Austin: Rainey Street, Second Street and Downtown

Rainey Street, the Second Street District and the towers along Lady Bird Lake, where Texas now builds its tallest residences: where new buildings rise, and how Texas sells a new condominium with fewer filings and lower closing costs than our other markets.

The market in brief

Austin comes later for us, after Los Angeles and Dallas, as our second market in Texas. Its new condominiums rise along Lady Bird Lake, on Rainey Street and in the Second Street District, where a run of towers has recently given the city the tallest building in Texas. Its buyers include people moving to Austin for work, often from California and New York, and Texans who want a second home close to the city’s music, food and lake.

Area: Downtown, Rainey Street, the Second Street District and Congress Avenue, along Lady Bird Lake
Status: Later, after Los Angeles and Dallas
Before any sale: No state review of the offering; each buyer receives a condominium information statement
Deposits: Held in escrow in Texas until closing, a buyer’s default or a refund
Transfer tax: None in Texas

We will add market figures here when we open Austin, drawn from the same kinds of sources as our other market pages. Our Dallas page covers the rules that apply across Texas.

Where new buildings rise

Rainey Street

A former street of bungalows on the lake’s north shore, now lined with residential towers, with the city’s tallest close by.

The Second Street District

Shops and restaurants south of City Hall, with residential towers near the old Seaholm power plant and the public library.

Congress Avenue

The avenue that runs from the lake up to the State Capitol, where hotels and residences have joined the office towers.

Along the lake

The towers that face Lady Bird Lake and its hike-and-bike trail, where the water keeps the view south open.

How a purchase works here

Texas does not review a condominium offering before it is sold. Instead the developer must give each buyer a condominium information statement, and under section 82.156 of the Texas Property Code (opens in a new tab) a buyer who signs before receiving it has five days after receiving it to cancel, with every payment refunded. The developer cannot require the buyer to close until the statement has been delivered.

Under section 82.158 (opens in a new tab), deposits paid to the developer are held in escrow in Texas, by a title company, an attorney, a broker or an insured institution, until closing, a buyer’s default or a refund.

Closing costs are lower than in our other markets: Texas has no transfer tax and no state income tax. Property taxes are set locally and carry more of the cost of owning, so a buyer who makes the home a primary residence should apply for the homestead exemption, which since voters approved it in November 2025 takes $140,000 off the value for school taxes.

Texas has no statute that sets warranty periods for a new home, so the builder’s written warranty and the contract carry the weight. Read both before signing.

What a developer works with here

No state filing before the first contract. The launch date is set by the documents, the developer and the lender, not by a state review.
Deposits that stay in escrow. Deposits wait in escrow until closing, so construction is funded by equity and debt, as in New York, and the lender’s pre-sale requirement is the first milestone.
The statement before the signature. Delivering the information statement before the contract is signed keeps a late cancellation window from opening on a sale already made.
Protected views of the Capitol. Austin and the State of Texas protect about thirty view corridors to the State Capitol, which limit how tall a building may rise on some downtown sites. Check a site against them before planning the massing.
Buyers from New York. Marketing a Texas building to New York residents brings New York’s filing rules with it, as our New York page explains.

Costs and rules at a glance

Transfer tax: None
State income tax: None
Property tax: Set each year by the county, the city and the school district
Homestead: $140,000 off the value of a primary home for school taxes
Cancellation: Five days after receiving the information statement, if it arrives after signing
Warranty: Set by the builder’s written warranty and the contract, not by statute

A launch, step by step

Documents. The declaration, the information statement and the escrow agreement are prepared, and prices and lines are set against the buildings buyers compare.
Launch. Purchase contracts are signed, each buyer receiving the information statement first.
Construction. Deposits stay in escrow. Weekly reporting shows whether pace meets the lender’s threshold.
Closings. Title passes to the buyer, with no transfer tax due.

What we will do here

When we open Austin, we will work as we do in our other markets: advice before launch on pricing, unit mix, plans and amenities, the buyer profile and the launch strategy, then a sales report every Monday against the plan. If you are planning a building on Rainey Street, in the Second Street District or along the lake, we are glad to talk it through now.

Sources

Texas Property Code, section 82.156 (opens in a new tab) and section 82.158 (opens in a new tab).
The 2025 homestead amendment, as reported by FOX 4 Dallas–Fort Worth (opens in a new tab).
City of Austin, Capitol View Corridors: Past, Present, and Future (opens in a new tab).

General information only, not legal, tax or investment advice. Texas law and local tax rates change, and every project is different. Review any purchase or project with a Texas real estate attorney.