I like living somewhere I can be on a river or a lake within an hour of leaving my house. As a broker who spends most of my week talking with people about where they want to live, I hear this a lot too. Buyers ask about proximity to water before they ask about almost […]
Greater Austin Real Estate Blog: Expert Advice and Local Insights
Looking for straightforward, practical real estate advice for Austin and the surrounding area? Welcome to my Greater Austin Real Estate Blog.
I’m Robbie English, Broker, REALTOR. With more than 40 years of experience, I created this blog to help buyers, sellers, investors, and homeowners separate reliable guidance from outdated advice and real estate myths.
Here you’ll find practical buying and selling tips, neighborhood guides, Austin housing market insights, and plain-English explanations of contracts, inspections, appraisals, negotiations, and investing. You’ll also learn what makes communities throughout Greater Austin unique—so you can make informed decisions with confidence.
No clickbait, gimmicks, or sensational predictions—just honest answers to real questions. I hope you’ll bookmark the blog, explore the articles, and return whenever you need trusted Greater Austin real estate guidance.
Common Signs of Concrete Cancer in a Pool
When a homeowner or buyer sees a crack in a swimming pool, it is easy to jump straight to the worst possible conclusion. With all the recent attention surrounding “concrete cancer” in Central Texas pools, even a small mark in the plaster can suddenly feel like evidence of a major structural failure. The truth is […]
Your Guide to the Austin Rodeo
Every March, a stretch of northeast Austin turns into one of the busiest gathering spots in the region. I’m talking about the Austin Rodeo, and if you haven’t been, or if you moved here recently and keep seeing the name pop up without knowing what it actually is, I wanted to put together a real […]
Living in Clarksville, Austin TX: A Neighborhood Guide
I’ve sold homes all over Austin, and Clarksville is one of the few neighborhoods where I can walk a buyer down the street and point out a piece of Texas history on nearly every block. If you’re looking into living in Clarksville, Austin TX, I want to give you the real picture: where it is, […]
Living in Rosedale, Austin TX: A Neighborhood Guide
TLDR (Too Long; Didn’t Read): Living in Rosedale, Austin TX Rosedale sits in north-central Austin, bordered roughly by 38th Street, Shoal Creek, North Loop/Hancock Drive, and Lamar Boulevard, tucked between Central Austin and North Loop. The neighborhood’s housing stock dates mostly to the 1930s and 1940s, when the Ramsey sisters platted the original subdivisions, and […]
Living in Windsor Park: A Complete Guide to This Austin, TX Neighborhood
I spend most of my week driving Austin’s neighborhoods with buyers and sellers, and Windsor Park is one I keep coming back to because it still looks and feels like Austin did before the boom reshaped so much of the city. It’s a Northeast/Central-East Austin neighborhood with a housing stock and street pattern that hasn’t […]
Living in Zilker, Austin TX: A Neighborhood Guide
I get asked about Zilker more than almost any other neighborhood I work in, and I understand why. It’s one of the few pockets of Austin where you can walk to a natural spring-fed pool, a 350-plus acre park, and a hike-and-bike trail along the lake, then be back home in time to grab dinner […]
Barton Creek vs. Spanish Oaks: Which Austin Community Fits You?
I get asked to compare these two communities more than almost any other pair in West Austin. Buyers usually arrive with a rough idea that both are gated, both involve golf, and both come with a serious price tag. Past that, the details get fuzzy fast. I have shown property in both neighborhoods for years, […]
Clarksville vs. Tarrytown: Comparing Two Historic West Austin Neighborhoods
## TLDR (Too Long; Didn’t Read): Clarksville vs. Tarrytown: Comparing Two Historic West Austin Neighborhoods Clarksville sits immediately west of downtown Austin with a Walk Score near the top of the city, a National Register Historic District status dating to 1976, and lot sizes typically between a tenth and a fifth of an acre. Tarrytown […]
Rollingwood vs. Westlake Hills: Comparing Two Incorporated Cities West of Austin
Rollingwood and West Lake Hills come up together in almost every conversation I have about the west side of Austin. They sit next to each other, they share a school district, and they’re both small incorporated cities with their own governments rather than Austin neighborhoods. Past that, the similarities start to thin out. I put […]
Living in Barton Hills, Austin TX: A Neighborhood Guide
I’m Robbie English, a REALTOR and broker with Uncommon Realty here in Austin, and Barton Hills is one of the South Austin neighborhoods I get asked about most and write about least. That’s a gap I want to close. If you’re weighing a move to this part of 78704 or you already live here and […]
Living in Travis Heights, Austin: A Neighborhood Guide
I’ve sold real estate in Austin long enough to watch a lot of neighborhoods change names, boundaries, and reputations. Travis Heights is one of the few that has held onto its identity the whole time. It’s one of the older residential neighborhoods in the city, and it still looks the part: mature oak trees arching […]
Living in East Austin, TX
TLDR (Too Long; Didn’t Read): Living in East Austin, TX East Austin sits just across I-35 from downtown, and several pockets are an easy walk or bike ride to the urban core. Housing stock is a mix of original 1930s-1950s bungalows, renovated homes, duplexes, and new construction, often on the same block. The area includes […]
Central Texas Relocation Guide: What to Actually Know Before You Move
An honest Central Texas relocation guide from a local broker: which suburb actually fits you, the tax trade-off, DPS deadlines, and what to expect from a first summer here.
Best Homestead Exemption Texas Options
Texas homeowners can shave thousands off their property tax bill with a single free form. Below is a concise list of the main homestead exemption options you can claim and who each one helps the most. Table of Contents Robbie English, REALTOR, Broker (Our Top Pick) Local Option Residence Homestead Exemption — Additional savings adopted […]
Living Near The Domain, Austin TX
I get asked about The Domain more than almost any other part of Austin. People hear about the shopping, the restaurants, and the office towers, and they want to know what it actually looks like to live nearby. So I put together this guide based on what I see working with buyers and sellers in […]
Living in West Lake Hills, TX: A Complete Neighborhood Guide
I get calls fairly often from people who found one Westlake listing online, fell for the trees and the hilltop view, and now want to know what the area is actually like day to day. West Lake Hills gets lumped in with “Westlake” as a general term, but it’s worth understanding what it really is […]
How to Find Austin Open Houses and Tour Them
A busy open-house day can leave you with plenty of impressions and very little useful information. I use a simple process instead: define your needs, build a route, inspect the home past its staging, then compare facts before deciding. These steps will help you tour Austin open houses with a clear head and fewer surprises. […]
Living in Cuernavaca, Austin TX: A Neighborhood Guide
I get asked about Cuernavaca more often than you’d expect for a neighborhood that doesn’t show up on most people’s mental map of Austin. It’s not a name that gets thrown around the way Zilker or Tarrytown does, but once buyers see it, they tend to remember it. If you’re considering a move here or […]
Living in Great Hills, Austin TX: A Neighborhood Guide
I get asked about Great Hills often enough that I wanted to put together a real guide to it, not a rehash of listing descriptions. I’m Robbie English, REALTOR and broker at Uncommon Realty, and I’ve shown and sold homes across this part of Austin for years. Great Hills is one of those neighborhoods people […]
A Guide to Living in the Eanes ISD Area
I get asked about Eanes ISD more than almost any other topic when buyers start looking west of Austin. It comes up in nearly every conversation about West Lake Hills, Rollingwood, or the Bee Caves corridor, and for good reason. School attendance zones are one of the most misunderstood parts of buying a home in […]
Living On Lake Austin, TX: A Real Guide To Waterfront Life
People ask me about “the lake” in Austin more than almost anything else, and I always have to ask which one they mean. Lake Austin and Lake Travis get lumped together constantly, but they’re two very different bodies of water with two very different ways of life attached to them. I’ve walked clients through waterfront […]
Why It’s Okay Not to Know Exactly What You Want in a Home
Uncertainty is not a weakness. It is often the starting point for a thoughtful search that teaches you what matters. Most Buyers Begin With Incomplete Information Online photographs can help you imagine a home, but they cannot show how the layout feels, how the street sounds, or whether the commute changes your week. You learn […]
Living in Austin Lake Estates, TX: A Neighborhood Guide
Austin Lake Estates doesn’t get talked about as often as some of its West Austin neighbors, but it’s one of the more distinctive pockets of the Westlake area. I work with buyers and sellers across Austin, and I always tell people this neighborhood rewards a closer look. The terrain, the tree cover, the lake proximity, […]
Relocating to Austin for Meta? A Home Buyer’s Guide
Meta relocations are different from the other tech moves I help with in Austin, and it’s worth saying plainly upfront: Meta’s Austin office sits downtown, not out in the suburbs, which means the whole conversation about commute, lifestyle, and price is a different one than it is for the other major employers here. Let’s talk […]
Relocating to Round Rock for Dell? A Home Buyer’s Guide
Dell relocations are the most straightforward ones I handle, and I mean that as a genuine compliment to Round Rock. Dell’s headquarters has been there for decades, not a few years, which means the surrounding housing market, schools, and infrastructure are mature and settled in a way the newer tech arrivals in Austin simply aren’t […]
Homes for Sale in Hutto, TX: Prices, Growth, and What to Know
Hutto comes up a lot lately, usually from buyers who got priced out of Round Rock or Georgetown and started widening their search radius. What do I think? I think it’s one of the more interesting value plays left in the Austin suburbs right now, and I also think most people underestimate how fast it’s […]
Homes for Sale in Dripping Springs, TX: What to Know
Dripping Springs, what do I think? I get some version of that question almost every week, usually from a buyer who has just driven Fitzhugh Road for the first time and can’t quite believe it’s twenty five minutes from downtown Austin. So let’s talk about it honestly: what it actually costs to buy here, which […]
What Is an Escrow Account? A Plain‑English Home Buyer Guide
If you’re about to buy a house in Texas, you’ll hear the word “escrow” a lot. It isn’t a single thing , it’s a family of accounts that hold money until certain conditions are met. Below is a clear walk‑through of what escrow really means, how it shows up in a Texas deal, and the […]
First-Time Homebuyer Assistance in Austin, TX: The Honest Landscape
An Austin broker’s honest guide to first-time homebuyer assistance: who actually qualifies, the city and state programs available, and how the process really works.
