Luxe Austin Homes - Buyers

"Hutto is Austin's best suburb for first-time homebuyers, report indicates"

Austin Business Journal shares, "Hutto is the best market for first-time homebuyers in the Austin area, according to a new analysis by Realtor.com.

The analysis identified the best markets nationwide for first-time homebuyers, as well as the top local city or suburb in major metro areas. Realtor.com examined median home listing prices, available inventory, forecasted price growth, commute times and unemployment rates when compiling the data.

The report lists median home prices of about $387,000 for Hutto, which is about 30 miles northeast of downtown Austin in Williamson County. That compares to a metro-wide median price of about $500,000, according to Realtor.com. The Austin Board of Realtors tracks slightly lower numbers on those fronts. ABOR…

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"Austin homebuilder using unusual method to rapidly build 900 homes in Georgetown"

Austin American-Statesman reports, "hundreds of homes are headed for fast-growing Georgetown, north of Austin in the five-county Central Texas region..

Aztec Group's Brell Tarich and Jason Shapiro arranged $33.25 million in construction financing for the first phase of the single-family housing development. Aztec is a real estate investment and merchant banking firm based in Miami.

The builder, Onx Group, is a Texas-based residential developer that uses cutting-edge technology to streamline the pre-construction, manufacturing and assembly process. Through its proprietary construction method — X+ — Onx manufactures individual rooms, bathroom pods, walls and more at offsite production facilities near its housing developments.

In November, Onx…

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"New-Home Sales Jump as Buyers Snag Lower Mortgage Rates"

Realtor.com writes, "more folks snapped up newly built homes last month thanks to lower mortgage rates.

The number of new homes for sale and sold in December jumped 8% compared with just one month earlier, according to a recent government report. Sales rose 4.4% year over year, according to the seasonally adjusted numbers in the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development report.

That was a reversal from November, when the number of sales fell 9% from October.

“This month’s new-home sales data suggests that eager buyers are ready and willing to jump into the housing market with each improvement in affordability,” Realtor.com® senior economic research analyst Hannah Jones wrote in her new-home sales commentary.

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"Buyers snap up 60 luxury condos in Horseshoe Bay's first-ever pre-construction sellout"

Austin American-Statesman writes, "Horseshoe Bay Resort, just over an hour's drive west of Austin in the Texas Hill Country, has seen its first-ever pre-construction sellout of 60 luxury condos at a development called Waters Lakeside.

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 ranging in size from 1,500 square feet to 2,300 square feet. They start at $800,000, with the average price of $928,000. The sellout of the 60 condos has generated more than $65 million in sales revenue.

Located between Horseshoe Bay’s yacht club and marina, and just steps from constant-level Lake LBJ, the homes…

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"New subdivision set to rise in small community south of Austin"

Austin Business Journal reports, "hundreds of acres of housing are set to rise on the southern reaches of the Austin metro, the latest indication that it just keeps on growing.

Caldwell County commissioners on Jan. 9 unanimously approved a development agreement for a subdivision in Maxwell, potentially encompassing more than 200 acres. With the Austin area embroiled in a seemingly never-ending struggle to build enough affordable housing, the homes in this new development would be going up in one of the most affordable pockets of the region.

The subdivision, known as Schulle Farms, would be built on 227 acres off Maxwell’s Fifth Street if the development goes forward. Schulle Farm Partners LP is behind the project, although the identities of…

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"Austin housing market collected $17.5 billion in 2023 despite sales drop, says report"

Culturemap Austin writes, "Austin's hot real estate market is still trying to balance itself out after a full year of cooling prices. But even after that, it's accounting for nearly $17.5 billion in economic activity in 2023, according to the latest report from the Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR).

The final report of 2023 wrapped up the Austin-Round Rock metro area's performance and compared it to 2022's statistics. The findings show the median prices in the Austin area decreased 10.2 percent year-over-year to $450,000.

As another good sign for what's ahead for homebuyers in the coming year, 2024 ABoR president Kent Redding said housing inventory in the Austin-Round Rock MSA has increased to the highest it's been in more than eight years.

"In…

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"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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