Luxe Austin Homes

"Austin rents lose steam, with second-steepest decline in December among major U.S. metros"

Posted by Grossman & Jones Group on February 12th, 2024

Austin American-Statesman reports, "just as it is a buyer's market in Central Texas' single-family housing market, so too is it a renter's market in the Austin-area apartment market.

Likely to the dismay of landlords and delight of tenants, Austin saw the second-steepest yearly decline among metros in the latest study by Rent.com.

Rents in Austin dropped 12.5% in December compared with December 2023, according to the study, which tracked rates in the nation's 50 largest metros.

Asking rents in Austin were $1,985 a month in December, versus $2,270 a month the prior December, the study said.

Austin's decline was followed by Raleigh, North Carolina, where rents dropped almost 12.2% to $1,873, and the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise metro, where…

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"Hundreds of apartments slated to rise in Thomas Ranch development west of Austin"

Posted by Grossman & Jones Group on February 9th, 2024

Austin Business Journal reports, "Thomas Ranch, a 2,200-acre mixed-use project on the shores of Lake Travis, continues to take shape.

Salt Lake City-based developer Areté Collective LP has been toiling away on the first phase of construction — a private residential community named Loraloma — while Wasatch Premier Properties recently came on board to build hundreds of multifamily units on another 58 acres west of Austin. Areté Collective recently sold the 58 acres to Wasatch, an arm of Utah-based Wasatch Group, according to a Jan. 30 announcement.

Wasatch's "decision to become the inaugural development partner within Thomas Ranch’s downtown district brings us one step closer to delivering a lively destination to live, work, and play in West…

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"14 Austin Real Estate Startups and Companies Making the Industry Smarter"

Posted by Grossman & Jones Group on February 8th, 2024

Built in ATX writes, "Austin remains one of the country’s hottest real estate markets, so its booming real estate tech sector should come as no surprise. From tightening renter relations between the tenants and the landlords to skipping the commission take by realtors, here are the Austin tech companies making it easier for realtors, renters, homeowners and leasers alike to operate in real estate.

TOP REAL ESTATE TECH COMPANIES IN AUSTIN

• Realtor.com
• Virtual Staging Solutions
• Agent Pronto
• RealSavvy 
• Billd
• OJO

What they do: Closinglock offers real estate tech for fraud prevention. It serves title companies, legal offices and financial service providers in an industry vulnerable to wire fraud, impersonation and other…

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"Austin’s HOME Initiative won’t change much — for now"

Posted by Grossman & Jones Group on February 7th, 2024

Austin Business Journal writes, "a new policy allowing up to three homes to be raised on some single-family lots is one of the most high-profile changes to Austin's land use code as it tries to combat high home prices and adopt a big-city mentality.

But experts said the program will not have a notable effect on the local housing market for the foreseeable future — plus, there's the specter of a lawsuit scaring some developers off.

The first phase of what's called the HOME Initiative launched Feb. 5. That's when homeowners and developers could start to submit applications. Landowners can either sell the new, smaller homes or they can rent them out. The impact of the change will only become measurable in the months and years to come, but the…

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"Austin takes top spot as 'best-performing' US city"

Posted by Grossman & Jones Group on February 6th, 2024

Austin Business Journal reports, "the Austin area has retaken the top spot on the Milken Institute's prestigious 2024 Best-Performing Cities list.

Such a listing will undoubtedly draw the eyes of people looking for a new place to live or start a business, and it combats anyone's perception that Austin has passed its prime.

The index from the nonprofit think tank has been published annually since 1999 and ranks cities on a variety of metrics, including job creation, wage growth and output growth. Designed to help the public and private sectors evaluate and compare cities throughout the nation, the list is particularly handy for Realtors, job recruiters and site selectors.

Austin's position this year at the summit of Milken's largest cities…

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"Pending Home Sales Post Biggest Jump Since June 2020 as Mortgage Rates Fall"

Posted by Grossman & Jones Group on February 5th, 2024

Realtor.com shares, "The numbers: U.S. pending home sales shot up in December as falling mortgage rates brought buyers back into the market.

Pending home sales rose 8.3% in December from the previous month, according to the monthly index released Friday by the National Association of Realtors.

Pending home sales reflect transactions where the contract has been signed for a the sale of an existing home, but the sale has not yet closed. Economists view it as an indicator of the direction of existing-home sales in subsequent months.

The jump in pending-home sales was the largest since June 2020, when it rose by 14.9%.

The sales pace exceeded expectations on Wall Street. Economists were expecting pending home sales to increase by 2% in…

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"Hutto is Austin's best suburb for first-time homebuyers, report indicates"

Posted by Grossman & Jones Group on February 2nd, 2024

Austin Business Journal shares, "Hutto is the best market for first-time homebuyers in the Austin area, according to a new analysis by Realtor.com.

The analysis identified the best markets nationwide for first-time homebuyers, as well as the top local city or suburb in major metro areas. Realtor.com examined median home listing prices, available inventory, forecasted price growth, commute times and unemployment rates when compiling the data.

The report lists median home prices of about $387,000 for Hutto, which is about 30 miles northeast of downtown Austin in Williamson County. That compares to a metro-wide median price of about $500,000, according to Realtor.com. The Austin Board of Realtors tracks slightly lower numbers on those fronts. ABOR…

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"Applications open soon to build three homes on one lot through Austin's new HOME Initiative"

Posted by Grossman & Jones Group on February 1st, 2024

Austin Business Journal reports, "developers and homebuilders hoping to take advantage of a new program that will allow up to three residential units to be built on a lot currently zoned for one are about to get their chance.

That's because the HOME Initiative goes into effect Feb. 5, and those who are interested can start applying at that time.

Applications must be submitted through Austin's residential plan review process, according to a new city information hub devoted to the HOME Initiative, which stands for Home Options for Middle-income Empowerment.

The initiative allows the construction of up to three dwellings on lots currently zoned SF-1, SF-2 and SF-3. Most single-family homes in Austin fall into one of those zoning categories.

…

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"Travis County lifts moratorium on PID agreements"

Posted by Grossman & Jones Group on January 31st, 2024

Austin Business Journal shares, "after a four-year hiatus, Travis County is reintroducing a tool designed to support large-scale developments.

The Travis County Commissioners Court on Jan. 30 lifted a moratorium on public improvement districts, or PIDs, after nearly a year of review.

That means developers can begin submitting applications for new PID agreements Feb. 1.

PIDs enable counties and cities to levy additional taxes on sites to pay for specific project-related improvements. They're used in counties across Texas to help cover some costs to developers, such as road construction, water and wastewater systems and landscaping, when they build master-planned communities and other big projects.

Before unanimously voting to lift their PID…

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"Blackstone eyes massive multifamily development in North Austin"

Posted by Grossman & Jones Group on January 30th, 2024

TheRealDeal reports, "a Blackstone subsidiary is gearing up for a big multifamily project in North Austin.

Link Logistics Real Estate Management, led by CEO Luke Petherbridge, filed to rezone the  6-acre site at 11209 Metric Boulevard to allow for a five-story complex with nearly 500 units, the Austin Business Journal reported. 

The project, called LL Braker, according to city filings, is also slated for 5,000 square feet of retail space and structured parking. It’s unclear if the residential units will be apartments or condos. A one-story warehouse, built in the 1980s and spanning 85,000 square feet, would be demolished for the project.

Link Logistics is requesting to change the property’s industrial zoning designation to allow…

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