Best Areas for House Hacking in Austin

[Ali K.]

What are the best areas in or around Austin for house hacking (either duplex or single-family houses under $700k)? I’m considering Round Rock and Pflugerville as top options. I’m asking from the perspective of being able to quickly rent out the rooms (preferably MTR) and for potential appreciation.

[Ryan Kelly]

@Ali K. If your budget can accommodate up to $700,000, you can afford to be in the Austin city limits in some solid areas. For rent by the room, you want to be where young people would like to live, which is as close to amenities, nightlife, and jobs as they can get. Central north Austin, NW Austin, and central south Austin will have some good options.

[Wale Lawal]

@Ali K.

House hacking in Austin is popular, with areas like Round Rock and Pflugerville offering affordability, rental demand, and potential appreciation. Round Rock is a popular choice due to its proximity to tech companies and good schools, while Pflugerville offers a quiet suburban environment. North Austin, near major employers, has strong rental demand.

Good luck!

[Aaron Gordy]

@Ali K. I think that areas where young folks enjoy living is probably best given that affordable housing is a real issue in the metro. If you study the demographics of the metro its super easy to deduce that younger folks are having difficulty affording rent and need a room mate or two. Focus on that area, imo. If your strategy is strictly mtr then consider areas where traveling nurses and other similar occupations prefer. The riches are in the niches. Higher than inflation appreciation will occur where demand outstrips significantly supply. 

[Jonathan Greene]

Since only Texas agents responded, I will add a different POV. Why are you investing in Austin right now? I know you are there, but this is a market that is down from its previous highs by a lot. It's still a great area, but the appreciation popped so hard, the trajectory is going to be slower over the next several years.

Also, if you have never room hacked, it's not that easy. I think in Austin, you could find solid young professionals, but a lot of owners of room hacks/house hacks find it difficult to separate owner to tenant and co-tenant relationships.

[Ali K.]

Ryan, Aaron:
I don't think areas where young folks live are necessarily better. As an example near the UT Austin:

1- I just saw on Facebook market that they are rooms available for around $900 to rent. This is the same amount that you can rent in Hutto haha. 

2- Even if the rent is higher, you pay way more money for the property (compared to Round Rock or Cedar Park) for just $100-$200 more in rent. It doesn't make sense on the paper. 

[Jordan Moorhead]

Quote from @Ali K.:

What are the best areas in or around Austin for house hacking (either duplex or single-family houses under $700k)? I’m considering Round Rock and Pflugerville as top options. I’m asking from the perspective of being able to quickly rent out the rooms (preferably MTR) and for potential appreciation.

 You'll find plenty in that range within 20 minutes of downtown Austin now. I've lived all over the city and prefer East or South Austin. You're probably not going to want to spend over $550k because even with MTR or co-living strategies they get hard to make sense of over that number. We actually have 4 remodeled duplexes listed at $500k right now and we just had two clients close decent duplexes in good areas right around $400k. Prices have come down dramatically and I think it would be a good time to get in before rates come down, we get past the election and everyone else jumps back in!