Mortgage Lender Liberty Hill TX

If you're buying or refinancing a home in Liberty Hill, TX, Adam Styer | HyperSmart Home Loans (NMLS #513013) gives you access to 40+ wholesale lenders, same-day pre-approvals, and 1,000+ loans closed since 2017 — serving Williamson County buyers in Santa Rita Ranch, Northgate Ranch, and Briggs Ranch since 2017. New construction, rising prices, and builder incentives in the area make working with an independent broker — not a big bank — the difference in rate, terms, and speed.

Why Should Liberty Hill Buyers Use an Independent Mortgage Broker?

Liberty Hill has gone from a quiet Hill Country town along SH-29 to one of the hottest growth corridors in the Austin metro. The explosion of master-planned communities — Santa Rita Ranch, Northgate Ranch, Briggs Ranch, Rio Ancho — has brought thousands of new homes and families to an area that still feels like small-town Texas. Liberty Hill ISD, a tight-knit downtown, and Hill Country views keep drawing buyers who want space and community without giving up access to Austin, just 35 minutes south.

Most of the growth here is spillover from Cedar Park and Leander, where prices have pushed many families farther north. Liberty Hill offers comparable new construction at lower price points and larger lots. For buyers who work remotely or commute a few days a week, the value equation is compelling.

One number explains almost everything odd about this market: roughly 16,000 people live inside Liberty Hill's city limits, while about 87,000 live in the surrounding extraterritorial jurisdiction (Community Impact, May 2026). Most people with a Liberty Hill address do not actually live in the city. That is why the tax stack on your parcel may carry no city line but a large MUD line instead, why a Census population figure for "Liberty Hill" looks impossibly small against the traffic on SH-29, and why two homes marketed under the same community name can carry very different monthly payments. Everything below is written around that split.

Home Prices in Liberty Hill

The 78642 median sale price was $491,049 in June 2026 at 107 days on market per Redfin — down 4.6% year over year at $196 per square foot, on 316 closings (+26.3% YoY). Read that pairing carefully: more homes are selling, for less money. Volume returned before price did. Earlier in 2026 this page reported a +11.0% YoY gain off the March print; that trend has since reversed, which is exactly why a rate quote built on spring comps will not survive an appraisal today. Note Redfin's headline figures cover a rolling three-month window, not a single month.

Inventory has tightened rather than loosened. Liberty Hill ran 5.9 months of supply on 475 active listings in April 2026 (Neuhaus Realty Group / Unlock MLS) — back inside the 6-month "balanced market" line, not the buyer's market this page described in early 2026. That was the final month Neuhaus published a Liberty Hill series, so for a current read the county is the better proxy: Williamson County sat at 4.3 months on a $415,000 median in July 2026 (Unlock MLS, July 2026). Buyers still have real room — 47.1% of June listings took a price cut and sale-to-list ran 97.8% (Redfin) — but the leverage is narrower than it was in February, and it is closing.

Entry pricing starts lower than most buyers expect: Butler Farms opens in the $280Ks and Lariat in the $300s, while estate builds in Clearwater Ranch run $900K to $1M+. Custom builds on acreage along SH-29 and FM-1869 clear the 2026 conforming loan limit of $832,750 — for purchases above the limit, jumbo financing applies. At the other end, the 2026 FHA limit for Williamson County is $571,550 (HUD CY2026 forward limits, Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos MSA), which covers the large majority of Liberty Hill resale and a good share of new construction.

Liberty Hill at a glance: Entirely within Liberty Hill ISD — but the district just rezoned. Effective the 2026-27 school year, US-183 is the high-school divider: homes west of US-183 feed Liberty Hill HS; homes east of US-183 feed the new Legacy Ranch HS (opens fall 2026, 454K sqft) per Community Impact, Feb 2026. Verify the address on the LHISD zone-finder before you sign. Commute times: ~35 min to the Domain via SH-183A Toll/US-183 off-peak, ~45 min to downtown Austin, ~20 min to Cedar Park and Leander, ~25 min to Georgetown via Ronald Reagan Blvd. Combined property tax rates inside city limits run ~2.0%–2.4% — meaningfully lower than Travis County's 2.2%–2.7%, though a MUD district can erase that advantage entirely (see below).

Liberty Hill Neighborhoods & Zip Codes

Santa Rita Ranch (78642) — The largest master-planned community in Liberty Hill. Pulte Homes is the dominant builder, with active sections from Perry Homes, Highland Homes, GFO Home, and Scott Felder Homes (GFO Home | Scott Felder). The newer Saddleback at Santa Rita Ranch village starts at $349,900 (Pulte Saddleback); the original Santa Rita Ranch sections start around $380,990 (Pulte Santa Rita Ranch). Sales centers at 112 Leon Loop and 513 Exploration Circle. Existing amenities include leisure + lap pools, splash pad, water slides, and the Ranch House Amenity Center; The Paddock Amenity Center opens Summer 2026 as the new centerpiece for Saddleback Village. Scale worth knowing before you assume you have missed the window: Santa Rita Ranch has roughly 5,000 homes built and is less than 50% built out, and it sold 483 homes in 2025 alone (Community Impact, May 2026) — this community will be releasing sections for years.

Northgate Ranch (78642) — Acreage-style luxury community started in 2019, located ~2 miles north of SH-29 off CR 214. Builders are Drees Custom Homes, Giddens Homes, Hill Country Artisan Homes, and Monticello Homes. Homes sit on acre-plus lots and range 3,000–5,000 sqft (Austin RE Homes Blog). No community pool — instead, residents share the Liberty Porch Community Pavilion (Northgate Ranch | NewHomeSource — Drees). Upper-tier custom builds here routinely cross the $832,750 jumbo line.

Orchard Ridge (78642) — Master-planned by Freehold Communities around an orchard theme with community gardens, hiking trails, and the Front Porch amenity. Sales center at 105 Orchard Park Drive. Pacesetter Homes is the primary builder with current pricing $450,000–$534,900 on plans 1,699–2,557 sqft (Pacesetter — Orchard Ridge). Other active builders: Lennar, Ashton Woods, Dream Finders, Buffington Homes (Freehold Communities).

Rio Ancho Ranch (78642) — An acreage community off SH-29 with San Gabriel River frontage spanning Liberty Hill and Bertram. Every homesite is a full acre, and homes run 2,500–5,000 sqft (2,200 sqft minimum, 550 sqft minimum garage) from Hill Country Artisan Homes, Pacesetter Homes, and Grand Endeavor Homes (NewHomeSource — Hill Country Artisan | Grand Endeavor Homes). Amenities include a private 7-acre lake, community pool, playgrounds, basketball and tennis courts, and miles of hike-and-bike trails under old-growth oaks (Austin RE Homes Blog — Rio Ancho). At one acre and up to 5,000 sqft, custom builds here routinely cross the $832,750 jumbo line — and many buyers come in on a one-time-close construction loan rather than buying a finished spec, which is exactly the structure Adam coordinates with the builder.

Stonewall Ranch (78642) — Liberty Hill's affordable counterweight to all the new luxury master-plans. This established community off SH-29 (in via Stonewall Parkway) has been building since the mid-2000s, so it's now mostly resale with a roster spanning Lennar, Pulte, KB Home, Taylor Morrison, D.R. Horton, Century Communities, and Buffington across its phases (Austin RE Homes Blog | Taco Street Locating). Homes run 1,308–3,995 sqft (most under 3,000) on 40- and 50-foot lots, with current listings roughly $275,000–$500,000 and entry homes in the low $300Ks (Redfin — Stonewall Ranch). The HOA runs a light ~$33–$38/month for a 2.1-acre pool area, splash pad, playscape, basketball court, and trails. Because most resales sit well under the $832,750 conforming line, this is the page's strongest FHA / first-time-buyer / 5%-down conventional doorway into Liberty Hill ISD — no jumbo, no acreage-reserve hurdle. The onsite elementary is Bill Burden Elementary (8/10 GreatSchools); the 2025 effective tax rate here was ~2.44% (Austin RE Homes Blog).

Lariat (78642) — The newest large master-plan in Liberty Hill, and not to be confused with Lariat Trails Elementary, the LHISD campus of a similar name. Lariat sits off County Road 214, between SH-29 and the north fork of the San Gabriel River, with the community address at 396 Oak Blossom Rd. It is platted for 688 acres and 1,600 homes — Phase 1 alone is 1,063 homesites — on 45-, 50-, and 60-foot lots (Lariat community fact sheet | Lariat). The builder roster is the deepest in town: Perry Homes (from the $360s), Tri Pointe Homes (from the $300s, 1,603–3,655 sqft, model at 256 Faulkner Street), Ashton Woods ($328,740–$402,740 on 1,466–2,653 sqft, 109 Travis Lane — Ashton Woods | Tri Pointe), plus Chesmar, Landsea, Coventry, Highland, Drees, and CastleRock. Amenities include The Junction pavilion and event lawn, The Watering Hole pool complex and splash pad, a catch-and-release fishing pond with a dock, and roughly seven miles of trails. HOA dues are $840 a year, billed quarterly at $210 (KiTH Management). Zoned to Louine Noble Elementary, Liberty Hill Middle, and Liberty Hill High, with an on-site elementary planned. Read the tax section below before you write an offer here — Lariat sits in North San Gabriel MUD #1, and that changes the math more than the price does.

Butler Farms (78642) — The lowest entry price on this page. Off Highway 29 via Butler Farms Boulevard, with Meritage Homes selling three collections out of 101 Dove Crest Lane: the Americana collection starts at $283,990 (1,247–2,040 sqft), Boulevard at $349,990 (1,786–3,016 sqft), and Reserve runs $324,990–$384,990 with HOA dues of $41/month (Meritage — Americana | Meritage — Boulevard). Saratoga Homes sells from the low $300s at 501 Dove Crest Cove on 1,717–2,815 sqft plans (Saratoga Homes). First-phase lots are 40–45 feet, and the 2025 tax rate here was 2.1966% (Austin RE Homes Blog). Amenities run to a resort-style pool, trails, a pond and fishing pier, and a park. Zoned to Liberty Hill Elementary, Liberty Hill Middle, and Liberty Hill High. At an Americana base price, this is the one Liberty Hill new-construction doorway that clears a 3.5% FHA down payment under $10,000.

Clearwater Ranch (78642) — The estate-acreage end of the market, and effectively the opposite of Lariat on every axis. Over 600 acres off CR 200, entering at Bold Sundown, with custom acreage homes running $900,000 to over $1 million from Drees Custom Homes, Giddens Homes, and Sitterle Homes (Clearwater Ranch). Giddens sells from 209 Bold Sundown with quick-move-in homes listed $1,098,000–$1,246,500 on plans up to 4,929 sqft (Giddens Homes). The amenity is a 12-acre creekside park and playscape rather than a pool complex, and the HOA is a light $30/month (Goodwin Management). Every home here clears the $832,750 conforming line, so this is jumbo or one-time-close construction territory — but the 2025 tax rate was 1.727171% (Giddens), the lowest on this page, because there is no MUD.

The Liberty Hill MUD Question — Worth More Than the Rate You Shop

Buyers here compare list prices and school ratings, then get blindsided at closing by the escrow number. Liberty Hill is one of the metro's most MUD-fragmented markets, and the spread between two subdivisions inside the same city and the same school district is larger than anything you will negotiate on rate.

Lariat's own fact sheet lists North San Gabriel MUD #1 at $0.950000 per $100 of valuation (Lariat fact sheet). That single line is more than double the entire City of Liberty Hill rate of $0.469407. Set it against Clearwater Ranch at 1.727171% and Butler Farms at 2.1966% and the picture is stark — roughly a 92-basis-point spread between the high-MUD and no-MUD ends of the same town.

In payment terms, on a $400,000 assessed value, a $0.95 MUD line by itself is $3,800 a year — about $317 a month added to escrow, every month, for as long as the district carries debt. At a 6.5% 30-year fixed, $317 of monthly payment is roughly $50,000 of borrowing power. A buyer approved for a $450,000 home in Clearwater Ranch may only qualify near $400,000 in a MUD district on the identical income and identical rate. (Rate shown as a stated assumption for the conversion, not a quote.)

Three cautions on the numbers above. First, the Lariat fact sheet is dated April 2025 and its component lines carry the pre-Proposition A LHISD rate ($1.226900) and the prior county rate ($0.399999) — both since superseded by the $1.2389 and $0.413776 figures in the tax section below, so its headline total understates today's stack. Second, that fact sheet's own components do not sum to the total it prints, which is a good reminder that a marketing PDF is not a tax bill. Third, and most useful: Lariat's tax breakdown carries no City of Liberty Hill line at all — a strong signal the community sits outside city limits, which is its own set of consequences for services and future annexation. Adam pulls the actual parcel from the Williamson County appraisal roll and underwrites the real districts before you are under contract, because a MUD discovered during underwriting is a re-qualification, not a footnote.

Liberty Hill Schools

Liberty Hill ISD has 8 campuses serving roughly 7,869 students (SchoolDigger) and is in the middle of the largest growth-driven rezoning in the district's history. The board approved new 2026-27 attendance zones on Feb. 16, 2026, using US-183 as a clean east–west divider for high-school assignments (Community Impact, Feb 2026):

• Liberty Hill HS (west of US-183) — currently 7/10 GreatSchools with a 98% graduation rate vs. Texas's 90% state average (GreatSchools). Feeder: Liberty Hill Middle School.
• Legacy Ranch HS (east of US-183) — opens fall 2026 in a 454,000-sqft campus with 1,000–1,200 student capacity, adding one grade per year (Joeris General Contractors | KXAN). Feeders: Legacy Ranch MS (between US-183 and Ronald Reagan Blvd) and Santa Rita MS (90 E Santa Rita Blvd, grades 6-8, 1,230 students, 7/10 GreatSchools; east of Ronald Reagan Blvd).
• Top-rated elementary: Rancho Sienna Elementary at 751 Bonnet Blvd rates 9/10 GreatSchools. Bar W Elementary, Liberty Hill Elementary, and Rancho Sienna are all part of the LHISD 2026-27 rezoning footprint.
• Santa Rita Elementary — the campus serving Santa Rita Ranch carries a 4-star SchoolDigger rating (top 20% of Texas public schools) and a State accountability rating of B (SchoolDigger | Texas Tribune). Note the Feb 2026 rezoning: confirm a Santa Rita Ranch address still feeds this elementary before you write an offer.
• Bill Burden Elementary (315 Stonewall Pkwy, PK-5, 763 students) — the onsite campus for Stonewall Ranch on the west side of US-183 — rates 8/10 GreatSchools (GreatSchools), the highest-rated elementary feeding Liberty Hill's affordable resale tier.
• Louine Noble Elementary (101 Loop 332, PK-5, 736 students) — the K-5 campus zoned to the new Lariat master-plan — rates 7/10 GreatSchools (GreatSchools). Worth knowing when you search: the campus was renamed, so it still surfaces under its old name, Liberty Hill Intermediate, in some school-rating databases and listing sites.
• Liberty Hill Elementary (1400 Loop 332, PK-5, 734 students) — 7/10 GreatSchools, with a Gifted & Talented program and an 88% attendance rate against an 81% state average (GreatSchools). This is the zoned elementary for Butler Farms.
• Liberty Hill Middle School (13125 W SH-29, grades 6-8, 1,050 students) — 7/10 GreatSchools, also with a Gifted & Talented program (GreatSchools). It is listed as "Liberty Hill J High School" in GreatSchools and as "Liberty Hill Middle School" in district and builder material — same campus, same address.
• New campuses on deck: Lariat Trails Elementary opens fall 2026; Saddleback Elementary opens fall 2027.

The November 2025 Proposition A election raised LHISD's M&O rate to $0.7389 per $100; combined with the I&S rate of $0.50, the LHISD total is $1.2389 per $100 valuation (Community Impact, Nov 2025). Always verify your specific address on the LHISD zone-finder before you sign a contract — homes a quarter-mile apart can feed different middle and high schools effective fall 2026.

Major Employers & Local Economy

Two anchor retailers just landed in Liberty Hill:

• Costco Wholesale debuted March 11, 2026 — a 160,000-sqft warehouse and gas station on Highway 183, the chain's 45th Texas location (Community Impact, Mar 2026). This is the first Costco between Cedar Park (~17 mi) and the Costco-less Hill Country.
• Target — fall 2026 opening. The $22M, 148,000-sqft store at 351 US-183 is under construction with another 50,000 sqft of attached commercial space and ~10 outparcels for additional retail (Liberty Hill Independent).
• Platform 183 x 29 — 120-acre mixed-use project at 10728 W. SH-29. Phase 1 (3 buildings, 48,000 sqft) is delivered; the full buildout could reach 1.3M sqft of industrial, 325 multifamily units, and 175,000 sqft of retail (Williamson County EDP).
• Santa Rita Ranch Center — Walmart Supercenter, ~400 jobs, 2027. Developer Provident is building a 400,000-sqft, roughly $100 million center on 50 acres at the northwest corner of Ronald Reagan Blvd and SH-29, anchored by a 176,000-sqft Walmart Supercenter opening in 2027 with about 400 jobs. LongHorn Steakhouse, Olive Garden, Ross, and PetSmart have also signed, alongside 31,000 sqft of shop space and 11 pad sites (Community Impact, May 2026). One wrinkle that matters more than it sounds: the center sits inside a MUD, so the City of Liberty Hill does not collect sales tax on it — the rooftops carry the district, not the retail.
• Ally Medical Emergency Room — winter 2026. A freestanding 24/7 ER at 10280 W. Hwy. 29 with on-site lab and imaging (CT, X-ray, ultrasound) and physicians on site at all hours. It will be the closest emergency room for Liberty Hill residents, also drawing from Leander, Georgetown, Bertram, Burnet, and Briggs (Community Impact, June 2026).
• Liberty Hill ISD remains the largest single employer (~600 staff) with the upcoming Legacy Ranch HS, Lariat Trails Elementary, and Saddleback Elementary adding more jobs (Liberty Hill EDC).
• Non-construction private anchors: Meridell Achievement Center (behavioral health, ~210 employees) and Divine Savior Academy (private K-12, ~60), with Pedernales Electric Cooperative and the Lower Colorado River Authority each around 85. The EDC counts nearly 50 primary employers with more than 20 employees (Liberty Hill EDC). Treat these counts as directional — the EDC's underlying data is attributed to June 2023 Lightcast figures via CAPCOG, so they predate the Costco and Target hiring waves.

Beyond city limits, Samsung Taylor ($17B fab, 1,500 permanent employees by EOY 2026, ~30 min east via SH-29 → SH-95), Apple Parmer Lane (~30 min south via 183A Toll, 5K-15K full buildout), Dell Round Rock HQ (~25 min east), and the Tesla Gigafactory (~50 min via 183A → SH-130) are all in commuter range. Austin-Bergstrom International is ~42 miles south.

Property Tax & Closing Costs

The Liberty Hill tax stack inside city limits, FY 2025-26:

• Liberty Hill ISD: $1.2389 / $100 (M&O $0.7389 + I&S $0.50, post-Prop A November 2025 — Community Impact)
• City of Liberty Hill: $0.469407 / $100 (Community Impact, Aug 2025)
• Williamson County: $0.413776 / $100 — voter-approval rate, +8.82% increase per the FY 2025-26 budget adopted Sept 3, 2025 (Williamson County, FY 25-26 Budget)
• MUD / ESD / FM-RD overlays: this is the line that actually decides your payment. North San Gabriel MUD #1 adds $0.950000 / $100 in Lariat — more than double the entire city rate — while Clearwater Ranch carries no MUD at a 1.727171% total and Butler Farms sits at 2.1966% (2025 tax year). Williamson County ESD #4 and an FM-RD line apply on top in some districts. Verify the parcel before you write an offer; see the MUD section above.

Combined: roughly $2.12 / $100 nominal, ~2.0%–2.4% effective after homestead in a no-MUD district. On a home at the current $491,049 median that is about $9,800 to $11,800 a year — but add a $0.95 MUD line and the same home runs closer to $14,500. One more caution specific to a purchase: effective rates bake in homestead caps built up over years of ownership, and your first year carries no cap. Underwrite year one at the nominal rate and true up once the exemption lands.

Closing-cost example #1 — entry buyer, Butler Farms Americana at $283,990, FHA 3.5% down. Down payment $9,940; base loan $274,050; 1.75% UFMIP ($4,796) financed for a $278,846 balance. Owner's title policy computes to $1,689 off the TDI 2026 promulgated schedule (($283,990 − $100,000) × 0.00494 = $909, + $780). Williamson County recording runs $25 first page / $4 each additional (County Clerk fee schedule) — call it $110–$150 across deed and deed of trust. First-year homeowners insurance at the Williamson County average of $2,758 (Texas Dept. of Insurance, 2025 preliminary, avg insured value $466K). Three months of tax escrow at Butler Farms' 2.1966% ≈ $1,559. Add origination/processing/underwriting (~$1,400), appraisal (~$650), survey (~$500), and credit/flood/tax-service fees. Expect roughly $18,500–$20,500 to the closing table, down payment included, before any seller or builder credit.

Closing-cost example #2 — at the $491,049 median, 5% down conventional. Down payment $24,552; loan $466,497. Owner's title policy $2,712 on the same TDI 2026 schedule (($491,049 − $100,000) × 0.00494 = $1,932, + $780); homeowners insurance $2,758; three months of tax escrow at ~2.2% ≈ $2,701; plus the same lender, appraisal, survey, and recording lines. Roughly $35,000–$37,500 all in. Put that identical home in a $0.95 MUD district and the escrow line alone climbs about $1,170 at closing and $317 a month after.

Custom builds in Northgate Ranch, Clearwater Ranch, or upper-tier Santa Rita Ranch that cross the $832,750 conforming line need 6–12 months of PITI in reserves per most jumbo lender guidelines. Note that at a 2%+ tax rate, the tax portion alone makes those reserve requirements materially larger in Liberty Hill than the same loan amount would demand in a lower-tax county.

Where the leverage actually is now: at 5.9 months of supply (April 2026) Liberty Hill is no longer the buyer's market it was in February, but 47.1% of June listings still took a price cut and sale-to-list ran 97.8% (Redfin) — so seller-paid concessions, rate buy-downs, and HOA-fee credits remain negotiable. Builders are still offering aggressive financing incentives. Adam runs a real Loan Estimate with parcel-specific tax math — which in Liberty Hill means checking the MUD before anything else — and walks through which concession structure (rate buy-down vs. closing-cost credit vs. cash-back at close) puts the most money in your pocket.

How Does the Mortgage Pre-Approval Process Work in Liberty Hill TX?

Liberty Hill's master-planned communities release lots in phases, and desirable homesites go quickly. A pre-approval letter in hand before you visit a model home center gives you the ability to reserve the lot you want — and negotiate from a position of strength.