Luxe Austin Homes - October, 2024

"Mortgage Rates Rise to 6.44%, Yet ‘Buyers May Be Feeling Ready To Act’"

Realtor.com shares, "Mortgage rates rose from 6.32% last week to 6.44% for a 30-year fixed home loan for the week ending Oct. 17, according to Freddie Mac.

“The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased for the third consecutive week, moving closer to 6.5%,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in a statement. “In general, higher rates reflect the strength in the economy that is supportive of the housing market. But notably, as compared to a year ago, rates are more than one percentage point lower and potential homebuyers can stand to benefit, especially by shopping around for the best quote as rates can vary widely between mortgage lenders.”

This wasn’t exactly the news homebuyers were hoping for.

“While we expect the long-run trend…

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"Developer secures $28.5M loan for East Austin infill housing"

Austin Business Journal reports, "The Geyser Group is set to build infill housing in East Austin after securing a $28.5 million construction loan.

The development, known as The Arden, will rise on about five acres at 4908 Lott Ave., beside city-owned Springdale Neighborhood Park, said Matt McDonnell, partner at Austin-based Geyser Group.

“The idea is to create additional housing stock in a neighborhood (ZIP code 78721) that has exhausted its current supply,” McDonnell said. “When you see the Mueller neighborhood complete, you see some of the StoryBuilt projects that either didn’t get fully realized or have stalled out a little bit, so the idea is trying to fill that missing-middle housing that doesn’t really exist in enough quantities.”

Embattled…

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"3D-printed houses are selling on Earth; next stop, the moon?"

RealEstateNews.com writes, "It's no wonder that 3D-printed houses seem more like science fiction than real estate fact.

ICON, one of the best-known companies in the space (pun intended), is working with NASA on housing and infrastructure for the moon and Mars, as well as here on Earth. And the rounded, dome-like test structures produced in Austin, Texas, resemble places Luke Skywalker used to call home.

But ICON is also working with Lennar to produce single-family homes at Wolf Ranch, a housing development about 30 miles north of Austin, where the tech company is based.

The company's chief operating officer, Graeme Waitzkin, told Real Estate News this summer that he thinks "people will start to see 3D-printed communities popping up in their…

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"Austin Home Prices Stable in September"

Realtor.com reports, "In September, home prices remained unchanged from the month before, with a median listing price of $629,000.

The number of listings on the market shrank 5%, which is a bigger decrease than normal for this time of the year in Austin, and homes are also selling slower than at the same time last year.

Home prices in Austin

Typically, home prices in Austin tend to fall in September. But the most recent data shows that the price per square foot increased by 0.6% compared with the month before.

So, how does this compare with the rest of the U.S.? Nationally, home price per square foot decreased 0.4%, which means price changes in the Live Music Capital of the World are outpacing the national market.

Austin inventory

In…

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"Homebuyer sentiment is up, but for how long?"

RealEstateNews.com shares, "Consumers were considerably more upbeat about the housing market in September, but rising mortgage rates may put a damper on their enthusiasm.

Homebuyer sentiment reached its highest level in more than two years in September, but that may not last as mortgage rates continue to rise.

The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index jumped 1.8 points last month to 73.9, fueled by the expectation that mortgage rates will decline in the next 12 months. 

Optimism around rates was at a survey high, according to Fannie Mae, with a record 42% of consumers saying they expect mortgage rates to decline — a significant increase since June, when only 24% anticipated a drop in rates. Just under a third of respondents expect rates to…

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"How buyers have (and haven’t) changed in recent years"

RealEstateNews.com writes, "Zillow’s latest trends report finds that, despite turbulence in the market, consumer traits and preferences are fairly stable — with some key exceptions.

Key points:

• The 2024 Consumer Housing Trends Report reveals that buyer demographics have remained fairly consistent overall, but the share of first-time buyers has declined.
• Buyers are continuing to fork out a higher percentage of the sale price for their down payment, but many are able to secure lower-than-average mortgage rates.
• Staying within their budget and finding a home with air conditioning and the right number of bedrooms are top priorities.

The real estate market has experienced its share of ups and downs over the past few years, but when it…

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"Why mortgage rates may not continue to drop"

Austin Business Journal writes, "Relief on housing costs from interest-rate cuts issued by the Federal Reserve last month may not be as straightforward as some would-be homebuyers might expect. But some areas of the country are poised to feel the impacts of rate cuts more significantly than others.

A recent analysis by Realtor.com found 60.2% of homeowners in the U.S. lived in homes with a mortgage while 39.8% of owners owned their homes free and clear. But the share of mortgaged homeowners versus those who owned their homes outright vary — sometimes significantly — by state.

And, of course, areas with a higher share of homeowners that have a mortgage are more likely to be affected by rate movement than those where more people own their homes…

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"More homes, commercial development on tap for Williamson County after MUD wins approval"

Austin Business Journal reports, "Hundreds of homes could soon rise in a new municipal utility district in Williamson County between Georgetown and Liberty Hill.

Williamson County Commissioners Court approved a development agreement for the MUD, called Hudson Park, on Oct. 1. The roughly 122-acre project from Sugar Land-based Ashton Gray Development will be built along Ronald Reagan Boulevard and feature single- and multifamily residences as well as commercial lots, Ashton Gray President Shaun Vembutty said.

It's another in Ashton Gray’s long project pipeline aimed at some of the more rural areas of the metro. The developer works on retail centers, master-planned subdivisions, multifamily projects, senior living communities and mixed-use…

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"Luminary condo tower downtown to begin construction and sales next year"

Austin Business Journal shares, "Downtown Austin’s next condo tower is slated to begin construction and sales in 2025, and the West 14th Street property already is generating plenty of interest.

Luminary, a 400-foot-tall condo tower from Northland Living, a development arm of Canadian hospitality giant Northland Properties Corp., will have 293 condos along with ground-floor retail space and one level of office space.

Kevin Burns, CEO of Austin-based Urbanspace, which is handling marketing and sales for the project, said there's already been more than 400 inquiries for the condos even though sales haven't officially started and prices haven't been set.

"And that’s without spending the advertising dollars," he said. "That’s just simply sending…

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"The advantages of sustainable living in East Austin’s Whisper Valley"

CultureMap Austin writes, "Named Austin’s 2023 Master-Planned Community of the Year by the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin, Whisper Valley is a 2,063-acre community focused on sustainability, healthy living, technology, and affordability. Developed by Taurus Investment Holdings, this innovative community has created the blueprint for residential master-planned communities of the future.

Located on rolling terrain in East Austin, Whisper Valley homes are extremely energy efficient, tech-savvy and served by Google Fiber and AT&T 5G Fiber, offering future-proof homes that are zero energy-capable.

Whisper Valley is powered by the innovative EcoSmart Solution, a green energy supply system that uses a GeoGrid to harness the renewable…

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