The Austin Weird Homes Tour, now in its third year, exists for a few reasons. One is to make money—money that gets channeled into nonprofits and social-impact organizations, particularly those concerned with housing.
Another reason, according to its website, is that the founders were disturbed to learn from a 2014 Zandan Poll that while 9 out of 10 people surveyed think "Austin is weird," but more than half also said it was becoming more like other U.S. cities. By highlighting the artful and eccentric in Austinites lives, they hope to help reverse that trend.
While the fact that this year they added a Houston Weird Homes Tour might seem like they are in fact diluting the Austin weird brand, the fact is H-town is probably weirder. Any city that has such a legendary and long-lived Art Car Parade must be doing other weird stuff behind closed doors.