For a long time, Austin was the obvious answer for anyone building a high-end home in Central Texas. The city had the culture and the resale value that luxury buyers wanted. But the market has shifted, and a growing number of affluent homeowners are looking north and west to Georgetown and the surrounding Hill Country instead.
This isn't a trend built on price alone. It's about what a homeowner gets for their investment, from lot size to design freedom to daily quality of life. Here's what's driving the shift, and what it means if you're planning a custom home of your own.
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Austin's luxury market is still strong, but it's becoming a harder place to build the kind of home high-end buyers want. The city's median sale price sits around $557,000, at roughly $312 per square foot as of mid-2026. High-end buyers pay well above both figures once lot scarcity enters the picture, and that per-square-foot cost has climbed steadily as available land inside the city has shrunk.
Lot sizes have followed the same pattern. Many of the parcels still available for custom builds within Austin proper sit well under half an acre, and plenty are smaller than that. Homeowners who want privacy or room for a pool and a guest structure often find the lot itself limits what they want to build.
Permitting has slowed down as well. A dense, fast-growing city means longer waits at the permit office, and construction schedules often slip because of it. Buyers who still want space and design flexibility close to the city are finding those tradeoffs harder to justify every year.
Georgetown's housing market is starkly different. The city's median sale price runs around $430,000, well under Austin's citywide median. That price difference is due to the overall lower cost of land and construction when compared to Austin. Here's how the two markets stack up:
Table 1. Austin vs. Georgetown
| Category | Austin | Georgetown |
|---|---|---|
| Median home sale price | Roughly $557,000 | Roughly $430,000 |
| Median price per square foot | Roughly $312 | Roughly $210–$220, depending on the month and data source |
| City property tax rate | $0.524 per $100 of valuation | $0.353 per $100 of valuation, the lowest of any Austin-area city over 20,000 people |
| Typical custom lot size | Often under half an acre | One acre and up in many communities |
You can easily get an acre of land for a lot in Georgetown. In Austin, you might find a lot half that size given the density of homes there.
Inside Georgetown's town square, you'll find historic places like the Williamson County Courthouse, a Beaux-Arts building finished in 1911 that's still active today. Georgetown was the first in Texas to win the Great American Main Street Award in 1997, and the downtown area now holds more than 180 buildings across three National Register Historic Districts. There's also plenty of active local businesses there, so it's a good place to spend leisure time and stay connected to local events.
Lake Georgetown is a short drive from downtown, and the San Gabriel River Trail offers 26 rugged miles of exploration for hikers and mountain bikers. If you can build a home near it, you get boat access and a lake view you won't find in other comparable cities.
While there are still viable lots in Austin, you likely won't have the same level to build out like you do in Georgetown. For homeowners who see themselves building a long-term home, the option to expand is even more of a priority. Take time to review your goals and what you want from your home before you decide on a spot to build.
Building outside Austin doesn't mean giving up access to it. Georgetown sits roughly 30 miles north of downtown on I-35, close enough that the airport and Austin's job centers stay within reach whenever you need them. What changes is the daily experience. Buyers give up the congestion and pick up lower property taxes and a slower pace once they're off the highway, and for anyone working remotely or only heading into the city a couple of days a week, that is major draw to make the move to Georgetown.
Building a custom home in Georgetown comes with its own set of considerations, especially on acreage. Hill Country soil often includes limestone and caliche, which affects foundation design and site prep costs. Septic and well requirements come into play on many rural parcels, and drainage has to be planned around the region's heavy seasonal rains.
Before you commit to land, confirm the following with your builder:
A design-build team with real experience across Georgetown and the wider Hill Country can walk a piece of land with you and tell you what it will support before you invest any funds.
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