The latest data from Unlock MLS shows the housing market slowing down for areas in Lake Travis-Westlake, with a lower number of home sales and new listings in January compared to the previous year.

Diving in deeper: ZIP codes 78733 and 78738, representing the Austin Lake Hills and Bee Cave areas, experienced the largest decrease in home sales year over year, with respective declines of 57.1% and 43.6%.

The median home sale price was also 55.6% lower this January for ZIP code 78733, while the Spicewood area in ZIP code 78669 experienced the second-largest decline of 25.4%.

On average, homes spent fewer days on the market in several ZIP codes, including 78738 and 78735 in the Barton Creek area. The average number of days homes spent on the market increased 142.9% for ZIP code 78733. 

What else? Marketwide, the number of homes sold in January declined 35%, from 120 in 2025 to 78 in 2026. There were also fewer new listings and homes under contract. 

Franchised fitness studio MaxStrength Fitness opened its first Austin-area location Dec. 10 in Steiner Ranch.

The details: The business offers one-on-one guided workouts in 20-minute sessions, aimed at clients to attend twice a week. Trainers utilize the MSF Continuous Tension Protocol for high intensity, low force strength training, and the studio is temperature controlled to 67 degrees. 

Something to note: The business will hold a ribbon cutting with the West Austin Chamber of Commerce March 11 at 5 p.m. 

• 4300 N Quinlan Park Road, Ste. 125, Austin

Check out six upcoming or ongoing transportation projects around the Austin metro.

Upcoming projects
Austin Light Rail
Project: The 10-mile rail system will initially feature 15 stations along the alignment and all-electric trains running every five to 10 minutes throughout most of the day.
Update: Austin Transit Partnership approved a $60 million design-build contract for the first phase of the project Feb. 18.

• Timeline: construction expected to begin in 2027
• Cost: $7.1 billion
• Funding source: federal grants and infrastructure loans, Project Connect revenues, city taxes

• Timeline: 2026-28 (Phase 1A)
• Cost: $30 million (Phase 1A)
• Funding sources: federal funding, city of Leander (Phase 1A)

The first year of Austin Resource Recovery's new on-demand pickup service saw "overwhelming" use by residents, who placed tens of thousands of appointments and had nearly 10,000 tons of bulk trash, brush and hazardous waste collected, according to the city.

The details: ARR launched the new on-demand service in January 2025 after years of limited pilot programs for on-demand pickup services. The change was billed as a strategy to divert bulk items from landfills, limit wildfire risks, and offer flexibility to residential customers.

ARR reported the pickup service saw gradually increasing usage and high resident approval throughout last year as public awareness grew. The city will continue to monitor the service and adjust operations as needed going forward to divert even more materials, and boost public satisfaction.