Grossman & Jones Real Estate Blog - atx

"Ryman plans $40M renovations to ACL Live at the Moody Theater, W Austin hotel"

Austin Business Journal reports, "Opry Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of Ryman Hospitality Properties Inc. (NYSE: RHP), will begin work this week on a $40 million renovation of downtown Austin’s Block 21, the Second Street mixed-use development home to Austin’s ACL Live at the Moody Theater and the W Austin hotel.

The renovation will include the construction of a new 2,060-square-foot terrace enclosure over the existing PNC Plaza, which will serve as a private event space designed to serve both ACL Live and the W Austin and is planned to be completed by the summer of 2024. Other improvements include a facelift to the W Austin entrance and other public spaces on site including its coffee shop, restaurant and bars. Renovations of the hotel’s more…

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"September data shows Austin metro housing inventory hit 8-year high"

Community Impact Austin shares, "housing inventory in the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area hit the highest levels in more than eight years in September, according to the Austin Board of Realtors’ metro data for September.

The overview

According to ABoR officials in a news release, in September, Travis County and Hays County both had more than four month’s worth of inventory while Williamson County had slightly more than three months worth. Bastrop County had the highest inventory in the MSA with five months worth.

In addition to high inventory, data shows that year-over-year home sales and median home prices dropped across the MSA—by 18.2% and 4.3%, respectively—while active listings increased by 7.8%. Homes also spent an average of 65…

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"Austin-area housing inventory rises as affordability challenges mount"

Austin Business Journal reports, "the Austin metro’s housing inventory is the highest it’s been in more than eight years.

Inventory in the region hit the four-month mark in September, according to the Austin Board of Realtor’s monthly market data. Inventory represents how long it would take to sell all of the homes on the market if new listings stopped, and housing experts say six months of inventory typically represents a healthy balance between supply and demand.

While that may sound promising for a region that's experienced a dearth of new homes, it takes some pain to have the gain. The number of closed sales is notably down. ABOR housing economist Clare Losey said this could be caused by a number of factors, including high interest rates and…

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"Median home prices in Central Austin mostly up in September"

Community Impact reports, "most Central Austin ZIP codes saw an increase in median home prices year over year in September, but there were a few exceptions, according to data from the Austin Board of Realtors.

Like median home prices, the average number of days homes spent on the market and the number of home sales were also mixed. Days on market were up and home sales were down, but there were some exceptions.

In September, median home prices in 78703 dropped by 50% from $1.8 million to just over $889,000. In 78701, median prices dropped nearly 50% from $1.13 million to $570,000.

Conversely, median prices in 78756 jumped over 50% from $603,500 to $926,750, the biggest increase in the market. In 78751, homes went from $822,500 to over $1 million.

The…

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"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…

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"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.…

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"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…

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"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;…

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"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…

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"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…

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