Lots of live music and a local makers market are on the agenda for the long weekend ahead. Catch artists like Kehlani and Five Finger Discount perform live in concert, or enjoy a packed lineup of local talent at lookOUT Fest. Check out the top five things to do in Austin this Labor Day weekend. or a full listing of events, go to our calendar.  

Thursday, September 1

Five Finger Death Punch in concert
Heavy metal band Five Finger Death Punch tears into Austin’s music scene with a live concert at Germania Insurance Amphitheater. The award-winning group behind songs like “Wrong Side of Heaven” is in the city to support their new album, F8. Fellow metal titans Megadeth, The HU, and Fire From The Gods will join Five Finger Death Punch as special…

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Everyone is moving to Austin! The U.S. News & World Report declared Austin, Texas the best place to live in the United States. While Austin doesn't claim the top spot every year, it never falls far from it. The city's population is booming. Each year, thousands of transplants move to the Texan capital city, many of whom come from California (via JBGoodwin Realtors). Texas has no state income tax, making it an attractive place for individuals, and it offers plenty of tax breaks for businesses, too. So it's growing — particularly Austin.

There are many things to love about Austin. First of all, the city has the slogan, "Keep Austin Weird." It's the live music capital of Texas, brimming with great places to eat (seriously, some of the best tacos you…

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Today’s housing market is one of the strangest that many real estate experts have ever seen. After years of bone-dry inventory and sky-high demand that led to soaring prices, bidding wars, and a breakneck sales pace, the market is correcting—and rapidly at that.

In fact, the number of U.S. homes for sale is rising at the fastest pace in five years, up more than 200% since its lowest point this February, according to a Realtor.com® analysis. That’s great news for frazzled buyers who’ve been struggling over the past few years to find anything—anything—to buy. However, housing supply is still well below normal. The number of listings would need to nearly double to get inventory back to what had become normal before the COVID-19 pandemic—and even that…

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Indiana-based White Lodging is gearing up to develop a 269-room high-rise hotel at the intersection of Fifth and Trinity streets.

The project, planned at 307 and 311 E. Fifth St., would rise 128 feet and encompass 188,640 square feet, according to public documents.

While White Lodging is developing the project, the owner is listed in public documents as 311 E 5th Series, a subsidiary attached to Finley Company.

The project site is about four-tenths of an acre. The space is currently occupied by low-slung buildings that were once home to the Trinity Hall event venue and House restaurant and bar (formerly Russian House), both of which have closed.

White Lodging declined to discuss more granular details of the development at this time.

In…

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By year’s end, Austin is projected to rank No. 4 among major metros nationwide for new apartments brought online, a welcome sign of relief in a region starving for both rental and for-sale housing.

That’s according to an Aug. 23 RentCafe study which found that Austin is projected to deliver 18,288 apartments in 2022.

That would be a five-year high and continue a trend of increased apartment construction since 9,107 units were delivered in 2019.

Already this year, the Austin metro ranks No. 2 in the nation with 4,236 apartments delivered, according to RentCafe. Houston ranks No. 1 with 4,746 apartments delivered and Seattle ranks No. 3, with 3,232.

Multifamily builders are rushing to meet a huge level of demand. A July study by Hoyt…

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In Austin, the more things change the more they stay the same.

While Stonelake Capital Partners is about to add another high rise to the Austin skyline, the company is set on preserving the historic Old Depot Hotel next door. This week, the Austin Design Commission recommended the project for a downtown density bonus, which lets buildings rise taller than is typically allowed, the Austin Business Journal reported.

To qualify for the Downtown Density Bonus Program, a project must either incorporate affordable housing or pay a fee. Stonelake has opted for the latter — to the tune of $4.5 million.

The commission vote comes a little over a year after Stonelake first unveiled plans for the site that many know as the old home of Italian…

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Cedar Park is seeing the lowest median home price this year for July as prices in the city continue to drop, while Leander is experiencing the opposite, according to Austin Board of Realtors data.

In July, Leander’s median home price reached $567,455, which is the highest price the city has seen this year. Cedar Park, however, saw the lowest home price in July at $512,500.

Despite Leander seeing a slight upward trend in home prices as the year progresses, ABoR President Cord Shiflet said the housing market is continuing to normalize.

“In every aspect of our market, Realtors are seeing positive signs that Austin’s housing market continues to normalize,” he said. “On top of rising housing inventory, home price growth is much closer to the 4%-5% annual…

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Investor activity began to plateau in the second quarter but even with higher interest rates and a slowing housing market, it's likely some groups will continue to find opportunity.

Real estate investors bought 87,500 U.S. homes in the second quarter, up 11% on a quarterly basis and 5.9% higher year over year, according to Seattle-based Redfin Corp. (Nasdaq: RDFN). Investors bought an all-time high of 93,700 homes in Q3 2021 but, as Redfin notes, investors continue to buy more homes than they did pre-pandemic.

Investors purchased a record $60.1 billion worth of real estate in Q2, and their market share was 19.4% of all homes purchased last quarter (down from 20.5% in Q1).

Defined by Redfin and most industry groups as an institution or…

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The company plans to deliver the first apartments in the fourth quarter of next year.

Multifamily real estate company RangeWater has commenced construction on The Darby, a new development in the Austin suburb of Manor, Texas. The Darby will feature 326 apartments and 24 townhouses spread across a 25-acre property. The company plans to deliver the first apartments in the fourth quarter of next year.

The garden-style apartments will be joined by townhouses that will offer three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, garages and private outdoor areas. A fitness center will be among The Darby’s leading common-area amenities.

RangeWater closed on the parcel three months ago, starting construction the following month. The property is located in the Texas…

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Average apartment rents for the Austin area have hit an all-time high, an expert told KVUE's media partners at the Austin American-Statesman.

Charles Heimsath has been tracking conditions in the area's real estate market since the early 1990s. He told the Statesman that between December and June, average rents jumped by their largest percentage ever in the time he's been tracking the market.

Heimsath said apartment rents in the area – which spans from Georgetown to San Marcos – increased, on average, 11.6% from December to June. He told the Statesman that he expected to see a slow down during the first half of the year, but that didn't happen.

"Rents continue to rise with no relief in sight," Heimsath said.

The…

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