REALTOR® · Austin, TX
Your next move in Northwest Austin
Calm, clear help for longtime homeowners making their next move, and for buyers finding the right part of Austin. No pressure. Just perspective.
When you think real estate, think Brink
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Start here
Before you read anything else, meet me. I've lived in Northwest Austin since 1976 and sold homes here since 1995. In a couple of minutes you'll know how I work, what I'll tell you straight, and whether we'd be a good fit. No pressure. Just perspective.
How I work
Teach first. Then tell you what I'd do.
Most people meet their agent when it's time to sign something. I'd rather you meet me when you have questions. I explain what's happening in your market and on your street first, so you understand the ground you're standing on. Then I tell you what I'd do if it were my house, and the decision stays yours.
How buyers actually find you
Relevancy, recency, proximity
The right buyer for your home is usually searching for something specific: a neighborhood, a school, a situation. That's why this site has a page for each neighborhood I work and each situation I help with, instead of one page trying to cover everything.
- Relevancy
- Written for one situation at a time. Someone downsizing after forty years and someone relocating for a new job shouldn't have to read the same page.
- Recency
- Kept current. Last year's market isn't information, it's history.
- Proximity
- Specific to the street, not the county. Northwest Austin, Spicewood Estates & Balcones, Northwest Hills, Great Hills and the neighborhoods inside them.
How I sell a home
The E.P.I.C. plan
Four steps on every home I list, planned before anything goes public, so the first two weeks on the market count.
Equity
A real market evaluation and three pricing plans, A, B and C, with the trade-offs laid out. I tell you which I'd choose. You decide.
Presentation
Professional photos, floor plans, a narrated video walkthrough and a 3D tour, so the first look on a phone earns the showing.
Impact
A Coming Soon campaign, Facebook and Instagram ads that run until it sells, and postcards and letters to your neighbors.
Campaign
A Grand Opening open house in the first two weekends, showing feedback chased down, and an update on your home every Monday.
Buying instead?
The R.E.A.L. framework
A lot of home searches start with a showing. Mine start with a conversation, so that when the right house shows up, you're ready to write.
Ready
A consultation by phone, video or in person, a lender you trust, and a light one-day agreement to start.
Educated
What your budget buys, which schools serve which streets, and how the Texas option fee and earnest money work.
Aligned
A short list built around how you'll actually live, including the pockets search filters miss.
Locked
An offer built to close, inspections and insurance during the option period, and a calm run to the title company.
The situation you are actually in
Different circumstances, different plans
The fundamentals do not change. The sequence, the timing and how much coordination it takes change completely. Start where you actually are.
01 / SELLING
Selling Your Home
Plan A/B/C pricing, video and photos, ads that run until it sells, and an update on your home every Monday.
02 / SELLING
Downsizing
Help with the whole move, not only the listing: sorting, haul-off, timing and the Texas tax rules that come with it.
03 / SELLING
Selling a Home During Divorce
A calm, even-handed sale when two owners have to agree, with both of you kept informed at every step.
04 / SELLING
Inherited, Probate and Estate Homes
Clearing title, preparing the house and selling it, alongside your attorney, for heirs, executors and trustees.
05 / SELLING
What Your Home Is Worth
A real market evaluation of your home and street, with the reasoning shown, instead of an automated guess.
06 / BUYING
Buying a Home
A consultation first, a lender you trust, and a search built around the life you described, not everything on the market.
07 / BUYING
First-Time Buyers
Plain answers on the Texas contract, the two deposits and what your budget buys, before you're asked to sign anything.
08 / BUYING
Relocating to the Area
The right part of Austin for your job, your commute and your schools, from someone who has lived here since 1976.
Selling Your Home? Watch Smarter Seller Course, my free 12-video course.
Downsizing? Watch Downsizing with Dignity, my free 20-video series.
Buying a Home? Watch Smart Buyer Series, my free 12-video course.
Northwest Austin since 1976. Nearly 700 home sales. One person who'll tell you what he'd do.
Where I work
Neighborhoods I know inside out
From the blog
Local market insight
2026-11-03 · 5 min read
What Your First Month of Owning a Home in Austin Really Costs
Your first month in an Austin home costs more than the mortgage. Here's where the extra money goes, from utility startup fees to insurance, and how to see it coming.
2026-11-02 · 6 min read
Why One Austin Neighborhood Costs More Than the One Next Door
Two Northwest Austin homes a few blocks apart can sell at very different prices. Here is what actually drives the gap, from the escarpment and floodplain lines to tax boundaries and lot rules.
2026-11-01 · 6 min read
How Long Does It Take to Sell a House in Austin? A Realistic Timeline for Longtime Owners
Austin's days-on-market numbers only tell part of the story. Here is what the latest figures show, why your part of town may move faster than the metro, and how to build a selling timeline around the date your move has to happen.
Who I am
I'm James Brinkman, a Realtor® and Broker Associate with AustinRealEstate.com. Most people call me Brink. My family moved to Northwest Austin in 1976, when I was four. I grew up in Spicewood Estates, went to Spicewood Elementary, Canyon Vista and Westwood, and have lived on "the Mountain" since 2004.
I started in this business in 1992 as a market analyst, got my license in 1995 and my broker's license in 2002, and I've helped with nearly 700 home sales since. I hold the CRS, CNE and SRES designations, and I work every listing and every buyer myself.
Outside real estate, I'm a musician and a dog guy (that's Cooper with me in the photo), and every week I make a short video on what the market is doing.
Where I work
My home base is Northwest Austin: Northwest Austin and its neighborhoods, from Northwest Hills, Great Hills and Jester Estates to Spicewood Estates & Balcones, Oak Forest & Barrington Oaks and Anderson Mill.
I also work Far Northwest Austin, including Canyon Creek and Avery Ranch, Cedar Park and Ranch at Brushy Creek, west Round Rock, and North Austin around the Domain. More of my clients are following the jobs north along 183A toward Leander and Liberty Hill, and I go with them.
How I sell a home
Before a home goes public, we decide where it stands in the market, how it will look, who needs to see it, and what happens in the first two weeks. That means three pricing plans to choose from, professional photos and a narrated video, Facebook and Instagram ads that run until the home sells, a Grand Opening open house in the first two weekends, and a Monday Morning Market Update on your home every week.
The full plan is on how I sell a home. If you're downsizing, settling an estate or selling and buying at the same time, start with downsizing, inherited and estate homes or selling and buying at once.
What clients say
Candi Stanley interviewed several agents before selling her family's Spicewood Estates home of more than 30 years: "He asked questions about my hopes, goals and timeline for selling the house, and he listened to my answers. It was no contest, James became the listing agent, and the professionalism, enthusiasm, communication never waned."
Deanna Berger, relocating to Austin: "James really listened to what we were looking for in a home and what locations appealed to us, and ultimately he found an off-market home that was the perfect fit and the one we closed on."
Your next step
Thinking about selling? Find out what your home is worth, with the reasoning shown. Buying? See how I help buyers, then set up a consultation by phone, video or in person. Or call me at (512) 698-3525. No pressure. Just perspective.
Frequently Asked Questions
What areas do you serve?
Northwest Austin is my home base, along with Far Northwest Austin, southern Cedar Park, west Round Rock and North Austin around the Domain. I also help clients moving north toward Leander and Liberty Hill.
How long have you been selling real estate?
I've been licensed since 1995, a broker since 2002, and I started in 1992 as a market analyst. I've helped with nearly 700 home sales.
Do you work with buyers and sellers?
Both. Many of my sellers are longtime Northwest Austin owners making their next move, and many of my buyers are relocating for work.
Thinking about a move?
Let's figure out your next step together. No pressure.