Luxe Austin Homes - Buyers

"Horseshoe Bay Resort sells out latest condo project as it continues to evolve"

Austin Business Journal writes, "the Jaffe family’s Horseshoe Bay Resort west of Austin keeps growing, and demand for the lakeside living there is apparently strong.

One new project at the resort, a three-tower condo called Waters Lakeside, has seen all 60 units pre-sold, according to a recent announcement from Legacy International, the broker for Horseshoe Bay Resort Realty. The condos started at $800,000.

Waters Lakeside broke ground in 2021, said Mandy Van Streepan, Legacy's chief operating officer. The development consists of three towers with 20 condos each, with the first set for a March move-in date. The second and third towers will open between April and May. The condos all have three bedrooms and range from 1,500 to 2,300 square feet,…

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"How a ‘Dry January’ Mindset Can Get You Closer to Buying a Home in 2024"

Realtor.com writes, "the “dry January” challenge of giving up alcohol for a month got us thinking about kicking some other bad habits that might be holding us back.

We’re not talking about giving up carbs for a month or an afternoon latte, but the not-so-great things you might be doing as a wannabe homebuyer. Not to point fingers here, but many home shoppers fall prey to a faux pas or two when making what’s likely the most significant purchase of their lives, especially in today’s brutal housing market.

To help you get closer to your homebuying dreams, consider taking the month of January to hit the reset button and think about the strategies that aren’t working in your favor. Ready for a homebuying reset? Read on.

Bad habit No. 1: Shopping…

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"Economists predict mixed results for 2024 Texas real estate"

Researchers expect real estate in Texas to slow in single-family home prices but increase in other areas.

KVUE reports, "real estate experts now have an idea of what to expect this year for Texas real estate.

The KVUE Defenders pulled information from the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University, The Austin Board of Realtors and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

In the first quarter of 2023, the home price index for Austin-Round Rock was -8.43%, according to Texas Real Estate Research Center. Records show it fell again by double digits (-11.86%) in the second quarter. The home price index for Austin-Round Rock showed -6.19% for the third quarter.

The Texas Real Estate Research Center and Austin Board of…

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"Are bidding wars over? Here's how many Austin homebuyers are paying above asking price"

Austin Business Journal writes, "while high interest rates are prompting many sellers to drop prices at a record pace nationally, 13% of homes in the Austin metro are still selling above the listing price.

That's according to a new analysis of data from Redfin Corp., which found 32% of homes nationally sold above listing price in October — up 2.7 percentage points from a year ago.

As we've noted, a variety of factors suggest the housing market is shifting to give buyers more leverage in many markets. However, prices remain significantly elevated and, in many metros, are still on the rise — just not at the rapid pace of recent years.

In the Austin metro, homes sold for an average of 97% of the listing price in October.

Housing supply and…

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"Texas is winning the US economy"

Business Insider writes, "Texas is becoming the poster child of the US economy.

A new Wells Fargo analysis determined that Texas is outpacing many states regarding GDP and employment growth, despite some struggles in commercial real estate.

These findings echo a Bank of America report from earlier in December that determined the Southeast's economy may outpace other regions of the US.

In 2023, Texas experienced the third-fastest growth in terms of population, increasing 1.6% between July 2022 and July 2023 — compared to 0.5% nationwide. This amounted to about 473,000 new residents, many moving from different states.

In 2023, net domestic migration — the number of people who moved into Texas from another state, minus those who moved out —…

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"What it takes to own a home in Austin's wealthiest ZIP codes"

Austin Business Journal Reports, "the Austin-Round Rock metro area became slightly more affordable for homebuyers in 2023, but it’s still much more expensive to own within Austin's city limits than almost anywhere else in the region.

That’s according to recent data from Zillow Group Inc. analyzed by the Business Journals. In each of the metro's ZIP codes, the minimum annual income required to purchase a typical home declined anywhere from 4% to 18% in 2023, as of Nov. 30, compared to 2022, the analysis found. Annual mortgage payments also dropped, while median home values declined at a rate of 1% to 13% across the region.

The Austin Business Journal annually tracks the wealthiest ZIP codes in the metro, so it's already well-known where the…

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"Austin housing market crystal ball: See what some experts expect, predict for 2024"

Austin American-Statesman writes, "new housing developments continue to spread across Central Texas, but experts say more homes are still needed to keep pace with demand.

"The Austin new home market overall was steady the last half of the year," said Ben Caballero, CEO of HomesUSA.com. a real estate agent and CEO of Dallas-based HomesUSA.com. “As we head into the holiday season and start the new year, we have the Texas advantage on our side, as we continue to attract large employers. This relocation means a continuing need for more homes, and Austin builders are doing their best to create more inventory."

Caballero said the new-home market in the Austin region is poised for growth, if what many leading economists are predicting comes true – that…

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"5 major towers are set to open in downtown Austin in 2024. Check out what's planned"

Austin American-Statesman reports, "the new year will bring new skyscrapers to downtown Austin.

In the past two decades, downtown has seen an unprecedented high-rise building boom that has transformed the city's central business district with towering condominium, apartment and office buildings along with hotels and scores of new shopping, dining and entertainment options.

Even as downtown's office market has languished as remote work has taken hold since the coronavirus pandemic, people still want to live in the center of the action, and that's keeping downtown's housing, retail and restaurant sectors bustling.

“With falling interest rates and strong population/job growth, I am quite optimistic that the downtown Austin condo market will see…

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"Austin Housing Market About to Hit Turning Point"

Newsweek reports, "Austin, Texas, the fastest-growing large metro area at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, is set to see house prices plummet as sellers look to come to terms with buyers who are interested in purchasing homes but struggle to contend with elevated prices, analysts told Newsweek.

The city saw population growth of 5 percent between 2020 and 2022, and housing demand helped push up prices.

"There is so much in-migration of households that has been a real support for both rental and owner occupied housing markets," Brad Case, chief economist at real estate developer Middleburg Communities, told Newsweek.

That dynamic is shifting, Case suggested, as buyers balk at the high prices, which will force sellers to adjust.

"If you…

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"Zillow’s 2024 housing market predictions for Austin, nation"

KXAN Austin shares, "real estate marketplace Zillow has predictions for what will happen to the Austin and national housing markets in 2024, including cost decreases, supply increases and the arrival of generative computer programs (often called artificial intelligence or AI) to the buying process.

Zillow on Austin’s market from 2021-2023

In 2021, Zillow declared Austin the nation’s hottest housing market. It cooled slightly on Austin in 2022, but still ranked the city as the 10th hottest. In 2023, the company declared Austin’s housing market “ice cold.”

But in a Thursday interview, Zillow Senior Economist Orphe Divounguy said that 2023 has been “a great year” for Austin and the U.S.

“We started the year with high inflation that of course…

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