Realtor.com moves headquarters to Austin

Realtor.com is the latest company to leave sunny California for the Texas hill country.

The company announced this week that it’s relocating from Santa Clara to Austin with the goal of making Austin its primary pipeline for hiring talent, with more investments in that coming.

Realtor.com says that the state’s strong economy and affordability make it ideal for its headquarters.

“Austin and Texas offer a strong and growing talent pool, a powerhouse economy with unparalleled housing growth, affordability of living only matched by its aspirational lifestyle, expansive tech and academic communities, and a dynamic and vibrant city at the heart of the thriving state of Texas,” Realtor.com CEO Damian Eales said in a statement.” Over the coming years we are committed to growing our presence by hiring great local talent and by bringing new recruits to Texas.”

Austin has benefited from tech relocations that began during the pandemic and continue today, particularly companies previously based in California. Most notably, companies associated with or founded by Elon Musk made the move, including SpaceX, Tesla and X, formerly know as Twitter.

Oracle and Palantir Technologies have also decamped from California for Austin. While still based in the San Francisco area, Google, Facebook and Apple also have a strong presence in Austin.