Luxe Austin Homes - October, 2023

"Some median home prices increase in Lake Travis, Westlake in September"

Community Impact writes, "a few ZIP codes in the Lake Travis-Westlake market saw an increase in home sales and median home prices compared to last year, according to data from the Austin Board of Realtors.

While prices and sales were down across the market, there were a few outliers. Homes in 78732 saw the biggest price jump at over 17% year over year. Sales were also up the highest year over year in this ZIP code by 40%.

Median prices in 78733 dropped the most in the market, going for $1.5 million last September to just under $900,000 this September.

Sales in the market were also a mixed bag. Homes in 78746 sold 15 homes both last year and this year. For the remaining six ZIP codes, three had more home sales than last year, and three had fewer sales…

383 Views, 0 Comments

"10 Things Most Homebuyers Get Wrong About Getting a Mortgage Today"

Realtor.com writes, "while buying a home has always been a challenging milestone, today’s high interest rates have made this dream even harder to achieve.

Over the past two years, interest rates on home loans have nearly doubled from the 3% range to around 7% today. This tacks many hundreds extra onto the monthly expense of housing, stretching some homebuyers’ budgets to the breaking point. And while there are ways to lower those costs, navigating the home loan process is extremely complicated—particularly for first-time homebuyers.

“It’s very important for first-timers to do research and understand all their options before they start looking for a home,” says Cara Ameer, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker who is licensed in California and…

537 Views, 0 Comments

"First tiny home village in Austin suburb sees big demand"

Culturemap Austin reports, "a Round Rock developer built a first-of-its-kind community to bring a tiny solution to a large problem. He's tackling affordability with a new tiny home community called Mustard Seed Village.

"Very grateful. I mean, it's almost like a miracle in a sense," Mohammed Mbaya said.

Mbaya searched all over Cental Texas for an affordable place to live.

"Houses are expensive all around Round Rock, just like Austin. So to find a place like this in Round Rock, it's like, perfect," Mbaya said.

He said when he first found these homes, he wasn't immediately convinced. "Honestly, at first I was like, 'Tiny home, I don't know. I'm not sure how tiny it is,'" he said.

But after seeing the layout, he said it just made sense.…

345 Views, 0 Comments

"Where tens of thousands of new apartments will rise between Austin, San Antonio"

Austin Business Journal reports, "the San Antonio and Austin metros have more more than 55,000 apartment units under construction, highlighting the immense fortune developers are poring into the emerging metroplex.

Just looking at the I-35 corridor between the two big cities, 23,000-plus units are proposed, under construction or have come online in the past 12 months, according to data from MRI ApartmentData, a multifamily analytics firm tracking Sun Belt markets.

That shows multifamily developers and investors are eager to keep pouring money into dense housing in the region. To be sure, there are thousands of single-family homes in the pipeline as well, although many experts have said denser, more affordable housing is desperately needed to…

339 Views, 0 Comments

"Housing Market Predictions For 2023: When Will Home Prices Be Affordable Again?"

Forbes.com writes, "though winter may still be months away, housing market activity—already cooling due to eye-popping home prices and interest rates—may be on the verge of a deep freeze.

The national average 30-year mortgage rate rose to a 23-year high of 7.49% in the first week of October, according to Freddie Mac.

Given current rate conditions, it’s no wonder that year-over-year existing home sales sagged for the third consecutive month, slipping by 0.7%, with all four major U.S. regions posting declines, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Nonetheless, the housing market remains competitive for prospective buyers. With many homeowners “locked in” at low interest rates and unwilling to sell, demand continues to exceed…

343 Views, 0 Comments

"Austin earns top 10 ranking for the best foodie cities in the U.S., new report says"

Culturemap Austin writes, "just a week after Austin was deemed a top 10 city for vegans and vegetarians, the city is making waves as the No. 9 best city in the U.S. for foodies, according to a new study by personal finance experts WalletHub.

Major culinary events like the Austin Food and Wine Festival are a major draw for foodies, with more than 90 chefs and culinary experts providing signature bites from local, regional, and nationally-acclaimed restaurants. Austinites can catch the next fest on the first weekend in November.

WalletHub's study looked at more than 180 culinary hotspots from all over the U.S. and ranked them based on 28 different "foodie-friendliness" factors, including the accessibility and affordability of high-end restaurants;…

354 Views, 0 Comments

"Is the Housing Market Overvalued? What Buyers Need To Know"

Realtor.com writes, "is the housing market overvalued?

It’s an increasingly fraught question, and the answer might depend on who’s being asked.

Some real estate experts believe home prices are well above what they should be and expect them to begin coming down. Others think the high prices make sense given how many people are still in the market looking for properties, despite mortgage rates nearing 8%.

“If you look at how much income homebuyers are putting toward their housing payment, if the number is not the highest ever, it’s really darn close,” says Realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale.

No one wants to buy a home at the peak of the market—and then watch the home value trickle down.

Homes in 98 of the 100 largest housing…

349 Views, 0 Comments

"Guess which downtown Austin high-rise with a posh private club has a new name?"

Austin American-Statesman writes, "Chase Tower, a high-rise that looms as a 21-story landmark in downtown Austin, is getting a new name.

The name — Procore Tower — was revealed Wednesday. An unveiling event featured a 4-foot-tall cake replica of the building at 221 W. Sixth St., between Colorado and Lavaca streets.

It's being named after Procore, which provides construction management software. Procore leases eight floors —almost 107,000 square feet of space — in the building. The tower, which has undergone multiple changes of ownership and renovations since being completed in 1974, is owned and managed by CIM Group.

Los Angeles-based CIM co-owns the tallest completed building on Austin's skyline — the 58-story downtown high-rise named the…

332 Views, 0 Comments

"Millions of homes are vacant in large cities across America"

Austin Business Journal writes, "there are millions of homes sitting empty across America at a time when inventory and affordability are squeezing the nation's housing market.

According to a recent analysis of U.S. Census Bureau 2022 American Community Survey data by LendingTree Inc., there are nearly 5.5 million vacant housing units in the nation's 50 largest metro areas. That puts the housing vacancy rate across those metros at about 8%.

But the reasons why millions of homes are sitting vacant at a time when the nation's housing market is starved of inventory and home prices remain high — the median price of new houses sold in August was $430,300, down slightly from $436,600 a month prior — are varied and nuanced.

The study found, on…

361 Views, 0 Comments

"Pilot program could make zoning reviews more predictable, Austin staffers say"

Austin Business Journal reports, "a pilot program intended to improve Austin's rezoning process is set to be considered by City Council.

The six-month pilot program would extend deadlines for zoning and rezoning applications in addition to neighborhood plan applications with the intention of giving developers and landowners more time to refine their requests and avoid potentially missing a deadline that would require them to start the process from the beginning.

For example, land use cases will be extended from a 60-day consideration period to 120 days while whole neighborhood plan amendments will increase from 90 days to 120.

Jordan Feldman, a principal planner with the city, said the proposed changes would decrease the need for staff…

301 Views, 0 Comments