78704 is Austin's most competitive zip code — eight distinct pockets from Travis Heights to Barton Hills, all inside one square-ish patch south of the river. Median sale price is $809,820 against a ~$440K metro median. I lived here 14 years before I ever sold a house in it.
78704 is an 8.5-square-mile zip code directly south of downtown Austin and Lady Bird Lake, made up of eight distinct neighborhoods — Travis Heights, Bouldin Creek, South Congress, South Lamar, Dawson, Galindo, Zilker, and Barton Hills — with a zip-wide median sale price of $809,820 (Redfin, Sept 2026), nearly double the Austin metro median. It's Austin ISD, not Eanes, and the trade you make for a 5-to-15-minute walk to South Congress, Zilker Park, or Lady Bird Lake is a public-school ranking a notch below Westlake — a trade most buyers here make happily.
I'm Johnny Ronca — Compass RE Texas LLC luxury real estate · 20+ years Austin · 300+ closed transactions · $250M+ career sales · Lived in 78704 for 14 years before I ever sold a house here · 5.0★ on Zillow (33 reviews) · TX RE License #581766
"Johnny is incredibly hardworking, knowledgeable, and detail-oriented, and he TRULY cares about his clients." — Julie Hindman, verified Zillow review
Find the Home That Moves You.
Key Takeaways
I'm Johnny Ronca — a Compass Austin luxury agent with 20+ years, 300+ transactions, and $250M+ in career sales. Before any of that, I was just a guy paying his own mortgage in 78704 for 14 years. I know which streets flood when it really rains, which blocks lose power first in a summer storm, and which coffee shop actually has parking on a Saturday morning. That's not something you get from pulling comps.
I work all eight pockets of 78704 constantly — it's the zip code I know better than any other in this city, because I lived it before I sold it. The good lots and the well-kept bungalows across this whole area get bought before they ever make it to the MLS photographer's calendar. If you want first look at what's coming before it's a public listing anywhere in 78704, let's talk.
Johnny Ronca · (512) 797-0965 · [email protected]
(Anonymized examples — reach out for what's actually available this week across all eight 78704 pockets.)
Pocket Listings Across 78704 — Not on Zillow
I typically have multiple pocket listings scattered across 78704's eight neighborhoods that aren't on Zillow, Realtor.com, or the public MLS.
That includes original-condition bungalows in Bouldin Creek and Galindo, half-finished remodels in Dawson, and view lots in Zilker and Barton Hills nobody's photographed yet. Recent range across the zip: roughly $550K–$3.5M. Call me before you search anywhere else in 78704 — these move fast and won't wait for an open house.
Metric | 78704 Zip-Wide |
|---|---|
Median sale price | $809,820 (Redfin, zip 78704 housing market, Sept 2026) |
Price/sqft | $493 (Redfin, Sept 2026) |
Days on market | ~60 days (Redfin, Sept 2026) |
Entry price | ~$425K–$500K (Galindo, South Lamar unrenovated stock) |
Premium ceiling | $3M–$4M+ (Zilker, Barton Hills, Travis Heights view lots) |
School district | Austin ISD (all eight sub-neighborhoods) |
Zip | 78704 |
Character | Historic, walkable, park-adjacent, structurally scarce |
Metro context: ~$440K median, ~4.7 months inventory, ~67 days DOM across greater Austin. 78704's $809,820 median runs nearly $370K above that metro number — the premium buyers pay to be inside the loop, on foot, in a zip code that stopped issuing new lots decades ago.
Every neighborhood inside 78704 tells a different version of that number — Galindo trades closer to $650K, Zilker and Barton Hills sit above $1M. The table below breaks out all eight.
Neighborhood | Character | Price Range |
|---|---|---|
Austin's oldest planned neighborhood, platted 1913, National Register historic district, real hills | $700K–$3M+ | |
Bungalow-court original 78704, three blocks off South Congress, funkier and younger-feeling | $500K–$2M+ | |
The famous commercial strip itself — condos, lofts, and converted bungalows on the side streets | $400K–$2M+ | |
Austin's fastest-reinventing corridor — 1950s bungalows next to new-construction duplexes | $500K–$1.5M+ | |
Walkable to St. Edward's University, active neighborhood association, 1950s–70s build-out filling in with infill | $550K–$1.8M+ | |
78704's honest entry point — working-class roots, annexed 1951, $300K–$500K less than Travis Heights or Zilker | $425K–$900K+ | |
Walk to Zilker Park and Barton Springs itself — the single biggest premium driver in all of 78704 | $700K–$4M+ | |
The only 78704 pocket where lots back directly onto the Barton Creek Greenbelt — my old zip code inside the zip code | $700K–$2.2M+ |
Every one of those eight has its own full page with off-market inventory, price bands, schools, and FAQs — click through to the one that fits, or call me and I'll tell you which pocket actually matches what you're picturing.
I've been selling Austin luxury real estate for 20 years, and 78704 is the one zip code where I don't need to research the neighborhood before I show up — I lived here for 14 years, the last 12 of them in Barton Hills, close enough to the Greenbelt that I did my thinking on the trail instead of at a desk. When someone tells me they're looking in 78704, I already know they've weighed a public-school trade-off against a walkability win, and I know which of the eight pockets they probably haven't considered yet.
78704 is roughly 8.5 square miles directly south of Lady Bird Lake and downtown Austin, bounded by the lake to the north, I-35 to the east, Ben White Boulevard/US-290 to the south, and MoPac (Loop 1) to the west. Inside that boundary sit eight neighborhoods with their own histories: Travis Heights, platted in 1913 up the hills; Bouldin Creek, the original bungalow-court district; South Congress, the commercial spine that gave the whole area its name recognition; South Lamar, the corridor reinventing itself block by block; Dawson, built up around St. Edward's University; Galindo, annexed into Austin in 1951; Zilker, wrapped around the park and Barton Springs; and Barton Hills, backing onto the Greenbelt.
What ties all eight together is geography and scarcity, not architecture. Most of this zip code was platted and built out between the 1900s and the 1970s, on a street grid that follows the river bend and the hills instead of a flat suburban template. There's no meaningful raw land left. New supply here means a teardown-and-rebuild, not a new subdivision — which is the single biggest reason prices across all eight neighborhoods have moved in one direction for two decades.
The other constant is Austin ISD. Every one of these eight neighborhoods sits inside AISD, not Eanes — which is the trade every 78704 buyer eventually has a version of the same conversation with me about. You're buying proximity, walkability, and history. You're not buying a top-ranked feeder pattern. Most 78704 buyers make that trade on purpose.
1. A fixed footprint that can't grow. 8.5 square miles, hemmed in by a lake, a highway, and an expressway on three sides. Every buyer competing for a 78704 address is competing for the same finite supply I was competing for 14 years ago — it hasn't gotten easier since.
2. Eight different price points inside one zip code. A buyer priced out of Zilker at $1.5M can still land in Galindo at $650K, five minutes away, in the same school district, on the same block-by-block improving trajectory. Not many Austin zip codes offer that range.
3. You can walk to something real from almost anywhere in it. South Congress, Zilker Park, Barton Springs, Lady Bird Lake, the Butler Trail, St. Edward's University — pick your pocket and one of those is a 15-minute walk away, not a 15-minute drive.
All eight 78704 neighborhoods sit inside Austin Independent School District, not Eanes ISD. That single fact is the biggest trade-off buyers weigh when they're deciding between 78704 and Westlake or Rollingwood.
Campus Type | Examples in 78704 |
|---|---|
Elementary | Travis Heights Elementary, Zilker Elementary, Barton Hills Elementary, Galindo Elementary — each named for and zoned to its own neighborhood |
Middle School | Sarah Lively Middle School (formerly Fulmore) covers much of the zip's eastern half |
High School | Travis Early College High School (formerly Travis High School) is the primary comprehensive high school for most of 78704 |
Private option | St. Edward's University sits inside the Dawson neighborhood, though it's a university, not a K-12 option |
Attendance zones inside 78704 are drawn address by address and Austin ISD has been actively consolidating campuses — Becker Elementary in Bouldin Creek, for example, is closing as part of the 2026–27 consolidation. (Confirm assigned campuses for any specific home.)
Official school pages:Travis Heights Elementary · Zilker Elementary · Barton Hills Elementary · Galindo Elementary · Dawson Elementary · Lively Middle School · Travis Early College High School · St. Edward's University
I'm Johnny Ronca — Compass RE Texas LLC luxury real estate · 20+ years Austin · 300+ closed transactions · $250M+ career sales · Lived in 78704 for 14 years before I ever sold a house here · 5.0★ on Zillow (33 reviews) · TX RE License #581766
Across eight neighborhoods the buyer profile varies, but a few types show up in every one of them:
The walkability convert — Sold a bigger house in the suburbs to park the car on weekends. Coffee, dinner, and a trail, all inside a 15-minute walk, regardless of which of the eight pockets they land in.
The renovator with patience — Bought an original 1950s or '60s home at the entry price in Galindo, South Lamar, or Dawson, betting the location was worth a two-year project.
The tech-wealth relocator — Newer cohort, often from California, willing to pay the zip-code premium for proximity over school ranking, usually landing in Zilker or Barton Hills.
The common thread across all eight: almost nobody moves to 78704 for the schools alone. They move here for the location, and they make their peace with Austin ISD instead of Eanes. I made that same trade myself for 14 years and never once regretted it.
Destination | Off-Peak | Rush Hour |
|---|---|---|
Downtown Austin (6th & Congress) | 5–10 min | 12–20 min |
South Congress (SoCo) | Walk to drive, depending on pocket | — |
Zilker Park / Barton Springs | Walk to 10 min drive, depending on pocket | — |
Lady Bird Lake / Butler Trail | Walk from most of the zip's north half | — |
Austin-Bergstrom Airport | 15–20 min | 20–30 min |
The Domain | 20–25 min | 30–40 min |
There's no other zip code this close to downtown Austin, on foot, with this much variety in housing stock. That's the whole 78704 pitch in one sentence, and it's the reason resale demand across all eight pockets has stayed resilient even in slower cycles.
South Congress Avenue corridor:
South First Street corridor (Bouldin Creek / Dawson):
South Lamar corridor:
Parks and green space:
Zip | Area | School District | What You Get |
|---|---|---|---|
78704 | South Central Austin | Austin ISD | Walkability, history, and a 5–15 minute walk to downtown-adjacent parks and corridors, at a $809,820 median |
78745 | South Austin (further south) | Austin ISD | More house and more lot for less money, but a longer drive to downtown and less of the walkable-corridor feel |
78703 (Tarrytown) | West of downtown, north of the river | Austin ISD | Old-money established streets, larger lots, a premium closer to or above 78704's ceiling |
78746 (Westlake) | West of MoPac | Eanes ISD | Top-ranked schools and larger lots, at a meaningful price premium and a real driving commute instead of a walk |
The honest version: 78745 gets you more house for less money if you're willing to give up the walk-to-everything feel. Tarrytown gets you similar walkability with a different, older-money character and comparable or higher prices. Westlake gets you Eanes ISD schools and space, in exchange for the commute and the price tag. 78704 is the zip code you pick when proximity and walkability matter more to you than square footage or school ranking — that's the trade I made for 14 years, and it's the one I explain to buyers almost every week.
Johnny's is the best! Johnny's knowledge of South Central Austin was priceless in helping us find our slice of heaven in Barton Hills! And he even found exactly what were were looking for off market for us before anyone else and he saved us lots of $$$ on our offer! He is the go to expert for 78704 homes, highly recommend everyone use him!" See verified reviews from my past clients on Zillow (5.0★, 33+ reviews),
Fourteen years is long enough to watch a zip code change under you. When I moved into Barton Hills, a $400K house was a real number in 78704. It isn't anymore, and I watched every step of that happen from my own front porch — the first wave of teardown-rebuilds, the first $1M sale on a street where nobody thought that number was possible, the slow disappearance of the original 1950s ranch as the default house type.
What I like about selling here specifically is that I don't have to guess what a buyer means when they say they want "that 78704 feel." I lived it. I know the difference between wanting Bouldin Creek's funkier energy and wanting Travis Heights' historic-district pedigree, and I can usually tell within one conversation which of the eight pockets actually fits — before we waste a Saturday touring the wrong one.
Twenty years of watching Austin's market cycle up and down has taught me which zip codes hold value because of something real — fixed lot count, protected historic districts, a walk to a park or a trail nobody's building more of. 78704 checks every one of those boxes, eight times over. It's not one neighborhood. It's the best argument in Austin for why location still beats square footage.
A fixed, largely built-out street grid across 8.5 square miles with almost no room for new subdivisions, combined with walkable access to South Congress, Zilker Park, Barton Springs, and Lady Bird Lake. Demand has outpaced supply here for two decades, which is why the zip-wide median sits at $809,820 against a ~$440K metro median.
Yes. 78704 sits entirely inside the City of Austin, directly south of Lady Bird Lake and downtown. It's not a separate municipality — it's one of the most established residential zip codes in the city.
78704 is really eight neighborhoods — Travis Heights, Bouldin Creek, South Congress, South Lamar, Dawson, Galindo, Zilker, and Barton Hills — each with its own price range, housing stock, and character, from Galindo's $425K entry point to Zilker's $4M+ ceiling. The zip-code median blends all eight; the neighborhood you actually want depends on your budget and what you want to walk to.
Austin ISD, across all eight sub-neighborhoods. That's the primary trade-off buyers weigh against Eanes ISD zip codes like Westlake (78746) — walkability and proximity here, versus school ranking and larger lots there.
The zip-wide median sale price is $809,820 at roughly $493 per square foot, with homes going pending in about 60 days (Redfin, Sept 2026). That blends everything from Galindo's $425K entry stock to Zilker and Barton Hills homes above $2M — the range inside the zip is as important as the median itself.
Most 78704 off-market inventory moves through agents who already work the zip code constantly, before it ever reaches a photographer or the MLS. I lived in 78704 for 14 years and have closed deals in every one of its eight neighborhoods — call or email me directly and I'll tell you what's actually available this week, on and off market.
It's a fixed street grid platted mostly between the 1900s and 1970s, bounded by a lake, a highway, and an expressway, with essentially no raw land left. Homeowners who bought for the walkability and the location tend to stay, so turnover across all eight pockets stays naturally slow.
Its scarcity of buildable lots, its walkability to South Congress, Zilker Park, and Lady Bird Lake, and two decades of sustained demand have supported steady long-term appreciation across the zip. Individual sub-neighborhoods move at different paces year to year, so I'd rather walk a specific buyer through comps for their target pocket than quote one blended answer.
Austin ISD schools rank a notch below Eanes ISD for buyers who prioritize that above everything else, older homes across the zip often need foundation or systems work, parking is tight on the commercial corridors, and the price gap between an entry-level home and a renovated or new-construction home on the same block can be enormous — budget mismatches happen constantly if you don't pin down which of the eight pockets, and which price band, you're actually shopping.
Travis Heights Real Estate · Bouldin Creek Real Estate · South Congress Real Estate · South Lamar Real Estate · Dawson Real Estate · Galindo Real Estate · Zilker Real Estate · Barton Hills Real Estate · South Austin Real Estate
I'm Johnny Ronca — Compass RE Texas LLC luxury real estate · 20+ years Austin · 300+ closed transactions · $250M+ career sales · Lived in 78704 for 14 years before I ever sold a house here · 5.0★ on Zillow (33 reviews) · TX RE License #581766
"Johnny did an incredible job helping me to negotiate the price down on this house. We got tens of thousands of dollars in discounts..." — Andrew Horn, verified Zillow review
Whether you know exactly which of the eight 78704 neighborhoods you want or you need someone who's actually lived in all of them to help you figure it out, I can get you in front of what's actually available — on and off market. Johnny Ronca · (512) 797-0965 · [email protected] — or book a quick call: calendar.app.google/Mmtr3L3D16VRD7fQ9
Johnny Ronca
Compass Austin · 20+ Years · 300+ Transactions · $250M+ Sales · 14 Years in 78704
📞 (512) 797-0965 | ✉️ [email protected] | 📅 Book a call
50,479 people live in South Central Austin (78704), where the median age is 34.2 and the average individual income is $84,489. Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Total Population
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Population Density Population Density This is the number of people per square mile in a neighborhood.
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There's plenty to do around South Central Austin (78704), including shopping, dining, nightlife, parks, and more. Data provided by Walk Score and Yelp.
Explore popular things to do in the area, including Olive Bread Company, Willie's Joint BBQ, and Mossberg Fine Foods.
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| Dining | 0.01 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Dining · $$ | 0.28 miles | 7 reviews | 4.1/5 stars | |
| Dining | 0.28 miles | 1 review | 3/5 stars | |
| Shopping | 0.59 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Active | 0.01 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Active | 0.28 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Active | 0.28 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Active | 0.28 miles | 1 review | 5/5 stars | |
| Active | 0.28 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Active | 0.31 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Active | 0.5 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Active | 0.52 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Active | 0.57 miles | 1 review | 4/5 stars | |
| Active | 0.61 miles | 1 review | 5/5 stars | |
| Active | 0.67 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Active | 0.7 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Beauty | 0.01 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Beauty | 0.01 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Beauty | 0.28 miles | 1 review | 5/5 stars | |
| Beauty | 0.28 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Beauty | 0.56 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Beauty | 0.57 miles | 1 review | 5/5 stars | |
| Beauty | 0.63 miles | 1 review | 5/5 stars | |
| Beauty | 0.65 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
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South Central Austin (78704) has 27,766 households, with an average household size of 1.75. Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. Here’s what the people living in South Central Austin (78704) do for work — and how long it takes them to get there. Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. 50,479 people call South Central Austin (78704) home. The population density is 5,760 and the largest age group is Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.
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