Luxe Austin Homes - housing

"Caliterra in Dripping Springs breaks ground on second phase"

Austin Business Journal reports, "Caliterra, a 600-acre master-planned community in Dripping Springs, is growing.

Developer SR Capital Management broke ground this week on The Ranch at Calterra, a $40 million expansion of the community at 26025 Ranch Road 12, according to an announcement. The new development phase will add more than 200 homes and home sites.

Caliterra’s original plans called for 616 homes, of which 575 have been built. Counting 232 more attributable to The Ranch, Caliterra’s total eventually will come to 848.

The homes at The Ranch, from builders David Weekly Homes, Drees Homes and Scott Felder Homes, will range from 3,000 square feet to 5,000 square feet and will be built on 80- and 100-foot lots. They will start in the…

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"The National Observer: Real Estate: National housing market shifts amid spring season"

Editor's note: Here's a look at The National Observer: Real Estate, a roundup of top real estate news from across The Business Journals' network of publications.

Austin Business Journal shares, "Dallas tends to top the country on a lot of metrics, and it can count new housing supply as another feather in its cap.

The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex experienced a 27% growth in new housing from 2010 to 2023, or 9% higher than its predicted growth of 18%, according to a new study by the George W. Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative. It's also much higher than the average metro growth rate of 15%.

Although DFW is becoming more expensive as more jobs and people move there, its new housing supply is helping to keep home prices and rents…

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"Austin, TX: Cost of Living and Why to Move There"

Racine County Eye writes, "Austin, Texas, is one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. Its booming economy, vibrant culture, and outdoor lifestyle make it an attractive destination. But what does it cost to live in Austin, and is it worth relocating? This guide breaks down the average cost of living in Austin, TX, covering housing, transportation, utilities, and more.

Housing Costs in Austin

Housing is one of the most significant expenses in Austin. The median home price is around $450,000, higher than the national average. Depending on the neighborhood, renters can expect to pay between $1,500 and $2,500 for a one-bedroom apartment. Austin’s cost of living has risen due to the influx of tech companies and job opportunities.

If you plan…

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"Home sales launch in massive Flora neighborhood in Hutto"

Austin Business Journal writes, "A sprawling master-planned community in Hutto is coming along as another homebuilder opens up sales within it.

Nevada-based Tri Pointe Homes, one of the busiest volume homebuilders in the metro, now has homes ready to purchase in the master-planned community, said Bryan Havel, Tri Pointe’s Austin division president. Work on Flora, an 835-acre project in Hutto developed by Precedent Land Company, began in March 2024.

Other homebuilders involved in the first phase of Flora, which Havel said is being built on about 50 acres, include Brightland Homes, Meritage Homes, Empire Communities, Perry Homes, Highland Homes and Westin Homes, according to Flora’s website. Of those, Westin is the only homebuilder not marketing…

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"A solution to housing affordability in Austin?"

Austin Business Journal writes, "Build-to-rent neighborhoods cropping up all around Austin could be one solution to the metro’s crisis-level shortage of affordable housing, some experts contend.

Developers like Arizona-based NexMetro Communities and Empire Group of Cos. have build-to-rent projects set to open here soon. The neighborhoods — which consist entirely of single-family homes built for rental use — are largely in the suburbs, such as Empire Group's projects in Hutto and NexMetro's projects in Liberty Hill and Georgetown.

Empire Group partner Randy Grudzinski said the model is intended to address affordability by offering something between renting an apartment and owning a home.

Build-to-rent homes "allow people to have an interim…

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"Habitat for Humanity's Carter Work Project targets Whisper Valley for affordable homes"

Austin Business Journal shares, "In its latest effort to help address Austin's affordability crisis, Habitat for Humanity plans to build more than two dozen homes in East Austin’s Whisper Valley community and make them available at below-market prices, with hundreds more planned throughout the metro over the next several years.

The nonprofit is doing so in Whisper Valley through its 2025 Carter Work Project, an annual event that started in 1984 when President Jimmy Carter volunteered with Habitat to build and renovate homes. In Austin, the project will see 25 homes built in a single week this year, with prices starting around $150,000.

“When we think about the Carter project, it’s really about not just a local story, but a national and…

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"Austin leads the nation for developing private affordable housing"

CultureMap Austin writes, "Most people like a bargain, particularly money-conscious renters in the Austin area, where rents continue to be stubbornly high. According to RentCafe, the average Austin apartment rent recently stood at $1,691, compared with the statewide average of $1,449. Fortunately, rent relief is on the way: Austin is a hotspot for affordable housing, according to a new study.

The report from data provider Yardi Matrix shows the Austin metro area leads the nation for the number of “fully affordable” apartments and other multifamily housing units under construction by private real estate developers (not by government agencies). Austin ranks first on the list with 2,717 units under construction, followed by Miami with 2,687 and Los…

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"Austin-area housing market poised for another stable year, experts say"

Austin American-Statesman writes, "Steady as she goes.

That about sums up the 2025 outlook by real estate experts for the housing market in the Austin metro area, a five-county region stretching from Georgetown to San Marcos.

Peering into their crystal balls, several leading experts who have tracked the ups and downs of the Central Texas real estate market for years, even decades, foresee stable conditions this year. They predict the 2025 housing landscape could mirror last year's, as more normal trends continue in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic era buying frenzy, when multiple offers, often well above asking price, were common.

Those expected trends include home prices remaining relatively flat; a steady supply of housing; predictable…

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"Austin to deliver more affordable housing in 2025 than any other US city, study says"

Austin Business Journal reports, "Austin is expected to deliver more affordable multifamily housing units than anywhere else in the country in 2025, and it still may not be enough.

With housing affordability a major issue both in Austin and across the country, 2025 is expected to see 78,377 affordable multifamily housing units delivered nationally, with 3,452 units in Austin alone, according to a new report from Yardi Matrix. Los Angeles is expected to deliver the second-most affordable units this year, at 2,752.

Even with nation-leading construction, however, worries persist that Austin still won't have enough. In addition, rising development costs and other issues could reduce the number of new units in coming years.

Affordable multifamily…

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"Elevated prices, interest rates will continue to curb housing affordability in 2025"

Austin Business Journal reports, "Homebuyers and sellers in the Austin metro likely will see little change in prices and inventory in 2025.

That's because median sales prices are likely to hover around the $450,000 mark reported in December 2024, and interest rates are expected to stay high, according to Clare Knapp, housing economist for the Austin Board of Realtors and Unlock MLS. It's a combination that's considered unaffordable for many first-time homebuyers, which means the onus is on homebuilders to build more homes with lower price tags to help move the needle on affordability in the metro.

A first-time homebuyer can typically afford to pay three times their income for a home, putting many in the market for a home in the $300,000 to $400,000…

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