New homes around Austin are spread across three busy counties. In 2025, Travis County issued permits for 4,727 new single-family homes, Hays County for 4,153 and Williamson County for 3,945, according to the Census Bureau. Hays County's figure is largely an estimate, since not every local office reports. A year earlier, Williamson led the three with 6,024.
The Census Bureau's Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro covers five counties: Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson. That includes Kyle, Buda and San Marcos along I-35 to the south, which some listings group with San Antonio.
What makes this market tricky for new-home buyers is less the price than what comes with the lot. Many new Austin-area subdivisions carry a special district, and some carry two.
Register your agent first
Before you tour a model home, register a buyer's agent. Most builders only work with an outside agent who was registered before your first visit or phone call, and a walk-in usually leaves the builder's own staff as the only agents on the sale.
With EXL Realty Group, registering takes about two minutes and costs nothing. We keep a flat 0.5% fee and return a flat 2.5% of the price as an estimated closing credit: about $10,000 on a $400,000 home, applied at closing and subject to lender approval and the commission the builder pays.
MUD or PID: find out which, because they bill differently
A Municipal Utility District (MUD) builds water, sewer and drainage systems with bonds and repays them with its own property tax rate. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's water district map shows dozens of MUDs in both Williamson and Travis counties.
A Public Improvement District (PID) is created by a city or county to pay for things like roads, drainage or neighborhood amenities, and it charges each lot an assessment. PIDs are common here:
- Williamson County lists 16 county PIDs, among them Butler Farms, Cross Creek, Emory Crossing and Parks at Westhaven.
- The City of Austin has residential PIDs including Whisper Valley, Estancia and Indian Hills.
- Hays County has created one county PID, La Cima.
The two show up differently. A MUD tax is a property tax, set as a rate per $100 of value. A PID assessment is not. Williamson County points out that, because of this, tax exemptions such as the 100% disabled veteran exemption do not apply to a PID assessment, even though it can appear on the same tax statement. Under the notice Texas law requires, a PID assessment may be paid off in full at any time; otherwise it comes due in yearly installments that can change from year to year.
Read the notices before you sign
Texas law requires written notice of both, before you sign a binding contract:
- MUD: Texas Water Code section 49.452. The notice shows the district's tax rate, the bonds approved and issued, and a statement that the cost of district facilities is not included in the purchase price.
- PID: Texas Property Code section 5.014. The notice says you are obligated to pay the assessment, that installments vary, and that nonpayment can lead to a lien and foreclosure.
The PID statute also covers a late notice. It gives the buyer seven days after receiving it to end the contract, when the district's service plan was filed with the county clerk, and closing after receiving it gives up that right. Ask an attorney how either rule applies to your contract. Our guide to MUD, PID and HOA fees shows how they add up.
Drive the commute before you choose a community
I-35, MoPac (Loop 1), US 183, US 290 and SH 71, and SH 45 all appear on TxDOT's 2025 list of the most congested roads in Texas. Round Rock is served directly by I-35, SH 45, SH 130 and US 79. A community that looks close on a map can be a long drive at 8 a.m., so try the trip at the hour you would make it.
Check school districts and flood maps by address
School district lines do not follow city limits. Round Rock ISD serves about 93% of Round Rock, according to Texas Education Agency boundary data, but parts of the city are in Hutto ISD and Georgetown ISD. Check any address with the TEA School District Locator before you choose a lot.
Flood research is also on you. Texas requires a seller's disclosure with detailed flood questions on resale homes, but not on a new home that has never been occupied (Texas Property Code section 5.008(e)(10)). Look the lot up on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center; our flood risk guide shows how.
Where to start
See the builders we work with on our Austin page or the Round Rock page, or search current builder inventory. Before you sign, read our questions to ask a builder.