Luxe Austin Homes - Buyers

Austin high-rise plans preserve Old Depot Hotel

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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As Cedar Park home prices decrease, Leander shows rising costs

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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iBuyers, short-term rental owners could see divergence as investor activity plateaus in Q2

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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Homebuyers regain some power in Austin as inventory continues to climb

Homebuyers continue to gain negotiating power in the Austin area, a welcome change of pace in a market that has been defined for much of the past two years by blistering conditions.

The latest numbers from the Austin Board of Realtors convey good — or at least better — news for this home-starved market and people struggling to find a home. They also signal a comforting trend that would help Austin avoid a housing crash after years of phenomenal appreciation.

Housing inventory increased in July for the second straight month, to 2.7 months for the region and 2.4 months for Austin city limits, according to ABOR. Instead of a summer outlier, this now seems to point to a trend of decreasing demand, especially in light of rising mortgage rates,…

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First phase of 1,400-acre Mirador neighborhood in Del Valle takes step forward

Plans to develop a huge residential and commercial hub on the southeastern edge of Austin have taken another step toward.

With little discussion, the city's Zoning and Platting Commission on Aug. 16 unanimously approved a preliminary plan for the first phase of construction for the planned community on 1,400 acres near Pearce and Wolf lanes. That is in the unincorporated community of Del Valle, east of Circuit of The Americas race track and south of Tesla's new gigafactory.

Houston-based real estate developer Hines purchased the land earlier this year with the intention to create Mirador, a master-planned community that includes 2,500 single-family lots and 75 acres of commercial space.

The project also includes 50 acres of multifamily homes…

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Austin housing inventory skyrockets to highest levels since 2018

More signs of relief for the Austin housing market. The latest monthly report from Austin Board of Realtors, released Tuesday, August 16, offers indications that the market is continuing to stabilize.

There are still new records to report, but “In every aspect of our market," says Cord Shiflet, 2022 ABoR president, in a release, "Realtors are seeing positive signs that Austin’s housing market continues to normalize.”

One of the most promising signs is an explosion of inventory in the Austin-Round Rock metro area. In July 2022, the region's housing inventory reached 2.7 months — the highest level seen  since November 2018, ABOR notes, and an increase from the 2.1 months reported in June 2022. 

“On top of rising housing inventory, home price…

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Something big is happening in bubbly housing markets

Even before the lockdowns were eased, white-collar professionals who saw their jobs go remote were ditching their apartments in places like Seattle and New York City for homes in markets like Austin, Boise, and Las Vegas. That rush of homebuyer activity, of course, saw home prices absolutely skyrocket in those markets. In Las Vegas alone, the Pandemic Housing Boom pushed home prices up 49%.

That boom is over now.

Across the country, housing markets are cooling down. Home sales are falling. Multiple offers are drying up. Homebuilders are scaling back and offering buyer incentives. But every aspect of the cooldown is more intense in markets like Boise and Austin. Simply put: Pandemic boomtowns are getting hit the hardest by the Pandemic Housing…

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Austin's million-dollar home sales are rivaling Dallas, Houston

Million-dollar home sales in Austin have skyrocketed along with the rest of the market, coming neck and neck with luxury sales in Dallas and Houston.

The number of Austin's luxury sales from January-May 2022 was almost double the number of sales for the entire year of 2018, according to a report from the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University.

While Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio saw sales spike in 2021, luxury home sales had remained relatively stable before that.

The Dallas area still leads the charge on luxury real estate sales but the study says Austin is poised to surpass Houston soon. Austin’s population is one about one-sixth of the Houston metro area.

Researchers say year-to-date sales are…

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The Housing Shortage Is About To Get Worse—Don’t Expect Builders To Save the Day

Just a few months ago, builders couldn’t put homes up fast enough to appease the hordes of eager buyers. They boasted about lengthy waitlists, even holding lotteries to choose those lucky enough to purchase their newly constructed homes.

Those days are now over as the housing market corrects after two years of runaway prices.

Buyers are now canceling orders and extracting themselves from waitlists as higher mortgage rates have pushed their dreams of owning new construction beyond their financial reach. Sales are down.

Builders are responding by throwing out incentives, like spaghetti against a wall, to see which ones attract buyers. Some have begun cutting prices, and the majority are slowing down the pace of construction—despite the nation’s…

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Are house prices going down?

After U.S. inflation cooled more than expected last month, you may be wondering whether or not the housing market is cooling off. The answer is yes — but with an asterisk.

The median sale price for a home in June 2022 was $428,400, an 11.2% increase since the same time last year. Even though this is a double-digit increase in prices, it’s also the smallest year-over-year increase “in nearly two years,” Redfin market analyst Tim Ellis says.

Data indicates that while U.S. home prices decreased 0.4% from June to July, other factors are still impacting home affordability. Even though home prices remain high, Ellis says the market is balancing out due to a variety of factors, including higher mortgage rates and decreased demand.

Redfin data shows…

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