Best city to live in, second best for finding a job, one of the top “moved to” cities, among the top job-generating cities, top 10 for quality of life, and on and on. There are a lot of great places in this country but Central Texas has a lot going for it. Continue reading
In the real world here, I find that modest preparations make more sense for prospective home sellers than the extreme makeovers we see so often on TV.
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“Central Texas is not in the same boat as many other parts of the country. While home sales remain at a slow pace, prices have not dropped, and many economists say an upturn is in the making for 2012 as the region continues to add jobs.” The prevalence of distressed home sales (short sales and foreclosures) in other markets has had much to do with their declining home values and continuing market malaise. Continue reading
Innovation, entrepreneurship, investment, and growth are cultural mainstays in Austin. Being the Live Music Capital and all that that means to the community is an important part of this city, as is the moderate weather, Texas Hill Country, the Highland Lakes, and our central location with easy access to the rest of the state. All of these factors work together to make Austin the dynamic community it is, and these articles and many others tell the stories that make the future look bright. Continue reading
Each of these stories represents confidence in the economic and financial strength of Austin and our healthy supply of high-skill employees. Continue reading
“Since we know Austin went into the recession later, emerged earlier, and lost fewer jobs than most other major metros, it may be helpful to put this month’s performance ranking in perspective by also looking at where Austin and these metros are currently vis-à-vis peak pre-recession employment.” Continue reading
Volatile. Unpredictable. Erratic. I have used all those adjectives to describe market conditions for Austin/Central Texas residential real estate over the past few months. They all apply, and 2011 will call for ongoing analysis and forecasting. New construction and newly issued building permits should give us a glimpse at the future, however. Continue reading
Despite ups and downs over the past year, we saw the lowest average home sale price in seven months in January 2011. On the other hand, the average price in January 2011 was up 5.2% compared to one year earlier — much stronger than even the strongest of the Case-Shiller cities. Continue reading
The February market snapshot shows mixed results, but important point of emphasis regarding the Austin/Central Texas residential real estate market remains remarkable strength in property values. Continue reading
The strength of current gross rents, and the stability in multifamily pricing for most of last year, suggest that we have seen the bottom of this cycle. New project announcements and building permits for multifamily construction (including substantial additions to the inventory of available apartment units) show that large investors and developers are betting on coming growth. Now is the time for smaller investors to take advantage of the trend as well. Continue reading