5 East Austin Neighborhoods to Watch in 2023
Downtown Austin has some of the best BBQ, live music, and murals in the nation. The Austin community is welcoming and diverse, but life can get hectic when you’re living in the heart of the city.
I–35 draws the line between the hustle and bustle of downtown and the residential streets of East Austin. This historic area retains the charm of old Austin with its intimate restaurants, music venues, bars, and boutique shops dotting vibrant commercial streets like Manor Road and East 6th Street.
Homebuyers have many options to peruse on the Eastside of Austin. They can choose between storied homes in neighborhoods like Holly, new construction properties in Mueller, or something in between.
To help paint a picture of this side of the Live Music Capital of the World, the team at Prevu Real Estate shared a list of East Austin neighborhoods that homebuyers are focused on in 2023.
Mueller
First up is Mueller: a modern, planned community in East Austin. The former home of Austin’s airport is now characterized by single-family homes, multi-family condos, mixed-use developments, retail, and apartment complexes.
Some homes have a modern farmhouse look with vinyl siding, while the condos and apartment units feature sleek, modern designs. These homes sit on grid-format streets with small yards, creating a close-knit feel to the community. Mueller Lake Park is on the western side of the neighborhood, where locals gather to hang out at a fire pit near the lakeshore, catch a performance at the amphitheater, or find plenty of trails to explore.
The entertainment and shopping district is north of the park. Here you can find an Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, an all-important H-E-B, coffee shops such as Halcyon, and familiar, big-box retailers such as Best Buy and Old Navy. Folks living in nearby North Loop and Cherrywood also come here to shop.
Cherrywood
The mesquite and pecan trees make Central Texas beautiful, and you can find plenty in Cherrywood.
While there is a lot of new development all over Austin, you won’t find much in Cherrywood. Sometimes called French Place, this is one of the older sections of Austin with homes dating back to the 1940s. Most of the housing stock consists of single-family homes, but apartments are available near Manor Road.
Manor Road features a wide variety of cool bars and restaurants, including Haymaker and locally-owned Tex-Mex options like El Chilito. For lounging out in the sun, you can find folks at Patterson Neighborhood Park or over at Mueller Park across Airport Boulevard.
Windsor Park
Developed in the 1950s, Windsor Park is another historic East Austin neighborhood where buyers can find classic single-family homes.
Windsor Park is perfect for commuters traveling through the Central Texas area, as you can use MLK, the tollway, or I-35 to head north or south, while U.S. Hwy 290 can take you east towards Houston. You can find a mix of historic homes in Windsor Park sitting back from the street, shaded by large trees, and new condos popping up closer to I-35.
Windsor Park sits north of Mueller, so locals here can access top-of-the-line shops and restaurants. Plus, with an H-E-B on Manor Road right near the MLK, you have options in case when Mueller is jam-packed.
Homes for sale in Windsor Park
Chestnut
Buyers interested in East Austin can find the gridded streets of Chestnut to the west of the Moody Center. Buyers who work downtown or at the University of Texas would enjoy checking out Chestnut. The neighborhood is just across I-35 from the Capitol building, making it easy to get to the office in 15 minutes or less.
You can find condos and apartment units near MLK Station Neighborhood Park, which splits Chestnut in two. Farther from the park and the MLK train station, you will find modest single-family homes, many of which are newly renovated in the modern farmhouse style popping up around Austin.
East Martin Luther King Boulevard is one of the main commercial corridors in Chestnut, where you can find great coffee roasters like Bennu Coffee and Mi Mundo Coffeehouse & Roastery.
For dining and cocktail bars, head over to East 12th Street, where there is delectable brisket at historic Sam’s BBQ and great dance music nights at the Outer Heaven Disco Club.
Holly
If you love life down by the Colorado River waterfront, then Holly is the East Austin neighborhood for you. Because of the Longhorn dam, the river widens here to form Lady Bird Lake, where locals commonly paddle and explore the waterfront.
Homes on Canterbury, San Saba, and Julius streets have beautiful views of the river, and living in Holly means you are only a short distance from the waterfront. Folks will explore the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail, then relax at the Holly Shores at Town Lake Metropolitan Park or Metz Neighborhood Park.
Holly is a foodie’s dream, and East Cesar Chavez Street offers great Austin heritage Tex-Mex at places like Juan in a Million, vegan options at The Vegan Nom, and smoked meats at La Barbecue, a local favorite. One of our favorite bars in the area is The White Horse, where you can listen to honky tonk country and dine on tacos from the food truck outside. When it comes to groceries, many residents head north on Pleasant Valley Road to the local H-E-B.
Interested in buying a home in East Austin? Browse listings and see how much you can save with Prevu’s Smart Buyer Rebate.
