Leigh and William Hablinski were living in Los Angeles but had long wanted to establish roots in Austin, Texas, where William attended college and many of their friends lived. A trip over Fourth of July weekend in the 1990s sealed the deal.

"I absolutely loved it," Leigh says. "It felt very safe, the parks were clean and the schools were good."

Not long after their trip, they returned to Austin to tour a lakefront property. Once they were back home in Los Angeles, Leigh recalls, the couple woke in the middle of the night with the same realization: They had to go right back to Austin to buy it.

According to Leigh, they paid roughly $430,000 for the Lake Austin property, planning to eventually upgrade the home when their two children flew the nest. "The idea was to find some property to retire to."

Building a forever home

Shortly after buying the home, the Hablinskis redid the kitchen, which originally had an oven too small for a roasting pan. Then, in the early 2000s, the Hablinskis demolished the old home, keeping just the kitchen by putting a protective shell around it.

William, an architect, designed a new three-story home in its place and made sure every room had a view, Leigh says. Inside, he trimmed windows and glass doors with mahogany, aiming to make the view look like framed paintings, she says.

Can't-miss features

William designed a covered patio with a seating area, dining table, wood-burning pizza oven and outdoor kitchen.

Reason for selling?

William died last year, and Leigh, 78, is looking to downsize in the area.

Market snapshot

Many homes in Austin are sold off-market, says listing agent Beth Carter, who works for Compass. Since Texas is a nondisclosure state, sale prices don't need to be made public.

In July, a nearby lakefront property with a teardown home sold for $6.3 million, according to Carter. Meanwhile, the most expensive listing on Lake Austin sits on about 6 acres and is listed for $20 million, according to Zillow.