Austin Real Estate Blog

Austin Job Market Tops in Great Places for Recent Grads

Recent Grad? Looking for the perfect place to make your home now that you are on your own? Well if you just happened to see the “Best Cities for Recent College Grads” list on Forbes.com, then you already know that Austin, Texas grabbed the number three spot on that list. We were right behind our other favorite Texas cities, Houston and Dallas. We’re guessing that the Lone Star State is looking pretty good to a lot of people right now.

Recent Grads: Plenty of Reasons to Love Austin

Austin was ranked number three on the recent grad best cities for several reasons. According to the article, not only is the average starting salary in the upper $30’s, but we also have a labor force that tends to weather recessions well. This is in part to two of our largest employers the state government and the University of Texas. There also is a major tech presence in Austin with companies like Advanced Micro Devices, Dell, Intel and 3M having headquarters or major offices here. The last reason the article gives for why Austin ranked third is that the percentage of people in their 20’s that reside in Texas’ capital city is 26. So you aren’t going to feel like the youngest person in your neighborhood.

Recent Grads Won’t be Bored in Austin

Aside from the reasons listed in the Forbes article, we think that are plenty of other reasons that make Austin a great place to call home for recent grads.

There is all the music and nightlife. Austin has more music venues and watering holes just in their downtown area than most cities have in their entire city limits. There are also a ton of great parks and lakes in the middle of and throughout the city. Finally, you can’t beat the weather. Sure it gets hot for a few months during the summer, but with an average of 231 sunny days per year you definitely aren’t going to complain.

Recession Proof Austin

According to Forbes magazine, Austin is ranked #3 in recession proof cities; right behind San Antonio (#2) and Oklahoma City (#1). The reason for the high ranking is because of low unemployment and affordable housing costs. Unemployment in Austin, Texas is 3.6% percent down from 3.8% at this time last year and the median price of a home is still under $200,000 in most areas of Austin.

Recession Proof Austin is the Place to Buy

Austin was ranked by Entrepreneur magazine as one of the top places to buy a home. Reporter Danielle Babb based her decision on the fact that Austin and Round Rock have seen incredible job growth and stable home prices even though most of the country is in a downturn. She also cited that jobs are continuing to grow here, which is a strong factor for keeping prices stable and inventory low.

Other cities that were on the list were Mission Viejo, California, Palm Beach, Florida and Las Vegas, Nevada. Palm Beach and Las Vegas were citied because of their number of foreclosure homes in 2007 making their market on the low cost end moving back up.

Recession Proof isn’t Only Reason Austin’s Great

Austin is a great city to live in with everything that is has to offer: live music venues, top notch festivals, hike and bike trails galore, rock-climbing, lake living, great shopping and great food. Within the city limits itself, you have several parks and lakes such as; Lady Bird Lake (also known as Town Lake), Lake Austin, Barton Springs Pool, Barton Creek Greenbelt, and Zilker Park.

Many celebrities and world-class athletes have made Austin their home because of the laid-back and welcoming atmosphere of the residents and because of the plethora of outdoors and athletic activities that this community supports with fervor.

A teenager in Canada has discovered a method to degrade plastic bags in three months using a bacterial cocktail. This discovery would be a great opportunity showcase a new “green” technology and reduce the volume of plastics going to landfill. We all know that Austin loves pub from being green. The technology appears to be fairly simple and inexpensive to implement - the kid did the experiments in his garage. There might be a fairly good payback on the investment.

Although the technology is probably years from reality, it would allow the fine residents of Austin to keep their choice for paper or plastic, and it would keep Austinites (and their sales tax revenue) shopping in Austin rather than shopping in the burbs for the choice, no offense to burbs intended.

Austin Energy has committed $17 million of your tax dollars for an unnecessary upgrade to the city’s 290,000 electric meters. Wow, could this news be more timely with yesterday’s rant about the $20.6 million dollar budget deficit.

Sure, these meters supplied by Cellnet are nice, advanced pieces of technology that will supposedly improve the customer experience and “allow for better analysis of energy consumption”, but in a city with a projected $20.6 million budget deficit, it is not a good business decision to waste money like this!!

Accoding to The Stateman article, the cost will not be offset by a reduction in the contract workforce that currently reads the meters because those same contractors also read the water meters. From Cellnet’s website, the only cost savings associated with these meters are said to be efficiencies gained from eliminating meter readers. As far as this blogger can tell, there is no payback on the $17 million “investment”.

This is just another example of one the mayor’s “I wanna be governor someday” projects. It’s also interesting that the Vice President of Marketing and Sales of Cellnet, Gary High, was a classmate of  Mayor Wynn at Texas A&M in the early ’80s.  A&M is a big university - probably just a coincidence.

I’m not privy to all the details, but on the surface this smells. It’s unfair to the Austin tax payers and utility customers. The project should have been, at the very least deferred, until this city is in better financial condition. Why not replace meters as needed?

Let’s face it - this a project that was probably justified and funded under the “Green” umbrella even though I doubt there will be any green benefits. Austin Energy is a City of Austin department and should not be sheltered from the budget crisis because being green is the cause du jour. Don’t get me wrong being green is the right thing to do, but let’s not get duped by snake oil salesmen claiming benefits that don’t exist.

Wake up Austinites. This should not be happening in a city with the political awareness of Austin.

Does it surprise anyone that the 2008 Austin real estate appraisals have increased 12.5% on average? The City of Austin is predicting a budget deficit of $20.6 million for fiscal 2009, and city hall is scrambling to find money (probably yours) to fill the gap. The dramatic increase in appraisals is more than likely a mandate from high within city hall to get the most out of imminent property tax increases. The city receives about 1/3 of its revenue from property taxes and about another 1/3 from sales taxes, and with the economic downturn, city hall is predicting less revenue from sales taxes. Since the city probably won’t increase the sales tax rate, look out property taxes.

I don’t want to get off on a rant here, but… (lights dim)

Shouldn’t the City of Austin eliminate wasteful spending and squeeze the $20.6 million out of existing budgets, similar to what real world business would do when revenues are down? Is that absurd for me to question this? Yes, of course it is, where talking about bureaucrats here. Words yet to be uttered within the walls of Austin City Hall: attrition, early retirement, hiring freeze, travel restrictions, reduction in contracted services (probably the most expensive city contracts are the ones making the recommendations on how to close the budget gap), reduction in capital projects and expenditures, overtime restrictions, reduction in force, deferred maintenance, mandatory vacations, etc.

The fine citizens of Austin shouldn’t be burdened with more taxes. The City of Austin could run efficiently with fewer employees, fewer departments, less capital expenditures, fewer facilities, fewer consultants, fewer “I wanna be governor someday” projects, etc.

Avon restaurant and wine bar, Vin48, is looking to expand in Austin. The eclectic, euro-inspired bistro is looking for spaces in the downtown Austin and south Congress areas. Vin48 is one of my favorite places to dine and hang out while in the Vail Valley. I chatted with an owner on my last trip to Beaver Creek, and he seemed interested in opening a location in Texas since some of the ownership has roots in the Austin area. Who can blame them, Austin is great. He looked me up last week while in Austin and I showed him several potential locations. I hope that we can find the perfect property and make the second locale a reality.

Austin home search will never be the same with the launch of HomeToAustin.com 1.0 powered by Realzi. The updated site launching later this month will feature a custom front-end CMS specifically tailored to meet the needs of Realtors® and a custom RETS client that allow greater flexibility and search engine relevance for property pages. Say goodbye to custom IDX, RETS is the future. During beta testing on our sister site, HomeToVail.com, Vail Realtor® Daniel Estrada was “amazed” how well the site performed. ABOR has hit a home run by introducing RETS compatibility for the Austin home search market.

The 2008 Travis County appraisals are now available online. It’s time to check your home’s value and file protests. Travis County deadline for filing a tax appraisal protest is May 31 or 30 days after the Travis County appraisal district mailed you a notice of appraised value, whichever is later.

Having a Greener Home

With all the concern about the environment, it is no wonder that more and more people are interested in making their home more green. The list below will provide you with several small changes that will make a big impact.

Green Home: Tip One

One of the easiest ways to make your home more green is simply turning down your thermostat. By lowering your thermostat one degree in the winter and raising it one degree in the winter, you can reduce your energy costs by almost five percent.

Green Home: Tip Two

Appliances use the more energy than anything else in your home; unless, of course, you have Energy Star-qualified appliances. These appliances answer to a higher standard of energy efficiency than non-Energy Star appliances. The qualification guidelines for these home appliances are set by the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Department of Energy. Using these appliances will save you somewhere around $75 per year on your energy bill.

Green Home: Tip Three

At one point you will decide to pull up that wall-to-wall carpeting and want to put down some nice hardwood floors. If you choose to upgrade your home in this manner, make sure you use flooring that comes from rapidly renewable resources (i.e. bamboo) and is solid wood.

Green Home: Tip Four

You know that window your house, the one that you can feel the nice Austin breeze blowing through it even if it is closed. That window represents wasted money and energy if you are running the air conditioning or if your heat is on. Going around and checking the seal around your windows and doors is a great way to help make your home a green home. Save money and conserve energy by caulking all cracks and leaks in your house.

Green Home: Tip Five

The final tip for making your home a green home is replacing your light bulbs. All of your light bulbs. Using just five, that’s right five, compact fluorescent bulbs will reduce energy use by 75% and could save you up to $100 on your yearly electric bill. If you think that’s great, using compact fluorescent bulbs also helps in removing greenhouse gases from the air.

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.