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Austin, TX Real Estate News

By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
 One of the most common questions asked by first time condo buyers -- especially in Austin where the popularity of condos is rapidly on the rise -- is how much individual buildings charge in monthly condo fees. Condo fees fund the daily operations and maintenance of most condo buildings. They cover security, landscaping, cleaning of common area, common area energy use, maintenance, and other key building functions. On average, our research shows, condo unit owners can expect to pay $0.34 / SF / per month or $340 in monthly condo fees for a 1,000 SF unit. For more information on total condo costs, check out our detailed posting on condo cost of ownership. Looking at detailed MLS records on more than 30 units on the market today, we've calculated the rough fees for the major downtown cond...
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By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
May was a great third month for AustinTowers -- with more than 1,200 visitors in just 31-days, it has been very exciting to see interest in the site grow so quickly. I am particularly thankful to the large number of readers who have completed the survey or sent thoughts, ideas, and feedback via email. It is this data and feedback which has led to many of the changes in the site. If you have thoughts that you haven't shared, we hope that you will send us a note! Thank you for reading the site and sharing your thoughts and ideas!  ****Visit http://www.austintowers.net for a complete guide to all downtown condo projects, real-time condo listings, and the complete unedited AustinTowers Blog****  
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By Julie Elliott
(New Home Market Center)
I have really enjoyed helping folks buy and sell real estate in the Austin area.....Austin is truly the melting pot of the US  I have had clients from all over the US move here for one reason or another.  I consider myself to be a technical savvy REALTOR.  Check out my web sights - buyhomecedarpark.com and austintxlakerealestate.com.  You can find homes for sale. school information and many other helpful items.Please feel free to email me if you do not find something that you are looking for..... Julie ElliottSky Realty512-632-6278juliemailto:julie-elliott@austin.rr.com
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By Mike Elliott
I just heard that there is going to be a Home Depot at Mueller.  The local retail component of Mueller is still being cooked, but I hope we can get a smaller local hardware store in there.  Austin is home to a great local store called Breed and Company.  I think they would be an excellent addition to the neighborhood, but no word on that yet.Don't get me wrong, I'm not completely opposed to a Home Depot there.  I would prefer a Lowe's over the HD, but this neighborhood is sorely lacking for some type of hardware store.
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By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
New 31-Story Rental Tower Breaks Ground While this site focuses on condo development, today's announcement of a new rental project demonstrates the breadth of downtown development. The project -- Legacy@Town Lake -- is a 31-story, 187 unit rental project in the Rainey Street district near the Milago off Town Lake. According to the developer, rents are expected to range from $1,330 to $6,930 (average rent will be $2,298) for units that range in size from 659 square feet to 2,876 square feet. I'm not sure how many people are looking for a $7K / month for a 2,900SF rental unit, but I am very curious to find out. Here is the summary from the Statesman: Construction has started on Legacy@Town Lake, a 31-story luxury apartment tower that is the latest high-rise to break ground amid downtown A...
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By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
  A new group, "savetownlake.org" has been formed and has initiated legal action against the city to fight variances for a variety of condo projects on the banks of Town Lake. Essentially, they want to make sure that the city does not grant variances to allow new projects to build closer to the lake than current ordinances allow. Here is the summary from the Statesman: An Austin citizens group has asked a judge to temporarily stop the city from granting exceptions to an ordinance that limits development along Town Lake in the latest battle over dense development in and near downtown. The outcome could have ramifications for future development along the lake, where developers have proposed more than 1 million square feet of residential projects. Some of those projects are seeking excepti...
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By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
There has been lots of talk about gentrification of central neighborhoods such as south and east austin over the last few years. It seems that central living is in high demand -- prices are going up, developers are moving in, and whole swaths of central austin are being gentrified. But no area is being gentrified faster than downtown where warehouses, parking lots, and office buildings are being replaced by large condo projects. With this wave of development, downtown Austin should gain a much more vibrant downtown. At the same time, the city is losing some landmarks. Las Manitas is being displaced by a hotel, Austin Music Hall is being razed and rebuilt. And now, the bright pink Railyard condos are being painted a much more neutral palette. The Railyard of Today: Bright Pink The Raily...
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By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
 The New York Times published an interesting analysis of the development pressures on the hill country surrounding Austin. The hill country is one of Austin's greatest assets and has historically been protected from development by the difficulty of providing a reliable water supply across the rural region. Recently, however, new water infrastructure has changed the equation, adding to development pressures in the hill country.Here is a quote from the article: The Hill Country, an area that extends about 150 miles west of Austin, is quickly becoming suburban. With its rolling hills, lakes and rivers, it is attracting Texans eager to escape city life, and out-of-state buyers who can buy more acreage for less, real estate agents say, than they might pay in other states.“People want to live...
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By Eric Olson
(Sky Realty)
The Austin Real Estate market is going great! I have been seeing some real increases in value in the last year.  Some of the areas have been increasing as much as 16% based on the homes I looked at. These homes were in the 200-300K price range.  They were 3 and 4 bedroom homes with 2 car garages and stone or brick exterior.  These homes were in popular neighborhoods near shopping and entertainment. Austin still has some very affordable areas.  Many of the areas around Austin still have homes in the low 100'S.  These homes tend to be built in the late 80's and early 90's and are located in subdivisions were the lots can be as large as a 1/4 acre.  Investors like these homes since they are priced low enough to have a positive cash flow with the strong rental demand.  Rental demand is star...
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By Steve Crossland, Austin TX Real Estate
(Crossland Real Estate)
I moved two new renters in on Sunday July 1st. Both moved into homes that had been vacated by tenants with leases ending Saturday June 30th. There are all manner of things that can go wrong with such a tight turnaround, especially on a weekend. Nevertheless, I've always been a proponent of quick-turning a rental unit whenever possible. The most I ever did was 12 next-day turnovers on May31/June1 back in the year 2000. That was pure madness, and I was still out checking up on the properties, painters and my carpet people at 1AM on the 1st. It didn't go perfect, but everybody got moved in and the loose ends and problems were resolved soon after. Primarily though, those 12 property owners did not suffer one single day of vacancy loss. That's a touchdown no matter how ugly.There are many Pr...
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By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
  The editors of AustinTowers love Austin and are always excited to learn more about our readers. Registration is free and private: your comments and surveys are essential to help us continually improve our coverage of the downtown Austin condo market. In addition, we will provide registered visitors with exclusive invitations to open houses and full access to AustinTowers market research. Thank you for taking the time to let us know more about you!Whether you are a realtor, developer, seller, or buyer, please take a few minutes to take our survey. We'll publish the results in an upcoming posting!You can take the survey at: http://www.austintowers.net/at/register.php   ****Visit http://www.austintowers.net for unedited postings, photos, and the complete AustinTowers Blog**** 
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By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
Two months ago, Austin Towers initiated a comprehensive unit-by-unit analysis of appreciation in the Nokonah. The Nokonah, A luxury high-rise project completed in 2002, was one of the first successful projects that helped to ignite the current condo boom in downtown Austin. The 11-story project is located at 9th and Lamar just north of Whole Foods and on the western border of downtown. When the Nokonah was built, the real estate market in Austin was stalling as the regional economy slowed. It was not clear how well the new project would do. Five years later we know the answer: the project sold out and the buyers have seen significant appreciation in the value of their units.   As we mentioned in Part I of our analysis, In order to better understand condo values in the downtown market, ...
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By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
Now that it is open and available for occupancy, the 240 unit Milago is completely sold out. Despite the fact that all units have been purchased, it is curious to see 30 units -- 1 / 8th of the building -- currently listed on MLS. While some could be from people whose plans have changed between when they signed the contract and now, the most likely option is condo flippers. It will be interesting to see what happens. While the Austin market increased by 5% last year, this is hardly the sort of growth that gets flippers excited. Now, with 30 units competing for buyers, it will be interesting to see how fast they turn and whether prices increase as the market strengthens. ****Visit http://www.austintowers.net for unedited postings, photos, and the complete AustinTowers Blog**** 
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By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
The Capital View Corridor is a unique Austin phenomenon. As part of the downtown master plan, the city has set aside a number of corridors where development is severely restricted. The corridor essentially requires all buildings to be short so that they don't block views of the capital from a number of predetermined angles. With 30 such corridors, the result severely limits downtown growth (read our previous posting on this)In order to increase downtown density, a city council advisory board is recommending changes to the corridors. Here is the summary of today's news from the Statesman:Of the 30 city views of the Capitol evaluated by an Austin City Council advisory board, a dozen are being recommended for change.The Downtown Commission characterizes the changes as mostly technical in n...
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By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
The growth of the site has been amazing over the last three months - we're now averaging nearly 1,000 visitors per month -- it's great to see so much interest in downtown high rise condo development. On our home page, there is about 40 links. Interestingly enough, the link that gets the most click is not the blog or the project navigator or the condo project rankings. It's the link for the profile of Novare's 360 development. With 430 units across 44-floors, it's the biggest downtown project so far. With units starting at $190K, it's also the most reasonable. According to the developer, 75% of the units were under contract by the end of March, just 3 weeks after they went on the market.The Austin condo market is so new that it is very hard to predict what will happen over the next few y...
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By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
When you focus on price-per-square-foot in evaluating costs, downtown condos may seem expensive. But there is more to the cost:- Energy costs in a condo are typically very low: it's not uncommon for average utilities in a 2,000 SF unit (Electric + Gas + Water) to be under $100 per month. A similar house with a lawn could have average monthly utilities in the $300 - $500 range.- Maintenance costs are included so you won't have to spend $10K for a new HVAC unit, roof, or other potentially expensive repairs.- Downtown living can enable a different life style. Some couples or families may be able to eliminate a car and the related gas, insurance, and financing payments that come with it.- Many buildings include amenities such as swimming pools, shared "guest" bedrooms, etc. that allow tenan...
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So a little backstory. Walmart decided to open a store in Austin. Not just a normal Walmart but one of the new mega 2 story Walmarts. At the time the information became public knowledge Walmart told residents that the real estate plan was already approved and that their was nothing anyone could do to stop it. After some digging neighbors found that the correct approval process based on Austin city code was not followed. So last week the first lawsuit was filed by RG4N against the city of Austin. RG4N is a community group formed to fight Walmart's proposed plan for this location. This was followed by a lawsuit filed today by allandale the neighborhood association closest to the proposed Walmart. This is of course after Walmart has made implications that they will sue the city of Austin i...
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Location: Austin, Tx Friday, July 20th ∙ 6-7 pm Keller Williams NW @ 183 and MOPAC Topics CoveredCan I qualify for a home mortgage loan? What does my credit report say, and how will a mortgage banker look at it? How much home can I afford to buy? How should I go about finding the right home?  You’ve probably heard that interest rates are now at historic lows. But you may not have realized that, as a result of these interest rates, thousands of people who could not qualify for a home loan 6 months ago can now afford to buy their own home – even if their financial condition has not improved! Now you can come to a free one-hour seminar taught by one of Austin’s most recognized experts in mortgage lending and find out for yourself whether you’re ready to buy your own home. FREE CREDIT ANALY...
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By john smith
(New Castle Real Estate, LLC)
Help for Texas and moreSandy Pope512-923-5214 cell or 512-267-2616 officebuyfromsandy@pieceofaustin.comIs the value of your home going down as well?Do you owe more on your house than you could sell it for?Has life made making your mortgage difficult, if not a strain? You don't have to file bankruptcy or face foreclosure. There is now a solution "Short Sale". You may have heard about it, but what is it? A Short Sale occurs when a homeowner owes more on their property than the property is worth, and the bank is willing to accept less. Let me help you save your credit. Would you like more information about Short Sales or if you have any questions, please give me a call or email me.Sandy Pope512-923-5214 cell or 512-267-2616 officebuyfromsandy@pieceofaustin.com
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By Robert Rees - Austin Real Estate
(Robert Rees Realty, Inc)
Earlier today I posted Austin's Stats for June, in which you can see the trend...List Price UP, Sales Price UP, Price/Sqft UP, Days On Market DOWN. These are all positives, however, the number of Homes Sold is DOWN significantly. Year to date is down 5% but the month of June it was down 24% compared to LAST YEAR!!This usually is a sign of decreases buyers, which will most of the time means that the sales prices may start to tail off. HOWEVER, as long as there is still a good demand of buyers then the area still should continue to grow. This is merely one factor. I don't currently track how many NEW LISTINGS came up within the month, but that would help to give a little better idea. If there are MORE New Listings than last year, then that would be a clear sign of lost momentum. If there ...
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