When you’re ready to buy your first home, a number of factors need to be considered. Commuting distance, neighborhood vibe, and proximity to shopping and dining options all bear weight in the decision, but budget tends to top most people’s priority lists.

In Austin, a city undergoing rapid change and unprecedented expansion, finding a high-quality starter home in a desirable area for a reasonable price isn’t the easiest task. However, these four neighborhoods prove up to the challenge, featuring solid transit options, plenty of businesses, and first-timer-friendly median home prices under $400,000.

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Anderson Mill

Anderson Mill Park

New homebuyers should pay particular attention to Anderson Mill, a small and well-established Northwest Austin neighborhood with a median sale price in the high $200s and an abundance of single-family homes for sale. Northwest Austin features a number of prime characteristics for families such as proximity to major shopping centers like The Domain and Lakeline Mall as well as easy access to the recreational scene at Lake Travis. 

Daily commuters in the neighborhood will also enjoy quick connections to Downtown Austin via Routes 45 and 1. While Anderson Mill isn’t a master-planned community, the neighborhood does offer recreational facilities for its residents like community pools, a fitness center, parks with tennis and basketball courts, and playgrounds.

First-time homebuyers with children will also enjoy having three schools within the community’s boundaries that provide quality education at the elementary, middle, and high school level.

Windsor Park

A Northeast Austin neighborhood in the midst of a fast-moving evolution, Windsor Park is quickly shedding its former reputation as an “undesirable location”  (a reputation prompted by the presence of the old Mueller Airport in this region of Austin).

Bolstered by its proximity to popular neighborhoods (like Mueller and North Loop) and by its easy commute time to the University of Texas and Downtown Austin, Windsor Park ranks among the hottest up-and-coming areas in town. The excellent greenspace provided by Bartholomew District Park, the easy access to Highway 290 and I-35, and the relatively low housing prices make the neighborhood a smart choice for first-time homebuyers.

The current median home price in Windsor Park stands in the mid $300s, according to Neighborhoods.com data. That’s substantially lower than nearby Mueller, with a median sale price in the mid $500s,and North Loop, with a median sale price in the low $400s.

Dawson

Dawson neighborhood of Austin, Texas

The southern faction of Austin boasts several trendy, up-and-coming neighborhoods, and perhaps the most famous and well-established is the region of South Congress. Lined with restaurants, coffee shops, bars, music venues, and vintage shops, South Congress Avenue and its surrounding neighborhood features some of the hottest real estate in the city, with property values to match.

If you want to live near South Congress and South 1st Street (another major thoroughfare for food, drink, and entertainment options) without blowing your starter-home budget, there’s an appealing option: Dawson, a micro-neighborhood wedged between these two busy streets. 

Dawson itself remains primarily residential in spite of its high-traffic borders, largely due to community efforts to keep it as peaceful and low-key as possible. The median sale price in Dawson is in the high $400s, representing a great bargain compared to South Congress, where the median sale price stands in the low $600s.

South Manchaca

Located just south of the white-hot neighborhood of South Lamar, South Manchaca still benefits from under-the-radar status, allowing for gentler home prices while still giving residents access to the hip bars, restaurants, and entertainment venues of South Lamar. 

South Manchaca itself remains largely residential, but numerous CapMetro lines run through the neighborhood, and motorists can easily access Ben White Boulevard, which passes along the neighborhood’s northern border.

Most homes for sale in South Manchaca come in the form of condos, townhouses, or apartments, but first-time homebuyers in search of a single-family residence can also find a few options in the area. The median home price in South Manchaca hovers around the mid $300s, which is much more affordable when compared to South Lamar’s median sale price in the low $400s.