Luxe Austin Homes - housing

"Multifamily development bringing 119 homes to Sam Bass corridor in Round Rock"

Community Impact Austin writes, "a multifamily project that was recently rezoned would bring a planned 119 housing units to the Sam Bass Road corridor, providing additional housing in a quickly growing area.

What's happening

Round Rock officials voted July 27 on a request to rezone 8.51 acres of land at the intersection of Sam Bass Road and Meadows Drive. The land was previously zoned for public facilities, such as assisted living, government services, medical clinics, places of worship, schools and public offices. It was also previously owned by Freedom Church but was recently sold to a residential developer, said Brad Wiseman, Round Rock's director of planning and development services.

Long story short

The city's comprehensive land-use plan shows this…

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"Mortgage Rates Go Up—Right as the Housing Market Melts Down"

Realtor.com writes, "as much of the country swelters under a heat dome, the housing market is experiencing its own meltdown.

Mortgage rates jumped to 6.81% for a 30-year fixed-rate loan for the week ending July 27, according to Freddie Mac. That’s up from last week’s average rate of 6.78%. And the welcome run of median home prices declining for 42 days flatlined for the week ending July 22.

“The annual decline in the median listing price evaporated, with prices tying year-ago levels this week,” says Realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale in her analysis.

What’s keeping home prices so high—and is there any way for homebuyers to find some sweet relief from the punishing real estate market this summer? We’ll break down what this latest real…

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"First of Georgetown's 3D-printed homes hit the market"

Community Impact Austin writes, "a community of 100 homes being built with 3D-printer technology in Georgetown’s Wolf Ranch neighborhood reached a milestone July 22, when the first model home opened to the public.

What’s happening?

Construction technology company ICON, in partnership with homebuilder Lennar, architecture firm Bjarke Ingles Group and developer Hillwood Communities, has been steadily printing walls using its Vulcan robotic construction systems since the project was announced in November. With the first model home now completed, the group has begun selling its tech-forward houses with the first residents set to move in this September.

A closer look

The 3D-printed homes are made out of ICON’s proprietary cementitious mix, Lavacrete. The…

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"Austin moves toward smaller lots for homes"

Austin Business Journal reports, "developers and homebuilders may soon have the opportunity to build more housing in Austin.

Austin City Council on July 20 gave the first nod of approval to a proposal that would decrease the minimum lot size of residential properties.

Introduced by Council Member Leslie Pool, the proposed amendment to the city’s land development code calls for decreasing the minimum lot size from 5,750 to 2,500 square feet or less, with the intention of increasing the variety of housing types possible, including row homes and garden homes.

The proposal also directs Interim City Manager Jesús Garza to alter the code to allow at least three units per lot in single-family zoning districts without requiring existing structures to…

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"As Austin housing returns to pre-pandemic levels, some buyers are seeing opportunities"

Austin American-Statesman writes, "the Austin housing market is starting to look a lot more like 2019, before the pandemic sent demand and prices skyrocketing to record highs.

For the past three years, multiple offers, bidding wars and all-cash deals became the norm for those hoping to get into a home in Central Texas. Now, the picture is changing.

That's the upshot from a report on the June housing market by the Austin Board of Realtors. Here are the takeaways:

• Last month, residential home sales in the metro area declined 8.5% year over year to 3,147 closed sales while the median price dropped 9.6% to $483,000.

• New listings declined 23.6% year-over-year to 4,638 listings.

• The number of homes on the market jumped 38.4% to…

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"As The Austin Housing Market Grows, So Does Its Innovation"

Forbes writes, "Austin, as the country’s fastest growing city and now the tenth largest city in the country, is at the forefront of housing challenges, and taking the opportunity to explore innovative solutions.

Bryan Glasshagel is senior vice president at housing data and consultancy firm Zonda, and tracks Texas markets. He points out that as some of the world’s largest tech companies like Tesla, Samsung, Apple, Meta and Oracle, arrive in Austin, the job growth brings in new housing demand.

The city gained 13 headquarters along with 8 expansions in 2022. Many are tech companies, but others like John Deere, Wise, inKind, INK Games, BAE Systems, and Nomi Health, have entered the market as well.

While adding to the city’s economic base, the…

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"Stop Believin’! 4 Housing Market Myths Hurting Today’s Buyers and Sellers"

Realtor.com writes, "the housing market has been decidedly stuck of late. Sellers with low mortgage rates are holding on to their homes, leaving buyers with scant listings to choose from.

And buyers who do find a house face substantial economic challenges as median home prices and mortgage rates remain high.

With sellers and buyers at an impasse, misconceptions and outright myths are popping up on both sides about the state of the market on social channels and forums.

However, some of the supposed housing issues that are coming up time and again aren’t true. Here are the four biggest myths about the current housing market and why experts say they’re wrong.

1. The housing market is about to crash, just like in 2008

Today’s buy-sell…

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"Austin housing market improved over the first 6 months of 2023, despite economic challenges"

CultureMap Austin reports, "despite economic struggles, lack of housing availability, and affordability woes making up a majority of concerns with the Austin-Round Rock housing market, overall trends have improved through the first half of 2023. The latest Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR) report details a need for more inventory to address rapid population growth.

"Despite a slight uptick in mortgage rates in June, the median sales price rose a modest 2.7 percent from May," said ABoR's housing economist Dr. Clare Losey. "Overall, the moderation in home prices throughout the region over the past year has eased the affordability constraint posed by higher rates, but more work needs to be done across the region and into the future to fully address this…

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"Tri Pointe Homes developing neighborhood of its own"

Austin Business Journal reports, "Tri Pointe Homes Inc. broke ground earlier this month on its first Georgetown neighborhood, the developer announced July 12.

The neighborhood, called Park Central, will bring more than 400 single-family and attached homes to the fast-growing city north of Austin from Tri Pointe (NYSE: TPH), a national homebuilder that is one of the busiest in the region. While Tri Pointe's Austin division has jointly developed communities in Central Texas, Park Central will be the first community it self-develops on its own, Division President Bryan Havel said in an email.

Park Central is rising on 77.8 acres at Sam Houston Avenue and Bell Gin Road in southeast Georgetown. Homes will sit on 45- and 50-foot lots and range from…

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"Austin booms as No. 7 U.S. metro for new home construction in 2023"

CultureMap Austin writes, "Austin already has one of the most active real estate development markets within the last decade and holds a top 10 rank for the most built-to-rent homes. Now, the Austin metro area has now earned another top 10 spot for the seventh-highest new home construction rate in 2023, according to a recent analysis by Chamber of Commerce.

The booming housing construction is just one way Austin is trying to keep up with its remarkable population growth.

The June 2023 edition of the "Cities with the Most New Homes" analysis discovered that despite new home permits being down over 20 percent year-over-year from 2022, the state capital's housing market is still on the rise.

"Numerous factors such as limited inventory in the…

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