Grossman & Jones Real Estate Blog - new construction

"Austin metro's smallest county is among the fastest-growing in the nation"

Austin Business Journal shares, "Caldwell County Judge Hoppy Haden isn't surprised that his largely rural county is among the fastest-growing in the nation.

"I told somebody the other day that doesn't come as shock to me because I've been living it for the last three years," Haden said.

Newly released U.S. Census Bureau data pegs Caldwell County — the smallest of the Austin metro's five counties — at No. 9 on the annual list of fastest-growing U.S. counties among those with populations of at least 20,000.

The population of Caldwell County grew to 52,430 in 2024 from 50,107 a year prior — a 4.6% increase that doubled the metro's overall 2.3% growth rate. Still, all four of the metro's other counties — Travis, Williamson, Hays and Bastrop —…

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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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"John Goff's Crescent Real Estate to build luxury development in Horseshoe Bay"

Austin Business Journal shares, "A major real estate development and management firm that once owned The Woodlands outside of Houston has broken ground on a new luxury housing development in Horseshoe Bay west of Austin.

Fort Worth-based Crescent Real Estate LLC already has lots available for purchase in the 114-acre project in the Summit Rock neighborhood of Horseshoe Bay, according to an announcement.

“We look for high-quality developments where we can develop product that fits market demand,” Crescent Chairman John Goff said following the March 4 groundbreaking. “When we look at Texas, it’s just on fire. We have a lot of in-migration because we’re a business-friendly state, and there is a clear need to offer high-end resort product in the…

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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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"RAINEY STREET 3.0"

Austin Business Journal writes, "Austin’s Rainey Street is about to emerge from a construction cocoon — solidifying its longtime transformation from a once sleepy, residential street into one of the densest areas in Texas, if not the country.

The district in downtown Austin has been years in the making. It was a hub of late-night entertainment and barhopping in the 2010s, and a flurry of high-rise construction in recent years has made it difficult for bars and businesses to bring in patrons.

Once the dust settles, however, the new Rainey Street Historic District will become its own ecosystem. Thousands will call the area home, in addition to a mixture of hotels, offices, retailers, restaurants and a host of both daytime and nighttime activities.…

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"Exclusive: The District, a huge and long-anticipated Round Rock project, finally moves forward"

Austin Business Journal shares, "It's been nearly six years to the day since The District in Round Rock was first approved north of Austin. But after years of tweaking and widening the design of the $500 million-plus mixed-use project across from Dell Technologies Inc.'s headquarters, construction is finally about to begin.

Stakeholders in March will hold a groundbreaking for the 66-acre project near I-35 and State Highway 45 Toll Road. It's a notable milestone for a project that was first brought to the Round Rock City Council in 2017 by California-based Mark IV Capital, was first approved for a development agreement in 2019, and has been moving back through the design, planning and incentives process over the last several years.

The District…

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"Austin suburbs are some of the top U.S. hot spots for new rental homes"

CultureMap Austin shares, "A new rental report has revealed Texas is leading the nation with the highest single-family home rental construction growth, and Austin is among the top 10 U.S. metros building the most new homes for rent.

The analysis from rental listings website Point2Homes examined construction rates and building permit data for single-family homes that are "located in build-to-rent, professionally managed communities" across America. For the purpose of the study, build-to-rent communities are defined as those where a majority of homes eitherdon't share any walls with each other, or so have some shared walls but do not have neighbors above or below, or have a direct-access garage.

According to the report's findings, Austin's rental…

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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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