Luxe Austin Homes - developers

"U.S. New Home Sales Surge 9.6% in March as Home Buyers Turn to Builders"

Realtor.com writes, "a lack of inventory has pushed U.S. home buyers to purchase new homes, prompting a surge in sales in March.

The strength in new home sales was also driven by a massive jump in sales in the Northeast. And overall, new home sales are trending higher as buyers have a low number of options with previously owned homes.

U.S. new home sales rose 9.6% to an annual rate of 683,000 in March, from a revised 623,000 in the prior month, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. That’s at the highest level since last year.

The number is seasonally adjusted, and refers to how many homes would be built over an entire year if builders continue at the same pace every month.

The jump was better than what economists on Wall Street…

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"Austin Housing Market Forecast"

U.S. News reports, "given the enormous popularity of the greater Austin, Texas, area for online searches, newcomers and employment growth, it may act as a reasonable bellwether for the state of the U.S. housing market. This will certainly be tested in the spring and summer selling season, when the National Association of Realtors reports that about 40% of sales of existing homes throughout the U.S are historically made between the months of May and August. Besides offering warmer weather, buying a home during these months allows buyers with school-aged children to shop, bid, close and move into a new residence before the start of a new school year.

Similar to the overall U.S. housing market in mid-2020, the Austin housing market went into…

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"These towers could raise the bar for North Austin's skyline"

Austin Business Journal writes, "while The Domain and its surroundings are often referred to as Austin’s second downtown, buildings there have never reached the heights of the Central Business District. But that may be starting to change.

In February, Austin City Council approved revised building regulations for the region known as North Burnet/Gateway that allow for denser and taller construction up to 491 feet, or about 45 stories. The previous limit was 360 feet.

While some towers were already planned to reach 300 feet in this area, more recent projects are stretching toward the new upper limit of construction,

"They are responsive to energetic growth in this area of my district," said Council Member Leslie Pool, who represents District 7,…

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"46K new housing units possible on unlocked Austin land — but zoning change doesn't go far enough, builder says"

Austin Business Journal reports, "builders in Austin can now take advantage of a change in city code that will allow for the development of residential properties on land zoned for commercial use.

The change to the land development code, which Austin City Council approved on Dec. 2, carries major implications for real estate firms, significantly expanding the market for development. It also represents another avenue for cutting into Austin's housing shortage: city staffers previously estimated this decision could allow for the creation of 46,324 new homes.

Developers will still need to apply to build residential projects in commercial areas and will have to meet certain criteria, including around affordability. The change incentivizes the…

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"Travis County considers increasing development fees"

Austin Business Journal reports, "developers working in Travis County may face increased construction and permitting fees in the months ahead.

Travis County Commissioners Court is considering increasing existing development fees and implementing new ones for a variety of services including traffic impact analysis, on-site sewage facilities and floodplain permits, in addition to requests for variances and exceptions associated with development review.

If passed, this would be the first change to the county’s development fee structure since 2016 and generate millions in annual income for the county.

With already long wait times for county development review, which increase the cost of new construction, commissioners stress that any additional…

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"Home Builders Struggle To Find Buyers as Cancellations by Developers Rise"

Realtor.com writes, "it’s a tough time to be selling a home. That’s also true for home builders, who are seeing canceled orders and dwindling interest among would-be buyers.

“Mortgage applications have been running down close to 40% year over year. People are clearly in sort of a wait-and-see or pause mode,” John Lovallo, a UBS analyst who covers home builders, told MarketWatch on an episode of Barron’s Live.

Confidence among home builders dropped for the 10th month in a row in October to a 10-year low (with the exception of the start of the pandemic), according to the National Association of Home Builders. Traffic among prospective buyers, one of the components that measures confidence, fell significantly, the association said, as buyers look…

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"Q&A: Real estate developer discusses opportunities for urban infill investments"

Austin Business Journal reports, "many of the country’s fastest-growing cities have certain commonalities that make them magnets for population migration. Job opportunities, a rich culture and access to outdoor activities are a few of the reasons people are drawn to places like Austin, Dallas, Seattle and Denver.

What these places also have in common is a lack of housing stock to accommodate the thousands of people who move there each year. While housing developers often eye large tracts of land outside of cities where they can build hundreds of homes, suburban sprawl is taking a toll on the U.S. economy. And the cost of public infrastructure maintenance is weighing on depopulating towns across the country.

StoryBuilt is taking a different…

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"Why is the real estate boom in Austin slowing down?"

KVUE Austin reports, "more than two years ago now, 2020 saw what many real estate agents and developers called a gold rush in Austin, with homes being sold in a matter of hours. Now, the market appears to be slowing down.

"It's brought a lot of people here and it was just a perfect storm," said Chester Wilson, one of the owners of Greater Austin Builders.

Two years ago, many set their sights on Austin.

"Gold rush is a perfect term for it. I've been doing this for 25 years. It was unlike anything we've ever seen," said Cord Shiflet, the president of the Austin Board of Realtors.

However, Shiflet said Austin's real estate boom isn't going anywhere but that it's just slowing down.

He noted that rather than…

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"Wildhorse Ranch to expand near Manor"

Austin Business Journal writes, "another undeveloped chunk of land has taken a step toward becoming single-family homes in Northeast Austin.

During the Oct. 25 meeting of the Austin Planning Commission, the preliminary plan for Pinnacle at Wildhorse Ranch gained approval to divide 60 acres into 57 lots within the city’s Gilleland Creek watershed.

The approval represents an expansion to Wildhorse Ranch that has risen on 1,450 acres next to the newly requested expansion.

The development is a product of Austin-based Dwyer Realty Companies, led by longtime developer Pete Dwyer, and the request and the preliminary plan were presented to the commission by Kevin Burks, a civil engineer at the design consulting firm Kimley-Horn.

Dwyer Realty did…

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"Austin's economy among fastest-growing in the U.S., new report finds"

Austin American-Statesman writes, "Austin's boom is far from over, as a new report says the metro area has the second-fastest-growing economy in the country.

Austin's estimated regional gross domestic product — the total value of goods and services produced in one year — increased by 4.3% this year, second only to San Francisco's growth at 4.8%, according to the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at the University of North Carolina.

The report is the institute's first as a part of its American Growth Project, which aims to provide "up-to-the-minute" economic data for the microeconomies of towns, cities and counties across the country.

Hoping to help government officials and community leaders understand real-time industry trends, forecasts…

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