📍 Rollingwood Location Map
Key Takeaways
- Rollingwood is Austin's only incorporated city inside Eanes ISD — one square mile, ~1,400 residents, its own mayor and police department
- Prices run $1.5M–$6M+; often $200K–$500K less than comparable Westlake Hills proper addresses for the same school district
- Walk to Zilker Park and Barton Springs in 10–15 minutes; 5–10 minutes to downtown Austin off-peak
- Fewer than 30 homes sell per year — off-market access is not a nice-to-have here, it's required
I'm Johnny Ronca — a Compass Austin luxury agent with 20+ years, 300+ transactions, and $250M+ in career sales. I've lived in Austin for 26 years, including 12+ years in Barton Hills/78704, right across MoPac from Rollingwood. I am technically not supposed to talk about this neighborhood too loudly. It's the one address in 78746 that still has real value hidden in plain sight, and savvy buyers who do their homework find it. Everyone else just drives by on MoPac and keeps going.
🎯 Rollingwood Off-Market Snapshot (Updated May 2026)
Pocket Listings — Not on Zillow
I currently have 4 pocket listings in Rollingwood that aren't on Zillow, Realtor.com, or the public MLS.
That includes established homes on mature lots not yet hitting the public market. Price range: $1.4M–$3.5M. Call me before you search anywhere else — these move fast and won't wait for an open house.
Sample Off-Market Inventory (Anonymized)
- 🏡 4BR/3.5BA contemporary build on premium east-side lot — $2.85M, backing toward Zilker corridor
- 🌳 Mid-century estate on 0.42-acre canopy lot, fully renovated kitchen/baths — $3.1M
- 🔨 Tear-down/build opportunity on 0.35-acre lot with excellent drainage and tree position — $1.75M
- 🏠 Updated 1990s build, 3,600 sqft, excellent walkability score, mature oaks — $2.4M
- 📐 New-construction listing coming pre-market, custom modern, 5BR, ~$4.2M
2026 Market in Real Numbers
| Metric | Rollingwood |
|---|---|
| Median price | ~$2.8M |
| Price/sqft | $550–$950 (varies by vintage) |
| Entry price | ~$1.5M (older 1960s builds) |
| Premium ceiling | $6M–$8M+ (new custom, trophy lots) |
| Days on market | 7–21 (properly priced); longer for overpriced |
| School district | Eanes ISD |
| Zip | 78746 |
| Annual sales volume | ~25–30 homes/year |
| Total housing stock | ~600 single-family homes |
What Rollingwood Actually Is
I've been selling Austin luxury real estate for 20 years, and Rollingwood is one of those addresses where, when someone tells me they live there, I immediately know three things about them: they were paying attention when they bought, they value walkability, and they didn't need the biggest house on the block.
Rollingwood is its own incorporated city — not a neighborhood of Austin, not part of Westlake Hills, not unincorporated Travis County. It has its own mayor, its own police department, its own city council, and its own zoning. Total area: just over one square mile. Total population: roughly 1,400 people.
It's bordered by Zilker Park to the east, MoPac to the west, the Westlake Hills city limits to the north, and Bee Cave Road to the south. From most Rollingwood houses, you can walk to Zilker in 10–15 minutes, drive to downtown in 5–10, and reach Westlake Village shopping in 3 minutes.
That positioning is structurally unrepeatable. There is no other address in Austin with this combination of inside-the-loop convenience, Eanes ISD schools, low-density character, and incorporated-city governance.
Why Rollingwood Punches Above Its Weight
The strategic case for Rollingwood comes down to four things:
1. Eanes ISD without the Westlake commute. Rollingwood feeds the Eanes feeder pattern — Eanes Elementary (you can literally walk kids there from much of the neighborhood), Hill Country Middle, Westlake High. Top public school district in Central Texas. You get it without driving from Spanish Oaks or deep interior Westlake Hills.
2. Zilker and Barton Springs at your doorstep. Zilker Park is the most-used urban park in Austin. Barton Springs Pool is the natural-spring swimming hole that defines the city's culture. The summer routine of walking to Barton Springs at 6:30am — that's a Rollingwood routine. I know because I did it for 12+ years from Barton Hills, just across MoPac.
3. Five minutes to downtown. Rollingwood to downtown Austin (6th & Congress) is genuinely 5–10 minutes off-peak. Even rush hour, you're rarely over 20 minutes. There is no comparable downtown-adjacent luxury neighborhood in Austin with Eanes ISD.
4. Its own city governance. Rollingwood controls its own zoning, development standards, and building permits. This has protected the neighborhood's low-density single-family character against the densification pressures reshaping much of central Austin. It's a feature, not a footnote.
The Rollingwood Price Bands
Inventory in Rollingwood is genuinely small — usually 5–15 active listings at any given time, often fewer. Here's the landscape:
| Price Band | What You Get |
|---|---|
| $1.5M – $2M | Smaller older builds (1960s–1980s), 1,800–3,000 sqft, often needing updates |
| $2M – $3M | Updated mid-century or '90s builds, 3,000–4,500 sqft, solid lot |
| $3M – $4.5M | New construction or fully renovated modern homes, 4,000–6,000 sqft |
| $4.5M – $7M+ | Trophy custom builds, premium lots, full architectural statements |
Key price drivers in Rollingwood:
- Lot size and position — East-side lots (closer to Zilker) carry a walkability premium
- Build quality — New construction competes with Tarrytown and Old Enfield for Austin's most discerning buyers
- Trees — Mature oak canopy on a half-acre lot is increasingly rare and valuable
- Drainage — Rollingwood's varied terrain means lot-level drainage profiles matter enormously
Schools: Eanes ISD in Rollingwood
Rollingwood is squarely inside Eanes Independent School District — the most prestigious public school district in Central Texas, consistently ranked in the top tier of Texas districts overall.
The Rollingwood feeder pattern:
- Elementary: Eanes Elementary (located in the heart of Rollingwood — many families walk)
- Middle: Hill Country Middle School
- High: Westlake High School
Westlake High consistently ranks in the top tier of Texas public high schools for academics, athletics, and college placement. Sending kids to D1 programs and elite universities isn't a marketing tagline — it's the actual output of the school.
Why the school district premium is real: A house just across the MoPac boundary into Austin ISD can trade 25–40% lower than a comparable Rollingwood home. When you buy here, you're buying inside the Eanes boundary cleanly, with no ambiguity.
Lifestyle: Who Lives in Rollingwood
The Rollingwood population is small enough that the demographic is genuinely cohesive. You see a few recurring profiles:
The Austin lifer family — Multi-generational Austinites who bought when Rollingwood was a sleepy 78746 town, raised kids through Westlake schools, and never left. Some properties have been in families since the 1970s.
The professional family who optimized for walkability — Doctors, lawyers, UT professors, tech executives who specifically wanted to walk to Zilker on weekends, walk kids to Eanes Elementary, and not spend an hour a day in the car.
The tech-wealth relocator — Newer cohort, often from California, looking for "inside the loop" Austin with strong schools. Rollingwood is increasingly the answer.
The downsizer from interior Westlake — Empty nesters who owned a 7,000 sqft Davenport Ranch estate and are moving into 3,500 sqft they can lock and leave for travel.
The neighborhood vibe is quiet, settled, and walkable. People know their neighbors. Halloween is a real neighborhood event. It's small-town feel inside one of America's fastest-growing cities.
Commute & Daily Life: The Real Numbers
| Destination | Off-Peak | Rush Hour |
|---|---|---|
| Downtown Austin (6th & Congress) | 5–10 min | 12–20 min |
| UT Austin main campus | 8–12 min | 15–20 min |
| South Congress (SoCo) | 7–10 min | 12–18 min |
| Austin-Bergstrom Airport | 18–22 min | 22–30 min |
| The Domain | 15–20 min | 20–30 min |
| Zilker Park / Barton Springs | 10–15 min walk or 3 min drive | — |
There's no other Austin luxury submarket where every major destination is inside 20 minutes. This is the structural reason Rollingwood resale has been resilient even in slower market cycles.
Lifestyle, Dining & Local Life
Walkable from Rollingwood:
- Barton Springs Pool — legendary natural spring swimming hole
- Zilker Park — 350 acres of outdoor space, Austin City Limits festival grounds
- Barton Creek Greenbelt — hiking, swimming holes, climbing
- Westlake Village retail — HEB, restaurants, everyday needs, 3 minutes
- Amy's Ice Cream, Mozart's Coffee, and the Barton Creek corridor restaurants
A few minutes away:
- South Congress Avenue (SoCo) — Austin's most iconic street
- South Lamar — restaurants, Alamo Drafthouse, boutiques
- Barton Creek Mall — full shopping
- Downtown Austin's entire restaurant and entertainment scene
Schools
Eanes ISD — The Rollingwood Feeder:
| School | Level | Notable |
|---|---|---|
| Eanes Elementary | K-5 | Walkable from much of Rollingwood; within the city |
| Hill Country Middle | 6-8 | Highly rated, gifted programs |
| Westlake High School | 9-12 | Top 5 Texas public high; elite college placement; D1 athletics |
Eanes ISD has high tax rates relative to less-resourced districts. The total Rollingwood property tax bill is meaningful — budget it into your carrying-cost analysis. But the school district is the single most important value driver in the neighborhood, and it's not going anywhere.
Rollingwood vs. West Lake Hills vs. Barton Hills: Which Is Right for You?
| Factor | Rollingwood | West Lake Hills | Barton Hills (78704) |
|---|---|---|---|
| School district | Eanes ISD ✅ | Eanes ISD ✅ | Austin ISD |
| Governance | Own city | Own city | City of Austin |
| Lot sizes | Small-medium (0.15–0.5 ac) | Large (0.5–2+ ac) | Small-medium |
| Walkability | High — Zilker, Barton Springs | Low — car required | High — SoCo, South Lamar |
| Downtown proximity | 5–10 min | 10–20 min | 8–15 min |
| Character | Urban village | Estate/country | Hip-historic |
| Price entry | ~$1.5M | ~$1.8M | ~$900K |
| New construction | $4M+ | $3M+ | $1.5M+ |
My honest take: Rollingwood is the play for buyers who want Eanes ISD AND walkability AND downtown proximity. Westlake Hills proper is the play for buyers who want Eanes ISD AND large lots AND a more estate/rural feel. Barton Hills is the play for buyers who love the 78704 lifestyle and don't need Eanes — it's where I lived for 12 years and it's great, just a different product entirely.
Why I Love Selling Rollingwood
Here's the thing about Rollingwood that doesn't show up in any data: it's genuinely rare. Not rare in the way that every luxury neighborhood claims to be rare — rare in the structural, geographic, legal sense. There are roughly 600 homes. The boundary is fixed. You cannot build more Rollingwood. There will never be more Rollingwood.
I've watched Austin's luxury market churn through cycles for 20 years. The neighborhoods that hold value consistently are the ones with a structural scarcity story and a non-negotiable amenity driver. Rollingwood has both: a fixed housing supply and Eanes ISD. Every year the schools stay strong and Austin keeps growing, the thesis gets stronger.
What I love from a selling perspective: buyers who get here get it immediately. There's no convincing required. The walkability to Barton Springs, the Eanes schools, the 5-minute downtown commute — you either want that combination and Rollingwood is the answer, or you want something else entirely. It's clean. The hard work is getting buyers to look here before they go buy in Westlake Hills and wonder why the commute is longer.
I'm also partial because I know this neighborhood from the inside. Twelve-plus years in Barton Hills meant I was across MoPac from Rollingwood constantly. I walked these streets, understood the lot-level differences, and watched buyers who found it early look very smart a few years later.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Rollingwood, Texas?
Rollingwood is a small incorporated city of roughly one square mile, located inside the Austin metro, bordered by Zilker Park and Westlake Hills. It has its own city government, police department, and zoning — entirely within Eanes ISD.
What school district is Rollingwood in?
Eanes ISD. The feeder is Eanes Elementary → Hill Country Middle → Westlake High School. Consistently top-tier in Texas.
What are home prices in Rollingwood in 2026?
$1.5M for smaller original builds up to $6M+ for trophy custom homes on premium lots. Most active band is $2M–$4M.
Is Rollingwood part of Austin or Westlake Hills?
Neither. Rollingwood is its own incorporated municipality with independent city governance.
How long is the commute from Rollingwood to downtown Austin?
5–10 minutes off-peak. 12–20 minutes during rush hour. One of the closest luxury submarkets to downtown in Austin.
Can you walk to Zilker Park from Rollingwood?
Yes. Most homes are 10–15 minutes on foot from Zilker Park and Barton Springs Pool.
Why are there so few homes for sale in Rollingwood?
Fixed housing stock of ~600 homes. Annual turnover under 5%. Tight inventory is a permanent structural feature.
Is Rollingwood a good investment?
Strong long-term appreciation track record driven by fixed supply, Eanes ISD, and downtown proximity. Historically one of the most resilient luxury submarkets in Central Texas.
What are the honest downsides of Rollingwood?
Tiny inventory (may wait months for the right property), mostly older housing stock below $2.5M, small lot sizes relative to estate neighborhoods, own-city permitting/renovation rules can be bureaucratic, and high Eanes ISD tax rates.
External Resources
- Rollingwood City Government
- Eanes Independent School District
- Barton Springs Pool — City of Austin
- Zilker Park — City of Austin
- Travis County Appraisal District
Explore Nearby Austin Neighborhoods
- West Lake Hills Real Estate
- Lost Creek Real Estate
- Barton Hills Real Estate
- Zilker Real Estate
- West Austin Real Estate
Ready to Buy or Sell in Rollingwood?
Johnny Ronca
Compass Austin · 20+ Years · 300+ Transactions · $250M+ Sales
📞 (512) 797-0965 | ✉️ [email protected]
📞 (512) 797-0965 | ✉️ [email protected]
— Johnny Ronca, Compass Austin · Lives in Lakeway/Apache Shores · 20+ years · 300+ transactions · $250M+ career sales
