Luxe Austin Homes - atx

"Texas new home sales slowed in September, prices dropped in Austin"

CultureMap Austin writes, "new analysis of the statewide real estate market has revealed new home sales in Texas have slowed since September, despite a drop in average prices, and inventory is on the rise.

The September edition of the New Home Sales Report by Dallas-based platform HomesUSA.com examined MLS data across Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio to determine the status of the overall real estate market.

The report found that the three-month average number of new home sales fell across all four major metros in September. Austin saw the smallest decline in home sales, down by just seven sales to 864 in September.

Out of all four markets, San Antonio saw the most dramatic decline in sales with 1,067 new homes sold in…

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"Mortgage rates finally fell, but homebuyers still face a big problem"

Austin Business Journal writes, "The Federal Reserve may have cut interest rates last month, but homebuyers still face a challenge when assessing the current market for real estate: home prices.

Prices were up 5.9% in the third quarter this year over the same three-month period in 2023, according to data from Fannie Mae. While that increase is down from a 6.4% spike in the second quarter, it’s still a substantial jump for buyers who are looking for a home.

Mark Palim, Fannie Mae senior vice president and chief economist, said the “robust” growth is because of a lack of supply. Many current owners don’t want to sell their homes and give up the low interest rate they obtained earlier only to step into a high-interest rate environment.

“Even though…

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"New city zoning program that uses density as carrot to encourage affordable housing proving popular so far"

Austin Business Journal writes, "It will take time and it won't help everywhere, but a new zoning designation should boost the supply of housing in Austin.

That's the view of a number of developers when it comes to the so-called Density Bonus 90, or DB90, zoning program approved by the City Council in February. Residential buildings on properties with the new zoning can be up to 90 feet high — 30 feet higher than otherwise allowed — and have ground floor commercial uses, provided certain percentages of the residential units are priced at levels deemed affordable.

“It's unlocking additional properties that couldn't previously achieve the necessary density,” said Chris Affinito a managing partner at Notional Development Partners, a firm that…

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"Downtown Austin skyscraper builder breaks ground on big industrial park near Kyle"

Austin Business Journal writes, "The Dallas-based developer behind Sixth and Guadalupe and Waterline, the current and future tallest buildings in Austin, announced on Oct. 17 that the company has broken ground on an 894,000-square-foot industrial development near Kyle.

Lincoln Property Co. and joint venture partner Goldman Sachs said in an announcement that CTX 110 – formerly known as Waterstone – is expected to be finished during the fourth quarter of next year. It's located on 47 acres off of I-35 at 14031 Farm to Market Road 110, about 25 miles south of downtown Austin.

The San Marcos City Council last month voted to terminate a municipal utility district consent agreement for the property, remove the land from a development agreement and…

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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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"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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