Austin Real Estate Blog

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.

On June 20, the Lost Creek Municipal Utility District rejected the City of Austin Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) that is part of Austin’s Municipal Annexation Plan of the Lost Creek Neighborhood. Lost Creek is a 789 acre development within the Eanes ISD located in western Austin consisting of 1,156 single family homes and 85 existing multi family units.

The Lost Creek MUD rejected the Austin SPA because it does not provide “reasonable and equitable benefits” for Lost Creek residents by exclusion of provisions for Lost Creek residents to form a limited district to maintain parks and enforce current deed restrictions.

Search for homes in Lost Creek Austin or contact Mike Malinowski for more information.

Both Google and Austin have been known for their free-spirited nature, but in the near future, the two may share more in common than just that. Currently, Google is looking for an engineering director in Austin to head a group of 100 or more engineers. Furthermore, it is rumored that Google has indicated that Austin is on its radar for a future research and development center. With Google rapidly expanding–its work force has doubled every year for the past four years running–both Austin and Google can benefit from increased cooperation.

Austin would seem a natural fit for the online search engine and software company for a number of reasons. The first is the makeup of the Austin labor pool, which “supplies Silicon Valley skills but at a fraction of the price.” Another attractive feature of the Austin market is the availability of direct flights from Austin to much of the rest of the country, allowing Google to operate in a midsized city but still be connected to the rest of the country. Furthermore, as mentioned above, both Austin and Google share a free-spirited nature where risk-taking is favorably looked upon, laying the foundation for the Google business mantra. If the current pace of rhetoric between the two parties is kept up, the future looks bright for both Google and Austin.

A new $200 million downtown Austin art-themed museum, hotel, and luxury condo development was announced on June 11. The 44 story project, named 21c Austin, will be located one block from the Austin Convention Center. 21c Austin will feature a free-to-the-public contemporary art collection and 12 “favorable rate” lofts for Austin artists. The 780K square feet building will have a 209-room hotel, 202 residential units, spa, pool, museum, and restaurants. Groundbreaking is planned for spring 2008.

Search for Downtown Austin Condos or contact Mike Malinowski for more information.

Austin green home builder announced the new development Fiore at Nine Sixty Nine, a 220 acre eco-friendly, state-of-the-art community in east Austin near Agave and The Villas. Fiore will be the first 5-Star rated green community in the nation and feature single family homes with a unique hill-country style and downtown Austin views. Fiore will feature the latest trend in green home building including 5 star energy rating, solar orientation, natural lighting, and low environmental impact building materials.

See current homes for sale in Agave Austin or contact Mike Malinowski for more information.

The Dripping Springs Independent School District has received a donation from homebuilder Pulte Homes Inc. to help purchase 49 acres on Sawyer Ranch Road for construction of a new DSISD elementary school. Pulte Homes is developing Highpointe, a 1000 home master planned community with homes priced from $250,000 to $500,000.

Two hundred fifty of the Highpointe homes have already sold since June 2005, and many other developments in Dripping Springs are planned. The new Dripping Springs educational capacity is needed to support the rapid growth in the school district.

The City of Cedar Park, approximately 30 miles north of Austin, is experiencing record residential and commercial growth. As a result, Cedar Park city officials are proposing a bond election in November that will fund new city infrastructure. If approved by voters, the improvements would include improvements to Brushy Creek Road, improvements to RM 1431, and the improvement of turn lanes at several intersections.

Search for Cedar Park Real Estate or contact Mike Malinowski for more information.

According to Worldwide ERC and Primacy Relocation, Austin ranks 5th best large city to relocate a family. Several real estate factors were taken into consideration including home prices, indexed home affordability, appreciation rates, and property taxes. Environmental leadership, a quality that Austin prides itself on, was also considered and included air quality and watershed quality. Economic factors included sales tax, unemployment rates, population growth and job growth. Austin schools contributed to the ranking by doing well in areas such as educational levels, school expenditures per student, students in public school, and SAT/ACT percentile. Also influencing the rating were more abstract factors such as quality of life, climate factors, recreation and leisure, and arts and culture.

It’s home buying season in Austin. Are you ready? As Austin schools let out for the summer, many people are looking to sell their homes and realize the tremendous appreciation in the Austin real estate market over the last five years and begin the search for their special new piece of Austin real estate. Selling your home will require research and planning.

The US Commerce Department reported on May 16 that construction of new homes in the US were up 2.5% in April but building permits fell by 8.9%, the largest amount in 17 years, signaling that the real estate market is still slumping. However, the Austin real estate market remains strong in the more desirable neighborhoods.

The Austin real estate market median home price was $172,000 in 2006 which is higher than the Texas median of $143,000 and lower than the national median of $221,900. Austin has experienced a significant increase in the distribution of home sold in the $200,000+ range and a decrease in the home sold in range less the $120,000. The number of Austin homes sold in February and March 2007 is basic flat from 2006. Overall the Austin home market has seen an price increase of about 7% from 2006.