Grossman & Jones Real Estate Blog - new construction

"Lund Farm pitched as big neighborhood in rural area near Elgin"

Austin Business Journal reports, "a 570-acre community may be coming to the Elgin area with more than 1,800 single-family homes, hundreds of multifamily units and nine acres of commercial space.

A little-known company called Blossoms Development has proposed Lund Farm off State Highway 95, north of Elgin. The company wants to have a diversity of home types and prices, according to a public presentation posted online by the city of Elgin. It also aims to create a walkable neighborhood that leverages the natural features of the site by using floodplains as amenity space and restoring historic blackland prairie.

In addition to the single-family homes, Lund Farm could have nearly 650 multifamily units, plus parks, an amenity center and a possible…

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"What a more normal Austin housing market looks like"

Austin Business Journal writes, "Austin's housing market has had a full year of "normalization," experts say, but we aren't out of the woods yet.

After years of soaring prices and diminished inventory fueled by a pandemic-era buying frenzy, home prices began falling back toward more normal levels and inventory began rising in July 2022. Market observes have framed this as a return of more normal conditions, dictated by actual supply and demand and affected by typical season fluctuations.

A year later, what does that look like? The Austin Board of Realtors this week reported that the metro had a median sales price of $462,000 last month, down 10% from a year prior and much lower than the peak of $550,000 in April and May 2022.

Inventory, which…

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"Q&A: Austin Board of Realtors housing economist helps others ride the waves of Austin market"

Community Impact Austin shares, "Clare Losey joined the Austin Board of Realtors as its housing economist in March. She graduated from Texas A&M University with a PhD in August 2021 and previously worked at the Texas Real Estate Research Center. This interview has been edited for clarity and consistency.

What made you choose Austin?

I attended [The University of Texas] for undergrad and just really fell in love with Austin, and I love just the outdoorsy aspect of it. I think folks here tend to strike a happy medium; they tend to find jobs that they’re at least reasonably passionate about, but yet they have hobbies on the side that they really enjoy.

What do you do as a housing economist for the ABoR?

Much of what I do is focus just on digesting what’s…

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"Luxury homes replace church in Brentwood, a new normal juxtaposition for Austin"

Austin Business Journal writes, "a handful of new luxury homes have started hitting the market in Central Austin’s Brentwood neighborhood.

Brentwood Heights, as the community is called, is a 1.4-acre, eight-home co-development from Cascade Homes and Urbane Roost, and the luxury residences come with a hefty price tag: $1.6 million to $1.9 million, according to an Aug. 17 announcement.

It's a price point that even those already living in Brentwood may struggle to afford. But new luxury homes for sale right beside older and cheaper properties is the direction Austin is trending in, Ashley Jackson, 2023 president of the Austin Board of Realtors. The Brentwood area is located a few miles west of where U.S. Route 183 meets I-35.

Two of the homes…

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"AISD is building teacher housing amid affordability crunch"

AXIOS Austin reports, "in an effort to recruit and retain teachers amid the city's rising cost of living, Austin ISD is trying something new: building housing.

• It's part of a national trend of school districts working to help chronically underpaid teachers afford to live where they teach.

Driving the news: Within 12 months, the district plans to choose developers, who will construct and manage two residential complexes with 600 units on unused district land.

• It plans to lease the former Ana Ferrales Coy Facility and former Rosedale Elementary School to developers who will be able to leverage its property tax-free status to keep rents affordable, Austin ISD director of real estate Jeremy Striffler tells Axios.
• They'll be…

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"5 New Braunfels developments to watch"

Community Impact Austin writes, "from apartment buildings to industrial complexes to local elementary schools, check out updates on five developments being constructed in New Braunfels." 

1. Bainbridge at Creekside

• Project details: The garden-style apartment homes will feature walk-in closets, 9-foot ceilings and quartz countertops. The development will also offer a resort-style pool with a sundeck and a clubhouse with social areas, a television and firepits. The property will also feature a state-of-the-art fitness center and pet park.
• Location: 770 Barbarosa Road, New Braunfels
• Timeline: July 2022 -May 2024
• Size: 14.02 acres total, 291 units

2. Equinox Townhomes

• Project details: The triplex and fourplexes townhome community…

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"Meritage Homes eager to add to Turner's Crossing neighborhood in far South Austin"

Austin Business Journal writes, "Meritage Homes of Texas LLC continues to expand its Turner's Crossing neighborhood in far South Austin.

More homes could soon rise in the neighborhood off Turnersville Road, in Austin's extraterritorial jurisdiction near the city of Buda. Austin's Planning Commission on Aug. 8 recommended to City Council the approval of the third phase of Turner's Crossing.

Meritage is seeking a final plat for 267 new single-family lots on more than 41 acres, south of the State Highway 45 toll road.

It would be another step forward for what what's planned as a large community about 10 miles south of downtown Austin. If fully constructed, the development could have more than 1,300 single-family homes on 468 acres, Austin…

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"Landsea Homes to build in budding Lariat neighborhood"

Austin Business Journal reports, "months after relocating its headquarters to North Texas from Southern California, a national homebuilder is erecting residences in one of Central Texas’ most explosive cities.

Dallas-based Landsea Homes (Nasdaq: LSEA) purchased 84 lots to build on within Liberty Hill’s sprawling 688-acre Lariat neighborhood — developed by Liberty Hill-based Randolph Texas Development LLC — the homebuilder announced Aug. 3.

Landsea, which announced its corporate relocation to Dallas in March, now has more than 1,000 homes planned for cities surrounding Austin. And, according to Landsea’s website, Central Texas is the state’s only region Landsea has projects being worked on in.

Landsea’s offerings within Lariat will be varied,…

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"Home prices stabilize after historic highs in Southwest Austin area"

Community Impact Austin writes, "even as Southwest Austin remains among the most desirable and pricier areas of the metro to buy or rent, local data points to the housing market settling down after a recent burst of activity.

Movement toward a more balanced market has been underway since last year with observers crediting broader trends, such as rising interest rates, lasting inflation and more mild job growth, for spurring the changes. Every month in 2023 has seen local homes priced well below 2022 levels and taking longer to sell.

The days of new home listings drawing crowds and selling rapidly are not entirely over, some real estate experts said. Generally, they said buyers now have a better chance to explore their options thanks to narrowing…

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"Austin expedites land use reforms for denser housing"

Austin Business Journal reports, "a push by a handful of Austin-based nonprofits to expedite construction of denser, more affordable housing has garnered a response from City Hall.

A coalition of housing-focused organizations issued a call to city leaders on July 7 to expedite code changes to enable developers to build denser and faster than previously allowed. The letter was from the Austin Housing Coalition, Transit Forward, HousingWorks Austin and the Austin Justice Coalition.

About two weeks later, Austin City Council unanimously approved a resolution July 20 that authorizes the city manager to propose code amendments that complement the city’s ongoing piecemeal changes to its land development code. The ultimate goal is to streamline…

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