"The hot Austin housing market is stabilizing."

According to CultureMap Austin, "For the third month in a row, the Austin Board of Realtors reports that the local housing market is returning to normal. Following the unprecedented price growth experienced in early 2022, the market is shifting back to a normal pace, fueled by skyrocketing inventory and normalized home price appreciation.

The latest monthly report shows that in August 2022, the metro's median home price jumped 5.5 percent year over year, to $496,038. While a record high for the month of August, ABOR says the growth "[indicates] a normalization of home price appreciation that economists say is consistent with historical norms."

In the city of Austin, the median price grew 3.6 percent year over year to $555,000; Travis County's…

260 Views, 0 Comments

According to Austin Business Journal, "There’s another industrial development sprouting in the fertile I-35 corridor.

Mississippi-based EastGroup Properties Inc. broke ground Sept. 12 on Stonefield 35, a 275,559-square-foot project in Buda, the company announced Sept. 22. The development comes amid impressive growth, especially for industrial space, in the corridor between Austin and San Antonio.

The development will be built on about 21 acres at the northeast corner of I-35 and Robert S. Light Boulevard. EastGroup is constructing three buildings with varied dimensions.

The largest building will be 148,233 square feet and equipped with 51 dock doors and two ramps, according to marketing material. The building will have 195 parking spaces.

305 Views, 0 Comments

According to the Austin Business Journal, "A Phoenix-based builder of rental homes is increasing its investment in the Austin area to $164 million with its latest land purchase.

NexMetro Communities LLC announced Sept. 16 the purchase of 25 acres in Liberty Hill, where the company will construct a neighborhood of 260 single-family rental homes called Avilla Rio Oaks. It will join two other NexMetro projects in the works for in the suburbs around Austin; the company already announced another in Liberty Hill and an additional community in Georgetown.

"NexMetro is actively seeking new sites ideal for our luxury leased Avilla Homes neighborhoods in multiple Austin submarkets," stated Jason Flory, managing director of NexMetro's Austin division.…

244 Views, 0 Comments

No one can gaze into a crystal ball and tell us what the population of the Austin metro area will be two decades from now. Forecasts from professional prognosticators give us a pretty good idea, though.

A CultureMap analysis of the most recent population projections from the Texas Water Development Board, a government agency that helps manage the state’s water supply, shows the Austin area may enter eye-popping territory by 2040. The analysis indicates the population of the Austin metro area will exceed the population of the now-larger San Antonio metro area in just 18 years.

Based on the water board’s county-by-county outlook for Texas, the population of the five-county Austin area will reach 3,340,450 in 2040. By comparison, the population of…

243 Views, 0 Comments

The Austin real estate market is in the middle of a shift.  While the housing market in Austin is still a seller's market, the trend is changing. More would-be buyers are now renting, thanks to a cooling down market. Next year, the market will shift from a seller's to a buyer's market.

Austin's Housing Market Pushed More Would-be Buyers Into Renting During Covid-19 Pandemic

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Austin's housing market was tight, with rents rising by about 5% annually. In Austin alone, there are nearly 125 people moving every day. In addition, builders haven't kept up with demand, and city zoning laws limit the building of new multifamily housing. As a result, home prices have reached new peaks. In May alone, the median sale price in Austin…

246 Views, 0 Comments

For years, Austin has starred on all sorts of lists — best cities for millennials, best cities for tech workers, best places to live, and so forth. Now, we’ve earned perhaps the nicest accolade a city can receive.

Language-learning app Preply surveyed more 1,500 residents of the country’s largest metropolitan areas to determine which cities are home to the politest people and the rudest people. Fortunately, Austin topped the list of the polite cities (or, put another way, the least rude ones).

“From our results, it seems that Austinites enjoy a laid-back, friendly city atmosphere, even as the city continues to grow rapidly,” Preply observes. “In general, the state of Texas has a reputation for politeness and friendliness, along with the rest of…

285 Views, 0 Comments

The Austin housing market continues to become a healthier ecosystem for buyers — a welcome sign for many after years of sellers having heavy hands.

The metro’s housing inventory increased to 2.9 months in August, according to the Austin Board of Realtors’ monthly market report. That’s the highest level of inventory since September 2018, well before the Covid-19 pandemic era that saw Austin’s housing inventory crater even further. Additionally, median home sales prices continued to fall since setting a record of $550,000 in April and May, and are under $500,000 for the first time since February.

The inventory is bolstered by declining home sales and an increase in active listings.

August saw 2,924 closed home sales, a 23% decrease from last…

247 Views, 0 Comments

Owning a home is a major financial milestone and an achievement to take pride in. One major reason: the equity you build as a homeowner gives your net worth a big boost. And with high inflation right now, the link between owning your home and building your wealth is especially important.

If you’re looking to increase your financial security, here’s why now could be a good time to start on your journey toward homeownership.

Owning a Home Is a Key Ingredient for Financial Success

A report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) details several homeownership trends, including a significant gap in net worth between homeowners and renters. It finds:

“. . . the net worth of a homeowner was about $300,000 while that of a…

242 Views, 0 Comments

In a wild twist, one of the nation’s most prolific developers has emerged as the frontrunner to buy out of bankruptcy a six-acre South Congress Avenue site primed for redevelopment.

After the top two bidders for the South Congress site proved either unwilling or unable to timely close on the sales, The Related Companies LP, a New York-based developer with an estimated $60 billion portfolio, negotiated with a Chapter 7 trustee to make a $65 million offer.

Related was approved by a bankruptcy judge Sept. 15 to purchase the site for $65 million, provided it can close on the deal by Sept. 30.

An attorney representing the company, Josh Judd of law firm Andrews Myers PC, told ABJ Sept. 16 that his client is "not anticipating any problems" closing…

305 Views, 0 Comments

A major real estate investor in Austin has acquired a sizable apartment complex in the fast-growing suburb from a prominent developer based in the city.

Palladius Capital Management acquired the 342-unit, located in Kyle from Endeavor Real Estate Group, which completed the project earlier this year.

The sale price was not disclosed.

Kyle and other areas south of Austin have proven to be a popular market for multifamily construction and projects as of late

The complex Palladius got is called Citizen House Kyle, and located along the I-35 Innovation Corridor, part of the larger Dry River District, which includes a 65-acre mixed-use community also being developed by Endeavor Real Estate Group. The deal for the apartment complex includes one-…

298 Views, 0 Comments