Special offer

Austin, TX Real Estate News

Thanks to Jimmy Buffett for writing that classic line.  What's that sound you're not hearing?  The lack of a warble out of your phone may be signaling the Austin market is changing.  It was a week ago today that ABOR (Austin Board of Realtors) released numbers indicating that home sales FELL 6% in June for the first time in over 5 years.  In local mastermind groups that I belong to, the anecdotes that I'm hearing from other agents support the statistics.  Listing inventory is up an has continuted to rise over the course of the summer which is pretty unusual.  One title rep that I spoke with stated that her phone has been ringing off the wall with agents trying to get their listings on property tour.The question that we have to ask is WHY?  Our employment numbers are great, the economy i...
Comments 0
By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
This just in from today's Austin Business Journal:"The value of property in Travis County jumped more than 13 percent in the last year, spurred by new construction activity and the high level of buyer interest in the Austin market. The total taxable value of properties in Travis stands at $84.9 billion, up from $74.8 billion last year, according to the Travis Central Appraisal District. This week the appraisal district completed its certified tax roll and sent out copies to the roughly 70 taxing districts in the county, from municipalities to school districts. In the next few months those districts will adopt tax rates and send bills out to property owners. Travis County Chief Appraiser Art Cory says new construction accounts for about $3.3 billion of the $10 billion...
Comments 0
By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
When 21c Musuem & Condos, the latest downtown luxury condo project, was announced on June 11, many interesting questions were once again raised about the downtown luxury condo market. While the market remains strong for units priced below $400K -- such as many of those in 360 and Milago -- the market for high end units is not yet proven. With a bunch of high-end developments in the works including the Austonian and the new Four Seasons Residences, we should find out soon whether a real market exists for hundreds of units priced over $500K, and dozens priced over $1M as these projects come to fruition. As none of these projects have broken ground, it's hard to know where they really stand. When the 21c project was announced, some interesting speculation on the Austin luxury market made ...
Comments 0
By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
Another downtown Austin condo building has begun it's unstoppable climb to the sky. Over the last few weeks, construction has begun on the Spring condo development in the Austin Market District, just south of Whole Foods. The $70 million project will be 42-stories high. The 260-unit project at 3rd & Bowie will have units starting in the low $200s. Here are some new notes on the project from the staff: Spring is designed by Foad Rafii, a Vancouver architect, using design principles that maximize the amount of usable space on each floor. Panoramic views of the city, wall-to-wall glass and concrete "point towers," so called because a plate - the footprint of one floor - is limited to 6,800 square feet. Compare this to Austin, where many of our recent residential buildings are thick and sq...
Comments 0
In 1981, massive amounts of rain caused deadly and damaging flooding on Shoal Creek. According to experts, a similar flood could occur today on Waller Creek which passes through downtown just West of I-35. If this were to happen, there could be significant damage across more than 1 million square feet of prime downtown real estate bordering the waller creek flood plain. As recently as January, heavy rains have led to dangerous flooding on Waller Creek. Recognizing this risk, developers and other downtown factions have been advocating for an elaborate downtown tunnel that would carry floodwaters 60-feet under the current creek banks, essentially eliminating the risk of a downtown flood on Waller Creek. In addition to lowering the risk of development on some prime lots, the City hopes th...
Comments 0
By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
New plans were recently announced for the most controversial project in downtown Austin: the 1,000+ room $250 million Marriott superplex on 2nd and Congress. The project, best known for displacing La Manitas, has been reconfigured to include higher-end brand hotels and fewer, taller "buildings". As far as we can tell, the 31-story project still does not include any ground floor retail. While the project has an opportunity to extend the thriving 2nd street district towards the convention center and the new 21c Austin Condos and Museum, Marriott seems more interested in developing another large, generic, building on a prime downtown lot. Here's a summary from the Statesman: White Lodging, which would develop, own and operate the hotels under a long-term agreement with Marriott Internatio...
Comments 0
By Eric Olson
(Sky Realty)
Lake Travis is 63 miles long and is 4.5 miles at its widest point. The lake covers 18,929 acres, and its capacity is 1,953,936 acre-feet. The lake is considered full at an elevation of 681.1 msl. At this elevation the lake contains 382,092,882,600 gallons of water. The recent floods in Texas brought the lake levels to an incredible 702 msl. There are 270 miles of shoreline around the lake with many many homes. These homes were flooded when the lake level increased. It has a maximum depth of 210 ft and an average depth of 62 feet. The lakes historic high level is 710.4 feet msl on December 25, 1991. Its historic low level is 614.2 feet msl on August 14 1951. We almost reached the record level but thanks to LCRA there were 4 flood gates at Mansfield Dam that were opened to control some of...
Comments 2
By Sam Chapman
In Central Texas, we could't buy rain for much of the last three years.  That changed in a huge way this June and it hasn't stopped.  The average rainfall for Austin for an entire year is around 32 inches.  We have recorded over 34 inches already in 2007.  The rains haven't fallen over a small area either.  There have been significant flood events all over central and South Texas.  Marble Falls gor hammered in June with 18 inches in around 6 hours.  The Highland Lakes watershed got enough rain in late June and early August to create flooding along almost all lakes.  San Antonio, Victoria and Hondo have all been hit hard.  Guess what?  More is on the way.  Go figure!So what does this mean for the real estate market?  In my opion, not much on a large scale.  Places that have been hard hit...
Comments 1
By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
  On July 20, June MLS numbers were released, showing the first drop in June sales in five years, even as prices rose by more than 7%. As the strength of the Austin market has defied national trends over the last year, it's natural to worry whether this might signal the beginning of the end. In our first posting on this subject, we concluded that the negative statistics do not really effect the downtown condo market which does not include units below $130K where the most dramatic market changes seem to be taking place. Today, thanks to Ki Gray, we have much more detailed statistics to analyze. These statistics allow us to look more closely at neighborhood-by-neighborhood sales details for the high end area closest to downtown. Here is what this new data shows: In June: - Price per squar...
Comments 0
By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
June sales were announced recently by the Austin Board of Realtors and the news is interesting: volumes were down 6% from June of 2006 while prices were up by 7%. This was the first June drop in volume in the Austin market in 5 years. What is going on? Does this mark an end to Austin's defiance of national trends? How will this effect downtown condo sales? According to the Austin Board of Realtors, the biggest volume change occurred with sales of single family homes priced below $130,000. This explains both the volume drop and the decrease in the median price. The culprit is also clear: the current sub-prime lending crisis means that many first-time buyers with borderline credit can no longer qualify for mortgages. This is resulting in a decrease in sales of low priced sales -- i.e. hou...
Comments 1
By Eric's Homes
(EO Enterprises)
JUST LOOKING or THINKING OF BUYING?  AUSTIN TEXAS IS HOT NOW!!!If you are actively looking for a home in Austin, Texas or Central Texas, you will probably want to take advantage of my "Personal Buyer Gateway Search". Many of my past clients really like this feature because it keeps them up to speed with constantly changing market conditions. Real Estate is moving fast in TEXAS and this search will e-mail you when new listings are for sale in the Austin, Texas and Central Texas market, but only if they match your criteria.  Simply E-MAIL a list of your property search criteria from most important to least and I'll be happy to set this feature up. You can also view Austin area Homes at http://www.buyorsellaustinhomes.com/ and browse through properties.
Comments 2
 http://buyorsellaustinhomes.com/default.asp_Q_f_E_search_school_step1_A_d_E_schools Highly rated schools of the Round Rock School District and Leander Independent School District are a plus for the parents who desire top schools for their children. Check out the Local School Information link for more details on the schools available in the Avery Ranch area.Some of the many schools in the Avery Ranch Community include:Rutledge Elementary School - Jana Rueter, Principal 512-434-5000 Forest North Elementary School - Mary Patterson,Principal  512-464-6750 Grisham Middle School - Charles Hunt, Principal 512-428-2650 Noel Grisham Middle School - 512 428-2650 Artie Henry Middle School - David Ellis, Principal 512-435-4800 Vista Ridge High School - Stu Taylor, Principal 512-434-7300 McNeil Hig...
Comments 5
By Eric Olson
(Sky Realty)
Lake travis flood The TEXAS Flood at LAKE TRAVIS Lake Travis is 63 miles long and is 4.5 miles at its widest point. The lake covers 18,929 acres, and its capacity is 1,953,936 acre-feet. The lake is considered full at an elevation of 681.1 msl. At this elevation the lake contains 382,092,882,600 gallons of water. The recent floods in Texas brought the lake levels to an incredible 702 msl. There are 270 miles of shoreline around the lake with many many homes. These homes were flooded when the lake level increased. It has a maximum depth of 210 ft and an average depth of 62 feet. The lakes historic high level is 710.4 feet msl on December 25, 1991. Its historic low level is 614.2 feet msl on August 14 1951. We almost reached the record level but thanks to LCRA there were 4 flood gates at ...
Comments 1
By Ki Gray, Austin Real Estate
Unless you live under a rock (or have Tivo [and hate commercials]), you know the Apple ads, with the Mac-a cool guy who seems so nice you could bring him home to Mom, and the PC-a nerdy guy who's bitter about not being as hip, and can't even begin hide it. And with the ipod and the new iphone (don't have one? How do you still live? I ask myself this question every day), chances are you are very aware of Apple Computers and their products. Well, I‘ve got good news. Apple Computers, the "hippest" computer manufacturer out there is coming to Austin! Rumor is that not only have they just renewed the lease on their 275,000SF of office space in Northwest Austin (near U.S. 183 and Oak Knoll Drive), but they plan to build 80,000SF more. That's big news, since Apple is about the hippest tech com...
Comments 0
By Ki Gray, Austin Real Estate
I compiled the average prices for different neighborhoods in the central Austin area. For the most part the prices are continuing to go up. The compiled stats are located here Austin Neighborhood Prices. The price per square foot increased in 20 of the 23 neighborhoods we looked at. So overall central Austin continues to do well. Ki Gray works as a realtor and runs a site covering the Austin Real Estate market.
Comments 2
By Jeff Kessler, Broker,CLHMS,GRI
(Austin Homes, Realtors www.OwnAustin.com)
Longtime Alamo weekend headliner John Erler launches his new group, MASTER PANCAKE THEATER in February of 2007! The eight-year Alamo tradition of bad movies paired with live comedy continues under the experienced hand of Erler, his comedy partner Joe Parsons and a rotating gang of Austin comedians, national celebrities and local personalities. scroll down to see the list of upcoming Pancake shows!Master Pancake Myspace PageAustinist Article on Master Pancake TheatreAustin360 Review of Master Pancake's "Titanic" Shows & ScreeningsMaster Pancake Theatre: CONAN THE BARBARIAN @ Alamo South Lamar Wednesday, July 25, 2007  (No Passes) 9:45pWednesday, August 08, 2007  (No Passes) 10:15aMaster Pancake Theater: CONAN THE BARBARIAN @ Alamo Village Wednesday, August 01, 2007  (No Passes) 10:15pMas...
Comments 0
By Eric Olson
(Sky Realty)
The downtown condo market is really taking off with highrise projects all over.  The skyline is changing with these high end places.  Some are going for well over a million.  For the Austin market this is high dollar. In relation to other parts of the country I guess its reasonable.  Check out the pictures of the projects.
Comments 2
By Eric Olson
(Sky Realty)
1031 Exchanges which are also called tax deferred exchanges. This means the tax basis from the sale of a property is not eliminated but carried over to the property that is purchased. Tax deferral benefits of exchanging are only allowed on investment property but Section 121 of the code has a permanent tax deduction that can be taken on the sale of a primary residence. As long as a taxpayer has lived in a property for a total of two years out of the previous five, they can claim a $250,000 deduction ($500,000 for married people) from their income tax. With planning it could be possible to combine these two tax strategies to exclude the capital gains from the sale of investment property. If an exchanger acquires a property, rents it for a number of years, moves into the property as a pri...
Comments 9
By Robert Rees - Austin Real Estate
(Robert Rees Realty, Inc)
I'm posting this after receiving a few emails and comments wanting to know more about this builder.Long Story short on this company, based on what I read & what I've talked to them about so far when I met with them:Wilson Holdings is a publicly traded company who's CEO started Capital Pacific Homes, then sold it. He started Wilson Holding to help small builders be able to compete in larger subdivisions. In their efforts they came across Austin based Green Builders, Inc. A small green building company. They purchased an option to buy the company. Recently they exercised that option. Due to a non-compete, they have had to wait until July to start building or even have the intent to build, but they've been trying to line up everything so that as soon as the noncompete expired, they'd be re...
Comments 3
By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
 We're thrilled to announce that AustinTowers was featured today on News 8 Austin - our first television appearance! Tune in if you can, it should be running all night!    ****Visit http://www.austintowers.net for a complete guide to all downtown condo projects, real-time condo listings, and the complete unedited AustinTowers Blog****   
Comments 0
Explore Austin, TX
Austin, TX Real Estate Professionals