Travis County, TX
Online constable sale on RealAuction, Nov 3 — tax-office bidder registration due Oct 27
Travis County's delinquent-tax foreclosure sales run online through RealAuction (travis.texas.realforeclose.com) on the first Tuesday of the month, and the tax office's published schedule lists November 3 and December 1, 2026 as the next sale dates. Bidding takes two registrations. First, register on the RealAuction site, where you choose the name that will go on the Constable's Deed and get a bidder number. Second, submit the tax office's Bidder Registration with its $10 fee online at least five business days before the sale — by October 27 for the November 3 sale and by November 24 for December 1. The tax office checks your eligibility and emails you once you're approved; approval lasts a year, and anyone who owes back taxes on property in Travis County can't bid. The property list goes up on RealAuction about 15 days before each sale.
The minimum bid is the tax, penalties and interest plus attorney fees and court costs, and every property is sold as is, with no warranties: the county is only collecting its tax debt, and other liens may still be attached. Within four weeks of the sale the tax office mails a Constable's Deed. It isn't a warranty deed — it conveys only the ownership the defendants in the tax lawsuit held — but it does confirm the property is free of tax liens for the years in that lawsuit, not that later years are paid. Texas then gives the former owner a right to redeem: 180 days for most property, two years for a residence homestead or agricultural land, by paying your bid plus a 25% premium (up to 50% in a homestead's second year), so don't plan on improving or reselling until that window closes. Properties that don't sell are offered later as resales.
Texas rules at a glance
Texas doesn't sell tax lien certificates — it sells redeemable deeds. The winning bidder takes the deed at the sale. On most property the prior owner has 180 days to redeem at a flat 25% penalty, but on a residence homestead, agricultural land or a mineral interest the window is two years, at 25% in the first year and 50% in the second (Tex. Tax Code § 34.21).
The statute, the bidding and what goes wrong for new buyers are on the Texas page; every sale date we have sourced for Travis County is on the Travis County page.
Property & tax profile
The median homeowner in Travis County pays $7,727 a year in property tax — above the Texas median of $4,232 (U.S.: $3,119). That is roughly what a typical home here owes for each year it goes unpaid — the debt that the opening bid at a deed sale is usually built from, plus interest and costs. Homes with a mortgage pay a median of $8,204; homes owned outright, $6,744.
On a home with a mortgage, the lender has its own reason to pay a delinquent tax bill: the tax lien outranks the mortgage, and a tax deed can wipe out the loan. On a home owned outright, nobody but the owner — or the heirs — has that reason. In Travis County, 33.5% of owner-occupied homes are owned outright (Texas: 44.0%, U.S.: 39.4%). That is less than the state as a whole: more of the delinquent bills here sit on mortgaged homes, where the lender often steps in.
5.6% of all housing units in Travis County are vacant. The figure that matters for a buyer at the tax sale is the Census “other vacant” category — not for rent, not for sale, not a holiday home, but a catch-all that includes foreclosures, homes held up by legal proceedings or family reasons, homes needing repairs, and abandoned ones. Here it is 1.4% of all units (Texas: 3.5%, U.S.: 3.6%). That is below the state rate: fewer empty properties on the list than elsewhere in Texas.
Half of the homes in Travis County were built in or before 1999 (Texas: in or before 1992). The typical tax bill is 7.8% of the median household income of $99,611 (Texas: 5.4%).
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates (tables B25077, B25103, B25081, B25002, B25004, B25035, B19013) — see the figures on data.census.gov. Survey estimates with margins of error; anything too uncertain to state is left out.
Before you bid: Approval isn't instant, so register with the tax office well before the five-business-day cutoff and keep your RealAuction bidder number. Use the tax office's Bidder's Basic Guide to research each parcel, and consult a lawyer about other liens before you bid.
Official source: tax-office.traviscountytx.gov — checked October 4, 2026
More sales: 38 other county sales are on the calendar in November 2026 — see them by date; or the upcoming sales in Texas.
This page reflects publicly posted county auction notices as of publication and is general information, not financial or legal advice. Sale details can change — always confirm current terms with the county directly.