Good news for the Austin real estate market — according to an article out in Tuesday’s The Dallas Morning News, Texas boasts four of the top ten markets for issuing building permits for single-family homes in America.  That total figure, approaching 64,000 over a 12-month period ending in May, represents a greater number of permits than issued in all of California and Florida combined.  This is excellent news — and further proof that the Lone Star State is weathering the current turbulence in the real estate market with a more even keel than much of the rest of the country.

Houston tops the list with nearly 22,000 issued, while Dallas-Fort Worth takes the second spot with over 15,000 permits tallied.  San Antonio and the relatively robust Austin real estate market round out Texas’s showing.

Dr. James Gaines, an economist at the Real Estate Center of Texas A&M, was interviewed for the article.  He notes that these figures, while promising, are more cautious than previous years’ tallies.  As he notes, “Most of the builders I’ve talked to say they are doing mostly contract work with just a few speculative homes here and there and only by those with capital resources to be able to finance it.”  That hardly refers to fat, boom-town growth, but it’s certainly a start.

Signs of that start are popping up in the Austin real estate market.  According to an article in Saturday’s Austin American-Statesman, D.R. Horton, the largest builder in Central Texas, has begun building hundreds of spec houses all over the area.  Most of these homes are priced under $200,000 and are geared toward first-time buyers and people relocating out of the state.

Central Texas home construction has plunged from a 2006 high of 17,106 to an estimated 6,400 in 2009, but things seem to be looking up.  Though the market for Austin homes generally picks up in the second quarter, Horton’s overall leap in construction (from 162 to 398 homes) represents a greater jump than can be expected by that trend.  It’s a reassuring vote of confidence.  As Rob Hutton, president of D.R. Horton’s Central Texas division, says, “We believe in Austin.”  That is, no doubt, a good thing to hear.

Located in the Austin, TX subdivision of Allandale West Sec 02 at 5906 Marilyn Dr, this Residential features 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Built in 1957, this property is offered at $300,000 with 1,476 sq ft. The Residential is listed by Eric Bramlett with the Austin Real Estate MLS # 3111722

It’s a question on many local homeowners’ minds: What’s the latest with Austin home values? The same goes for homeowners in cities in the rest of the country. We recently stumbled upon a great blog post over at the HomeGain Blog that talks about extensive nationwide home price survey results.

The results from the survey showed that in the opinion of HomeGain Realtor members, home sellers think their homes are worth more than Realtors and homebuyers thing they’re worth. Furthermore, while homeowners understand that there are falling home prices across America, they don’t think it applies to their homes.

So the survey results show that Realtors and homebuyers are informing these homeowners that their homes are not worth nearly as much as they think they are. Other findings: Most HomeGain Realtor members do not believe that the Obama stimulus package will do much to change the direction of home values, and they think that prices of homes will keep falling over the next six months.

One remark from the blog post noted that home sellers are aware that prices have fallen, but they don’t think it applies to them because they have done some kind of upgrade to their home like “upgraded vinyl.” Overpriced homes, they say, do nothing in these times.

As for Austin home values, the general opinion among various news sources and polls is that the local market is doing well compared to other cities around the country. Still, it’s ideal to discuss the best home prices with your Austin real estate agent.

Austin’s Mayor, Will Wynn, has introduced the Austin Climate Protection Plan. The plan contains provisions to make Austin one the greenest cities in the US. However, part of the plan is raising eyebrows with Austin homeowners.

When a home is resold, an energy-efficiency inspection will be required to ensure the home meets minimal green standards. The improvements must be completed and a certificate of compliance must be obtained prior to closing.

Mayor Wynn explained, “We’re not talking about requiring a comprehensive retrofit. What we’re looking at are the top four or five things with the lowest cost and highest return. Things like ceiling insulation, weather stripping, duct sealing, and solar screens.”

In older homes, improvements could add as much as $10K to the cost of the home. In addition, these requirements could significantly complicate and delay closing. Being green shouldn’t cost so much green!

Perhaps the Austin city council should reconsider the “green inspection” and enhance current incentive based programs such as Austin Energy’s and Austin WashWise Rebate Program.

RodeoHouston Is Here!

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo — aka RodeoHouston — is right around the corner, so it’s time to start planning! This annual celebration of agriculture, education, cowboy boots, the open range, and Western heritage in general will take place March 3rd through the 22nd at Houston’s Reliant Park, the home of the Houston Texans football team and just three hours from Austin and our beautiful Austin homes.

As usual, the Houston Livestock Show brings with it a star-studded cast of country music stars and entertainment luminaries. This year, the cast includes Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, John Legend, Martina McBride, John Fogerty, Toby Keith, Fergie and Brooks & Dunn. And yes, the Houston Livestock Show lineup is so dense with talent that we’re not listing everyone in the full RodeoHouston lineup!

Teen Dominates the Houston Livestock Show

Arguably, though, the true headliner of the 2008 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is a one-girl, two-personality entity known to thousands of screaming teens as Hannah Montana. The singer/actress who plays Montana, Miley Cyrus, will be performing a split set at the Houston Livestock Show, half Montana songs and half her own. Last year, Cyrus opened for the Cheetah Girls, set records for fastest sellout, biggest crowd, and most frantic scalper activity. All for a half-hour-long Houston Livestock Show performance that suffered technical problems thanks to a faulty lug nut at Reliant Stadium.

The third-largest festival in North America, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is a world-renowned phenomenon that brings some 1,800,000 attendees, 1,800 foreign visitors, and almost $345 million to Houston. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is also the world’s largest livestock show and a charity that has historically sent more than $200 million to scholarships, research, youth programs, and young participants.

Living in Austin exposes you to a wealth of great diversions and attractions like the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. If you don’t already live in Austin, why don’t you search for an Austin home at our easy-to-use website?

Austin Real Estate: Slump or Surge?

It’s sweeps time again, and if you pay attention to national and local network news lately, you have surely been inundated with shocking lead stories about the current “real estate crisis”.

The “crisis” began as an issue with defaults on sub-prime mortgage which accounted for a very small percentage of overall mortgages. The issue has now impacting mainstream mortgage brokers and home builders. Stock prices are falling and corporate executive are knee-jerk cost cutting to improve earnings ratios. This has slowed new home construction and tightened mortgage requirements.

Don’t Let the Austin Real Estate Slump Talk Dissuade You

In reality, interest rates are still very attractive and the Austin real estate inventory is high. Prices are falling as sellers are becoming anxious with all the negative press, even though most sellers are still making considerable profit. These market conditions make Austin a buyer’s market – ideal conditions for aspiring home buyers to find an Austin home.

Austin new home builders remain optimistic on the real estate market for the second quarter of 2007. For new home builders, Austin remains a much stronger real estate market than most of the country. New home inventory in Austin is only 2 months, compared to 6 months of inventory nationally.

New home builders have been focusing their effort on Austin’s higher end housing market, which remains strong. While new home starts below $150,000 dropped by almost half compared to last year, new home starts from $250,000 to $600,000 rose by almost 20%. The strongest part of the Austin real estate market is in homes priced from $300,000 to over $1 million, where sales of new homes rose in the second quarter.

New home builder discipline is credited with helping the Austin real estate market remain healthy. According to industry source Residential Strategies, Austin has not been overbuilt as has much of the rest of the country.

Austin’s Kwik-E-Mart: Go to Dallas for Your Fix

Yes, that’s right, Simpsons fans, your Austin Kwik-E-Mart has be taken by Dallas in what amounts to be the coup of the century – thank you, come again! To enjoy the Simpson pleasures such as Squishees, Buzz Cola, or KrustyO’s (sorry, no Duff Beer yet), you must make the long trip to Big D. At least there’s one in Texas…

To promote the new Simpsons movie, 7-Eleven has retrofitted 12 stores across North America to approximate the fictional Kwik-E-Mart stores from Fox’s Animated Series The Simpsons. From our sources, lines at the Dallas location were out the door this week.

Here’s something you might not know, Austin: appliances use energy even when they are turned off. Austin energy reports that appliances such as color televisions, video tape players and computers draw as much as 10 watts of electricity even when off. That amounts to 7 kilowatt hours per month for each appliance.

Also sucking down energy any time they are plugged into the wall are AC adapters that use transformers, commonly referred to as wall warts. These are the chargers for your cell phones and ipod chargers. Unplugging these unsightly devices, and unplugging appliances you are not using can lead to a lower utility bill and a greener Austin.

The Corporation for National and Community Service has produced a study, Volunteering in America: 2007 City Trends and Rankings, that ranked Austin 3rd behind only Minneapolis-St. Paul and Salt Lake City for large communities with the highest rates of volunteering. The study found that cities with high volunteer rates also have lower crime, higher employment, better education, and a better quality of life. The study also found that home owners with a vested interest in the community are more likely to volunteer to improve the quality of their communities.

It’s a good feeling to see Austin community service getting recognized. Wherever you live, you should consider volunteering to help build the quality of your city or town. For more information, check out the CNS press release.