Luxe Austin Homes - central texas

"Townhomes — why aren't they popular here?"

Austin Business Journal writes, "Even with a ballooning population and pushes for increased density, Austin has shied away from townhome development.

There are about 570 active single-family projects in Austin, and 40 of them are townhome developments, said Keith Hughes, vice president of sales at housing analytics company Zonda. And that’s keeping in track with other Texas cities, according to Zonda’s National Outlook report, but lagging behind other metros across the country.

Zonda defines townhomes as multilevel, single-family residential units sharing a common wall with another similar structure. These homes are typically built in series or rows.

Zonda's data shows that, while townhome deliveries have slowed since the pandemic in many…

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"D.R. Horton could bring around 1,500 homes to Bastrop"

Austin Business Journal shares, "The busiest volume homebuilder in the region plans to bring around 1,500 homes to a small town outside Austin.

Bastrop City Council was shown new plans for a public improvement district called Valverde on Aug. 13 that could be valued at $557 million at full buildout. The property is owned by D.R. Horton Inc. through its Continental Homes of Texas LP subsidiary, according to property records.

The Valverde plans are the latest evolution of a project that was formerly called Viridian, which was also a D.R. Horton project.

Valverde would rise on 399 acres north of State Highway 71, and plans call for both single and multifamily development. In a statement, D.R. Horton Austin Division President Scott Wilburn…

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"Homeowners and developers can now build on smaller lots under HOME Phase 2"

Austin Business Journal reports, "Developers can now build on smaller lots as part of an effort to allow denser and more affordable housing throughout Austin.

Beginning Aug. 16, homebuilders and homeowners can apply to participate in the second phase of the HOME Initiative, a city of Austin spokesperson confirmed, which allows homes to be built on lots as small as 1,800 square feet — down drastically from the previous minimum lot size of 5,750 square feet.

Many density and affordable housing advocates in Austin have long pushed for smaller minimum lot sizes for single-family homes, calling the change one of many code updates that could move the needle for affordability and housing stock concerns. HOME Phase 2 also establishes new rules for lot…

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"Where wealthy people live"

Austin Business Journal writes, "In his 2005 State of the City address, then-Austin Mayor Will Wynn — fresh off leading the Downtown Austin Alliance — had a goal of 25,000 people living in downtown Austin.

At the time, about 5,000 people called the Central Business District home. Almost 20 years later, downtown is still far short of that goal but growth has ramped up as thousands of new apartments and condos rise toward the sky. 

The DAA now pegs downtown's population at about 15,000. Almost 900 were added last year, DAA reports. They come for the high-rise living, entertainment, quality restaurants and urban hike-and-bike trails.

It's an appealing package if you can afford it — the downtown ZIP code, 78701, is now the wealthiest in the area…

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"Austin home sales slip as more buyers look outside the city, report says"

CultureMap Austin writes, "It's been a long-established trend that Austinites will relocate to a much more affordable part of town, even if it means sacrificing shorter work commutes and coveted Austin zip codes. The latest real estate report from Unlock MLS and the Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR) shows home sales have dropped in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA, but are on a steady rise in neighboring Central Texas counties.

Residential home sales fell 3.5 percent year-over-year from July 2023, totalling 2,652 closed sales in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA. Median prices have plateaued at $450,000 for the second consecutive month. With more than 3,800 new home listings added — a 0.3 percent drop from this time last year — the total…

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"Multifamily spigot opens with Endeavor’s North Burnet development"

TheRealDeal reports, "Endeavor Real Estate Group is moving forward with an apartment project on a 4.3-acre site in Austin’s North Burnet neighborhood. 

The Austin-based developer will bring 396 units to 2320 Kramer Lane, in an area that has relaxed zoning under the city’s North Burnet/Gateway plan, Towers reported. 

The project will feature five floors of residential units, 14,000 square feet of amenity space, and a central parking garage. It is set to replace a Culver’s fast food restaurant and the Copenhagen Imports furniture store. 

The location is half a mile from Q2 Stadium, near CapMetro’s McKalla and Kramer light rail stations. Construction is expected to start sometime next year.

Atlanta-based Dwell Design Studio is the…

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"3 Austin neighbors shine on new list of America's safest suburbs"

CultureMap Austin shares, "Crime may be a concern for some Austinites, but life is a little more relaxed just beyond the city limits. Cedar Park, Georgetown, and Round Rock were just named among the safest suburbs to live in the U.S., as declared in a new report by financial advisor marketplace SmartAsset.

The report ranked 360 suburbs of major U.S. cities based on their crime rates, vehicular and drug poisoning mortality rates, and the percentage of the population engaging in "excessive drinking." Housing affordability was an additional factor considered for the 35 safest suburbs.

The No. 1 safest American suburb is Lehi, Utah, which is nearly 30 miles south of Salt Lake City.

Cedar Park (No. 45) was the highest ranking Austin suburb,…

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"More wealthy households are moving to Texas than nearly any other state"

CultureMap Austin writes, "In a state where it takes much less than $1 million in yearly income to live among the top one percent, it's no wonder America's most affluent are flowing in. More of them are choosing to move to Texas over almost every other state, according to a new relocation study by SmartAsset.

To determine where high-earning households are moving, SmartAsset analyzed IRS data from the 2021-2022 tax year, the most recent year for which data was available. The inflow of high-earning households in each state was then compared to the outflows to determine net migration.

Texas had the second-highest net inflow of affluent households – defined as those with an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $200,000 a year – out of all 50 states in the…

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"Home prices stabilize as real estate options in the Bastrop County area increase"

Community Impact writes, "A rise in housing options and interest rates has led to an increased number of houses available to potential buyers in Bastrop and Cedar Creek.

The population in Bastrop County was 106,000 as of 2022, a 20% increase from 2019, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. In the same timeframe, the number of housing units in the county increased by over 27% from 31,085 to 39,539.

“I think we can attribute this [population growth] to several factors—the rise in remote work options, competitive home prices compared to our nearby markets, and the ease of commuting from most of the Bastrop-Cedar Creek area into Austin or other areas,” said James Beck, Bastrop County Board of Realtors president and owner of Centum Oak Realty.

…

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"The Modern Austin Residences Tops Out in the Rainey Street District"

Towers Austin shares, "The 56-story Modern Austin Residences condo tower project celebrated its official “topping out” this week, with the building now reaching its maximum structural height of 658 feet at the northeast corner of Davis and Rainey Streets on the north end of the Rainey Street District in downtown Austin. It’s just one of multiple tower projects currently redefining the skyline of this neighborhood, which already contains the densest residential population in downtown and is set to gain hundreds more homes in the years to come — including 320 new residences at the Modern, with 21 of those condos income-restricted under the district’s affordable housing requirements.

The tower’s topping off obviously represents a milestone for the…

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