Found 23 blog entries tagged as metro.

Austin's position on the 2024 list marks a return to a spot it hasn't held since 2013. ARNOLD WELLS / ABJ

Austin Business Journal reports, "the Austin area has retaken the top spot on the Milken Institute's prestigious 2024 Best-Performing Cities list.

Such a listing will undoubtedly draw the eyes of people looking for a new place to live or start a business, and it combats anyone's perception that Austin has passed its prime.

The index from the nonprofit think tank has been published annually since 1999 and ranks cities on a variety of metrics, including job creation, wage growth and output growth. Designed to help the public and private sectors evaluate and compare cities throughout the nation, the list is particularly handy for Realtors, job recruiters and site selectors.

Austin's position this year at the summit of Milken's largest cities…

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Nationally, 32% of homes are selling above list price. But in some areas, that percentage is much higher and still rising. SIRAANAMWONG VIA GETTY IMAGE

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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Community Impact Austin reports, "while homes in cities across the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan statistical area have been hit with high interest rates in recent months, data from the Austin Board of Realtors shows that the market is continuing to stabilize.

According to July ABoR data for the metro, closed listings increased 0.6% year over year to 2,815 sales. Homes spent an average of 59 days on the market—37 more days compared to last year—and the number of new listings on the market also fell, but active listings and overall home inventory increased. Additionally, median home prices across the metro is down 10% for an average of $462,000.

The breakdown

In Travis County, year over year:

  • There were 5.5% more sales, 15.8% more active listings…

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The majority of counties recorded population growth between 2020 and 2022, but some counties performed much better than others. UNDREY VIA GETTY IMAGES

Austin Business Journal writes, "when it comes to population growth during the Covid-19 era, large suburbs are shining. Urban centers and rural counties? Not so much.

That’s according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau with updated population estimates for 2022. 

Nationally, counties with populations of at least 250,000 in 2020 grew by an average of 0.84% between 2020 and 2022. For all counties, the average was 0.44%.

But a closer look at the data shows the strongest growth was generally in ring counties — suburban counties located within the nation's largest metro areas.

Among counties with at least 250,000 residents, the top counties for percentage growth were St. Johns County, Florida (located in metro Jacksonville); Hays County,…

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Median sales prices in the metro skyrocketed to a record-high $550,000 last April, and are down by about $83,000 a year later. CODY BAIRD / ABJ

Austin Business Journal writes, "one year after setting a median sales price record of $550,000 last April, housing prices are down in the metro.

The median sales price in the Austin area was $466,705, a 15% year-over-year decrease that amounts to $83,295, according to the Austin Board of Realtors April market report. And while prices have been trending up in recent months, the year-over-year decrease is a welcome signal to Central Texas, which saw housing prices skyrocket at unsustainable rates during the Covid-19 pandemic to a level where many buyers were over-bidding on property. It wasn't uncommon for a $400,000 home to sell for closer to $500,000 in recent years.

“This is still a market that is seeing lots of activity, just not at a…

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Austin’s apartment construction rate is three times larger than the average rate in 50 of the largest American metro. Photo by Cosmic Timetraveler on Unsplash

CultureMap Austin writes, "if you think new apartment buildings have been popping up nonstop all around the city within the last couple of years, you’d be right. The Austin-Round Rock metro area is experiencing one of the biggest apartment construction booms in the nation, in an effort to alleviate an ongoing affordability crisis.

But while increasing multi-family housing is solving part of the problem, long term it keeps homeownership out of arm’s reach for younger Americans. That’s according to a new report from apartment rental “matchmaker” and marketplace Apartment List.

Austin has spent decades building more housing for its residents, and 2022 saw the highest number – 18.3 – of new unit permits being issued per thousand residents. Austin’s…

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KXAN Austin writes, "just days after the Austin Board of Realtors said the local housing market is starting to “rebalance,” Zillow has released a much harsher outlook: the Austin market is now “ice cold.”

The characterization comes as Zillow released its market report for December 2022.

The report shows homes in the Austin area are spending a median of 68 days on the market, more than in any other major metro nationwide. Back in December 2021, Zillow reported homes in the area were on the market for a median of 22 days.

Another metric in the report shows homes aren’t selling for as much as they used to. In November, just 11% of listings sold for higher than the asking price, down from 47% a year before.

That may be leading some homeowners…

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Masa y Más opened at 1817 S. Lamar Blvd., Austin, on Jan. 6. (Courtesy Masa y Más)

Community Impact shares, "Buzz Burger, a new burger food truck, opened on Jan. 20 at The Buzz Mill in Riverside. Buzz Burger offers a half-vegan, half-omnivore menu with burgers, wraps, loaded fries and sides. Buzz Burger and The Buzz Mill are both owned by Austinite Jason Sabala and located at 1505 Town Creek Drive, Austin. Instagram: buzzburgeratx

Homie Fries—a new food truck from the team behind Burro Cheese Kitchen—opened at 75 Rainey St., Austin, in December. The food truck, owned by Justin Burrow and Aaron Ross, sells loaded fries with an array of toppings, including cheddar jack cheese, smoked brisket, bacon and more. www.homiefries.com

Masa y Más—a counter-style restaurant serving up birria, al pastor and other Mexican favorites—opened on 1817…

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2022 was another record year for Austin-area housing but recent inventory rise provides 'breathing room' MIKE CHRISTEN/ABJ

Austin Business Journal writes, "the Austin metro housing market set another sale price record in 2022 — but prices ended the year trending down, another sign of continued cooling and a possible return to more normal conditions.

The average median sale price of a home was $503,000 last year, an 11% increase from 2021, according to the latest data from the Austin Board of Realtors.

However, after peaking at $550,000 in April and May, prices have been steadily retreating — hitting $457,426 in December, a 3% year-over-year decrease and nearly $100,000 less than in the spring.

Some of that decline is likely tied to the time of year, as home sales typically slow in the winter months. But even that seasonality would be a welcome return after a…

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Here is how the Apple campus could look when totally finished, with about 3 million square feet. Construction began in November 2019 on the 133-acre site. APPLE

Austin Business Journal reports, "the second phase of construction at Apple Inc.’s Northwest Austin campus shows no sign of slowing down as the tech titan files to raise yet another building on the property.

It's welcome news for a city — and real estate sector — that has been put at risk by big tech employers lately as recession fears loom and the work-from-home model prevails. Facebook (Nasdaq: META) is slimming down in Austin, backing out of space it was to take in Austin's next tallest skyscraper. News of coming layoffs at Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) and Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) has left many real estate pros on pins and needles.

But Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) appears to be bucking that trend. Executives did not respond to requests for…

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