Yahoo Finance reports, "the Federal Reserve was under pressure to start its roughly one-year-long journey to control inflation by raising interest rates as a result of stubbornly high costs during 2022.

The housing market has been under tremendous pressure as a result of those month-over-month rises in interest rates because mortgage rates rise in tandem with each Fed rate increase.

The Fed increased borrowing costs, which discouraged prospective homebuyers; in November, sales of new single-family homes fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 640,000, down from 756,000 the year before.

It wasn’t just interest rates.

According to a quarterly study released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the median price of a…

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Here is how the Apple campus could look when totally finished, with about 3 million square feet. Construction began in November 2019 on the 133-acre site. APPLE

Austin Business Journal reports, "the second phase of construction at Apple Inc.’s Northwest Austin campus shows no sign of slowing down as the tech titan files to raise yet another building on the property.

It's welcome news for a city — and real estate sector — that has been put at risk by big tech employers lately as recession fears loom and the work-from-home model prevails. Facebook (Nasdaq: META) is slimming down in Austin, backing out of space it was to take in Austin's next tallest skyscraper. News of coming layoffs at Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) and Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) has left many real estate pros on pins and needles.

But Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) appears to be bucking that trend. Executives did not respond to requests for…

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 “It’s not just our respected homebuilders, but it’s also the amenities and lifestyle,” developer Ed Horne said in a statement. “We had $8 million in amenities on the ground not long after the community opened and a very active resident calendar with an onsite lifestyle director. Currently, we have $40 million in amenities and have expanded the lifestyle program to include two onsite lifestyle directors. There are also four onsite schools with two more on the way. All of that resonates with today’s home buyer.”

Austin Business Journal reports, "Liberty Hill’s Santa Rita Ranch has claimed the title of top-selling master-planned community in the Austin area for the third consecutive year.

That distinction comes despite an overall drop in sales, according to Robert Charles Lesser & Co.’s 2022 list of the top selling master-planned communities nationwide. No other Austin-area neighborhood sold enough homes to rank in the country's top 50.

In all, 450 Santa Rita Ranch homes were sold in 2022. That was good enough for the development to top all rivals in the Austin area and secure the No. 32 spot nationally.

RCLCO has conducted a survey to identify the top-selling master planned communities since 1994.

According to Santa Rita Ranch developer Ed Horne,…

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A new report reveals Texas' most competitive rental markets. Photo courtesy of Amli

CultureMap Austin writes, "many looking to rent an apartment in Austin might be having a hard time — and for those wondering why, Rent Cafe offers an answer in its end-of-the-year report on Texas' most-competitive rental markets.

In Austin, renters are mainly staying put, renewing their leases into 2023. According to Rent Cafe, nearly 60 percent of renters and apartment dwellers opted to stay where they were. That's creating a tight squeeze for would-be renters; for every available apartment, there are, on average, 12 renters vying to live there.

Rent Cafe also indicates that apartments in Austin fill up within 30 days and the overall apartment market finds itself at about 95 percent occupancy.

That's great news for rental property owners,…

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(Octavio Jones for The Wall Street Journal)

Realtor.com reports, "the pandemic-fueled boom for multifamily building owners is fading fast going into 2023.

Apartment vacancies are piling up. The biggest wave of new rental buildings in nearly four decades is expected to cut the pace of rent growth across the country. Some in-demand Sunbelt cities are already experiencing rent declines, in part because many tenants and people searching for apartments feel they can’t devote any more of their income to rent.

Rising interest rates, meanwhile, make rental-property investments less profitable than one year ago when debt was cheap and hefty rent increases were taken for granted.

“We’re necessarily going to get a bit of a pullback,” said Thomas LaSalvia, senior economist at Moody’s Analytics.

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Austin's office market is headed for a big boom. Austin, Texas - Your City Government FacebookCultureMap Austin writes, "as we head into the new year, Austin's office market is headed for a big boom, according to one recent report.

Commercial real estate platform CommercialEdge has released its National Office Report, naming Austin the fastest-growing office market in the U.S., based on data through November 2022.

Austin "has been the fastest-growing office market in the country since the start of the pandemic," says CommercialEdge. And despite recent upheaval in the tech sector, including layoffs and office downsizing, the report shows office-using sectors of the labor market have added 85,000 jobs in Austin — a 28 percent increase, in the last 30 months.

To keep up with that growth, developers have added 3.1 million square feet of new…

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These locations offer a variety of perks, from being kid-friendly to offering memberships. (Courtesy of Bell Springs Winery)

Community Impact writes, "residents in the Lake Travis-Westlake area live near a variety of wineries, distilleries and beer gardens that craft their own spirits and import them from around the world. This list is noncomprehensive."

Key: Food, Memberships, Kid Friendly

1. 5 Soul Wine Co.

A 10-acre modern winery located in the Spicewood hills, this location has outdoor and indoor seating, TVs and an indoor fireplace. There are pickleball courts and a playground area for kids. This property is shared with brewery and taproom Frontyard Brewing.

Key: Food, Memberships, Kid friendly

4514 Bob Wire Road, Spicewood

512-809-1672

www.5soulwine.com

2. El Gaucho Winery

This is an Argentina-themed winery in Spicewood. In addition to a wine-tasting bar, the location…

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The vineyards at Fall Creek Vineyards in November. (Elle Bent/Community Impact)Community Impact shares, "Texas ranks fifth in the United States for wine production, said Colleen Myles, specialist of Texas wine and Texas State University professor. Estimated at $13 billion, the industry in Texas brings in tourists to its approximate 4,500 acres of vineyards. The Dripping Springs area, known as the gateway to the Hill Country, has become a travel destination thanks to wineries with tourists visiting vineyards, hotels and local businesses.

The Hill Country is an American Viticultural Area, or AVA, a wine-growing region designated by U.S. Department of Treasury. The area was designated in 1991 and serves as a tourism hub for Texas. The grapes grown in this area are typically harvested in early summer due to being unable to survive the…

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Realtor.com writes, "during the height of COVID-19, it seemed like everyone knew someone who had bought a home and then remodeled the kitchen, created a home office or gym, or turned the scraggly backyard into an outdoor oasis.

But as the pandemic enters its fourth year, most folks are no longer trapped in their homes obsessing over every flaw. The homebuying frenzy that typically spurs remodeling work has died down. And many people are more concerned with high inflation and the looming threat of a recession than their dream en suite bathroom.

Where does that leave the remodeling industry? In fairly good shape, say most experts. Homeowners are expected to spend even more on remodeling, repairs, and maintenance in 2023 than they did in 2022.

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As we head into 2023, Austin is still one of the hottest markets in the U.S. Photo by Carlos Alfonso on Unsplash

CultureMap Austin writes, "as 2022 comes to a close, we're looking back at the stories that defined Austin this year, starting with the red-hot topic of real estate. Following unprecedented growth during the pandemic, Austin's market is poised for a dramatic swing, but that's not all that happened this year. From massive mansions to tall towers and the first "residential winery" in the state, here are the hottest real estate headlines of 2022.

1. $45 million Lake Travis mansion makes a splash as most expensive home for sale in Texas. A Lake Travis estate fit for a celebrity hit the market at $45 million this spring. The property came with big-as-Texas bragging rights, as it was the priciest home on the market in Texas at the time. In 2013, the…

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