Luxe Austin Homes - new construction

"Houston developer plans 1,900 homes in Liberty Hill northwest of Austin"

Austin Business Journal reports, "A Houston-based developer aims to build more than 1,900 homes in a master-planned community on land northwest of Austin that it recently bought in partnership with the state's General Land Office.

Johnson Development Corp. announced Nov. 10 that it and the General Land Office purchased 764 acres at 680 E. County Road 202 in Liberty Hill, a city of roughly 12,000 people located about 35 miles from Austin.

The purchase of the property was done under an entity tied to Johnson Development Corp., according to Williamson County property records. Officials said that the General Land Office is an investment partner in the project.

Plans for the community — the name of which has not yet been determined — call for…

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"Affordable housing project planned for East Austin"

Austin Business Journal reports, "A new apartment complex with half of its units priced at below-market rates could be coming to East Austin,

Called FiveOne, according to a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the project would encompass roughly 500,000 square feet and include five stories of apartments and a parking garage in a single building. The location, at 5525 E. 51st St., is in the 78723 ZIP code, which is among the top 25 ZIP codes in the region, in terms of poverty rate, while also having a higher home value than the metro’s median home sales price, according to ABJ research.

The owner and developer of FiveOne is an entity named 5525 E 51st Street LLC, which has a Shoal Creek Boulevard address…

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"These new Hill Country houses will have their own private vineyards"

CultureMap Austin shares, "A new luxury development breaking ground near Fredericksburg might have Hill Country oenophiles ready to break out the bubbly. Querétaro, Mexico lifestyle company and winemaker Puerta del Lobo has uncorked a new wine-inspired project that will combine a working winery, event spaces, and massive lots with private vineyards along Wine Road 290.

The ambitious development is the first project for the Mexican winemaker within the United States. The site will be similar to a 2014 Querétaro flagship that blends wine tourism accommodations and fine dining. A press release says the Hill Country tract will eventually include “chef-led restaurants, green areas, recreational amenities, a clubhouse, a wedding venue, an exclusive…

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"What do developers think of building under Austin's HOME ordinance?"

Austin Business Journal writes, "Off a quiet road in South Austin, a homebuilder is trying something new to bring more and less expensive housing to the city. 

Ash Creek Homes is using the city's Home Options for Mobility and Equity ordinance — known as the HOME ordinance — to build 28 detached homes on a 2.4-acre property with 10 residential lots. The location is on Drew Lane near the intersection of Slaughter Lane and Menchaca Road. 

The goal of the project is to see if building a mid-sized housing development under Austin’s HOME ordinance will result in more homes at cheaper prices, said Jenna Edge, president of Ash Creek Homes. She said the company bought the property before the HOME ordinance was approved, with the hope of using the…

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"Hunt Communities bringing 1,500 homes to Belton"

Austin Business Journal reports, "A notable housing developer that's active in the Austin area is bringing 1,500 homes to a city in the northernmost reaches of the metro: Belton.

River Farm, as the neighborhood is known, is being developed by Hunt Communities, according to an announcement. Crews broke ground on the master planned community on Sept. 24.

The El Paso-based developer is building housing communities throughout the state, but in Central Texas, the company is best known for its The Colony neighborhood in Bastrop, a 2,300-acre development that had around 2,000 homes built as of April and another 2,000 on the way.

River Farm is 478 acres. It's located on the southern edge of Belton, just east of I-35, with the Lampasas River on River…

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"PIPELINE SHRINKS FOR SKY-HIGH LIVING"

Austin Business Journal writes, "There's likely to be a multiyear pause in new residential construction in downtown Austin in the wake of a recent building boom, experts say.

Downtown residential projects completed in recent years include the 56-story The Modern Austin Residences developed by Urbanspace, the 41-story Vesper condo tower developed by Pearlstone Partners and The Linden, a 28-story condo tower developed by Reger Holdings LLC and the Armenia Group.

The area has been a big draw for wealthy Austinites, lured by its unique combination of nightlife attractions, dining opportunities, residential development and office buildings that make it possible to live close to work. That has made the main downtown ZIP code — 78701 — the wealthiest…

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"Austin is building more new apartments than any other U.S. city"

CultureMap Austin writes, "It seems that Austin will keep building as long as the people keep moving here. A new apartment construction analysis finds that Austin has the No. 1 highest apartment construction rate out of all U.S. cities this year, with more than 15,000 new units expected to be completed from the beginning of the year to the end of December 2025.

RentCafe's report, "New Apartment Construction Tops 500K Units This Year, More Than Half in 1 Region" examined apartment building data across 369 U.S. metro areas, specifically buildings containing 50 or more units.

More than 500,000 apartments are in development throughout the country this year, the report found, though that's significantly lower than the 640,000-plus units that were…

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"Analysis quantifies impact on rents when apartment supply increases"

Austin Business Journal shares, "Apartment rents typically drop when new units are added to a market's housing supply, but a new analysis quantifies by how much.

The study by the Pew Charitable Trusts on rent changes in major U.S. cities from 2017 to 2024 determined that for every 10% increase in a ZIP code’s housing supply, rent growth was 1.4% less compared to a ZIP code that had no additional housing supply. The Pew analysis also found that a 10% increase in a market's housing supply correlated to rents growing 5% less from 2017 to 2024.

In Austin, which has undergone an apartment building boom in recent years, the biggest rent declines were for older and lower-quality units, the study found.

Alex Horowitz, project director of housing…

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"Where are new homes planned in the Austin metro?"

Austin Business Journal shares, "Some Austin suburbs promise new homes aplenty.

The Austin Business Journal reached out to the city of Austin and its 19 biggest suburbs to survey them on how many single-family homes they report in their development pipelines. Cities measure that differently, and the number includes counts at various stages of entitlement and construction. It's an imperfect science, but it helps gauge how cities are preparing for what's to come in their backyards.

Cities like Kyle (nearly 44,000 homes) and Georgetown (nearly 32,000) have robust pipelines. Taylor (about 8,500) and Buda (about 6,600) are next in line. Meanwhile, Cedar Park is nearing capacity and only reported 200.

Among the highest is Lockhart. The city grew…

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"Austin's affordable housing efforts could be thrown off by new Texas law"

Austin Business Journal reports, "A new state law set to take effect in the fall could throw a wrench in Austin’s plans to incentivize more affordable housing. 

That’s according to the director of Austin's planning department, Lauren Middleton-Pratt, who wrote in a July 28 memo to city leaders — as the city is updating its density bonus programs — that a new state law will require the city to re-evaluate how it incentivizes new income-restricted housing units. 

The new state law is Senate Bill 840, which was passed during the 89th Texas Legislature and allows for mixed-use residential housing on any land that’s zoned for office, commercial, retail, warehouse or existing mixed-uses without needing a zoning change approved by a city. The legislation,…

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