[ahlatimer]

It's going up quite a bit (asking prices are up 6.2% y/y [1]), but it's still well within reach for most people in the tech industry.

The average house price is currently $213,600 [1]. It's considerably cheaper if you're willing to live in Pfluegerville or Round Rock and commute. Houses out East (where I live) are still fairly cheap and have a reasonable commute to downtown. People seem to miss that commuting East-West generally hits less traffic in Austin than commuting North-South…

If you have to live downtown or in one of the hot neighborhoods, you're obviously going to pay more for the privilege. If you're willing to be a little further out or live in a less desirable neighborhood, the housing prices in Austin are still pretty reasonable.

[1]: http://www.zillow.com/local-info/TX-Austin-home-value/r_1022...

[aliston]

Living in Austin sprawl is equivalent to living in Mountain View and commuting to San Francisco. The only portion of Austin that really reminds me of SF is downtown, otherwise, particularly north of 183, you might as well be in LA or Houston.