 11.8% gross yield | 2.5%/yr appreciation |
Near Easton Park (2.5 mi) |
WHY THIS IS A STEAL A duplex generating $3,800/mo from two units at $385K. Two income streams mean you can fill one while turning over the other, cutting vacancy drag to near zero. McKinney Falls State Park provides a permanent amenity premium 1.4 miles south. |
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R4 | 2220 Mission Hill Dr East Riverside (78741) · $599,000 |
8 bd / 6 ba | 4,560 sqft | Built 1968 |
$5,850/mo monthly rent | 11.7% gross yield | 2.5%/yr appreciation |
Near () |
WHY THIS IS A STEAL Four rental units generating $5,850/mo at $599K — even with one unit empty, the remaining three cover the full mortgage. The price per unit ($150K) is below what you'd pay for a studio condo in central Austin. |
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R5 | 9602 N Creek Dr North Lamar (78753) · $210,000 |
3 bd / 1.5 ba | 1,024 sqft | Built 1970 |
$1,900/mo monthly rent | 10.9% gross yield | 2.5%/yr appreciation |
Near Rundberg MetroRapid (0.42 mi) |
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All rent figures use cautious estimates backed by documented rental comps and computed distances to named growth catalysts. Appreciation rates are tied to specific funded projects, not general market trends. This is not investment advice. House-Hack Showdown · Austin, TX · 2026-03-31 |
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