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More than 3 1/2 million acres have burned in Texas this year, and just in the Austin area something more than 800 homes have been destroyed in the past few days! There’s also plenty of hurricane damage and flooding for others to deal with. Let’s all pray and keep those affected in our thoughts! Continue reading
There’s no way to put lipstick on this and improve the national picture. The housing industry is troubled and is likely to remain so for some time to come. But I encourage folks who already own homes in Austin, or plan to, to keep the faith. Our fair city’s performance remains much stronger than national news stories will lead you to believe. Continue reading
There is every reason to expect some seasonal softness in unit sales and prices in the coming months, but as I mentioned at the outset the Austin/Central Texas economy remains resilient. Economic strength continues to attract employers and employees to move here, that trend is filling available rental space and pushing rents upward, and as those new Austinites either sell homes elsewhere or just gain confidence in their futures they become Austin-area homeowners. Continue reading
Lot’s of reasons to “like” Austin …. Continue reading
General economic uncertainty aside, I believe that buyers who stay on the sidelines over the next six to twelve months — especially in the Austin area — will find that they missed the best opportunity to become homeowners we have seen in many years.
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Six months ago I compared “typical” investments in 2010 in single family homes as rental properties in various parts of Austin. Now, I want to offer an updated look at residential real estate investments in the first half of 2011 — this time including single family homes, duplexes, and fourplexes. Continue reading
Even as chaotic market conditions still dominate press reports about real estate nationally, the Austin/Central Texas residential market continues to demonstrate fundamental strength. Sales volume is up for five consecutive months, and average and median home values have appreciated all year. Local and regional economic results and expectations are promising. Continue reading
Austin and Washington, DC continue to buck the trend, gaining value year-over-year. As I pointed out in my last post, the magnitude of the gain in Austin remains impressive, even compared to Washington, DC. Continue reading
The Case-Shiller indices have been losing ground year-to-year for several months. For much longer — about sixteen months — both Austin and Washington, DC have been gaining. And look at the magnitude of those gains — Austin vs. Washington! Yes, Washington home values have appreciated more than Austin since 2000, but it would have been very easy for five of those years to pay more for a home there than the current market would yield. Not so in Austin.
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Builders’ confidence in the Single Family sector remains weak, but strong permitting activity in the Multifamily arena bodes well for the Austin/Central Texas residential market. Continue reading
Bill Morris on Austin Real Estate 