Grossman & Jones Real Estate Blog - real estate

"Room to grow: Why Austin needs more homes"

Austin Business Journal shares, "It’s no secret that the Austin region has flourished over the past two decades, producing one of the greatest economic development success stories of the past half-century. Texas has consistently been named one of the best states to do business – with Austin helping to lead the way – and three of the top four fastest-growing cities in the country are located in Central Texas. Austin’s economy consistently outperforms national averages except for one glaring exception – housing.*

Austin desperately needs more housing. Our housing market’s severe undersupply of homes, specifically for low- and middle-income buyers, is a challenge our city must overcome not just for our regional economy, but for the people who live and…

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"Is Austin’s hot housing market flipping in favor of buyers?"

Yahoo Finance writes, "The frenzied homebuying days in Austin, Texas, that saw some buyers offer six figures over asking price are gone.

The Texas capital, where the average home price soared by $170,000 during the COVID pandemic, is now seeing major price corrections: The median price per square foot is down 9.5% from its pandemic peak two years ago, according to Realtor.com. As of April, the median list price stood at $557,000.

Austin’s real estate boom was driven by a sudden influx of workers, who were newly remote and suddenly more mobile thanks to early COVID office closures. They encountered a waning supply of inventory, and home prices subsequently spiked, dealing a blow to the city’s affordability.

However, as mortgage rates increase,…

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"Triada gets green light for master-planned community near Elgin"

Austin Business Journal shares, "A real estate developer has secured approval to build a 272-acre master-planned community near Elgin called Triada, potentially bringing 875 homes to the area as well as a park and sports complex.

Pflugerville-based Qualico Communities — a subsidiary of Canada's Qualico — on May 7 won approval from the Elgin City Council for a slew of agreements to help with the project north of U.S. Highway 290 and west of County Line Road northeast of Austin.

Representatives of the company said in a May 8 announcement that the development will offer a range of housing options, along with a 6-acre amenity center with a fitness facility, resort-style pool, playscape, shade structure and two pickleball courts. It also will have 55…

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"Construction resumes on some StoryBuilt developments to maximize sale value"

Austin Business Journal reports, "Construction is picking back up on some projects left incomplete by embattled real estate firm StoryBuilt.

Los Angeles-based Stapleton Group, which was appointed as StoryBuilt's receiver last summer to fix its finances, has resumed construction on some single-family homes in StoryBuilt's $2 billion development pipeline that's up for sale, according to an April 29 report. The goal is to maximize the sale value of the projects. Additionally, an East Austin development site is close to being sold in a deal expected to yield “several million dollars," according to the report.

Stapleton Group "plans to complete the sale of the remaining real estate assets, terminate all employees, complete the construction and sale…

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Barton Creek Lakeside, Where Serenity Meets Luxury

Nestled in the heart of Spicewood, Barton Creek Lakeside beckons with its allure of exclusivity and tranquility. This 24/7 guard-gated, country club community boasts a picturesque waterfront setting that has captivated residents for decades. Stepping into Barton Creek Lakeside feels like entering a world of timeless elegance and natural beauty.

Dating back to the late 1980s and extending into the early 2000s, Barton Creek Lakeside offers a diverse array of housing options, ranging from cozy starter homes to opulent waterfront or golf course estates. This diversity ensures that there's something for everyone, regardless of where they are in life's journey.

One of the defining features of Barton Creek Lakeside is its wealth of recreational…

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"Five questions with Austin's top multifamily developer"

Austin Business Journal writes, "Multifamily development in Austin has slowed dramatically.

In April, 29,669 multifamily units were under construction across 104 communities in the metro, compared to 50,393 units under construction in 178 communities during the same month last year, according to ApartmentData.com.

The Journeyman Group ranked at the top of ABJ's latest list of multifamily real estate developers, with 3,944 units in the works or delivered in the Austin area last year. Journeyman Group has an additional 1,613 units planned for the area.

Alliance Residential ranked second on the list with 3,089 units in 2023, while The NRP Group took the No. 3 spot with 2,442 units. Wilson Capital ranked fourth with 2,135 units and Endeavor…

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"Home prices have reached a milestone. Here's why it's a double-edged sword."

Austin Business Journal shares, "The median sale price for U.S. homes hit a record $383,725 during the four weeks ending April 21, up more than 5% from a year earlier, according to newly available data from real estate firm Redfin Corp.

The increase comes even as the supply of homes also has gone up, with 10.2% more new listings compared to the same time last year.

The record-high sale price is double what the median price was 10 years ago and up about 50% over the past five years, according to Redfin (Nasdaq: RDFN).

High interest rates have kept mortgage rates above 7%, and there's little indication from the Federal Reserve that interest rates will be measurably declining in the near term. That combination has helped push the median monthly…

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"Home Prices Soared Higher in February, Despite Increasing Mortgage Rates"

Realtor.com reports, "Home prices continue to march higher this year, despite pressure from increasing mortgage rates.

National home prices rose 6.4% annually in February, according to data from the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index released Tuesday. That was the largest year-over-year rise since November 2022.

Among the 20 cities tracked, San Diego had the highest year-over-year price jump in February, at 11.4%, followed by Chicago and Detroit, both with increases of 8.9%.

The report tracks single-family home prices across December, January, and February, when mortgage rates dipped to 6.6%. More recently, average rates for 30-year fixed mortgages jumped to 7.17% for the week ending April 25, according to Freddie Mac.

In a note,…

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"New-Home Sales Surge as Buyers Seek Options in Tight Housing Market"

Realtor.com reports, "New-home sales surged last month, as buyers increasingly turned to fresh construction in a housing market plagued by few homes for sale.

Sales of new single-family houses jumped 8.8% in March from the prior month, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 693,000, the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly reported on Tuesday. March sales were up 8.3% from one year ago and were at their highest levels since last September.

The median sales price of new homes was $430,700 in March. That was good news for buyers as the price was down 1.8% from one year ago. This is a result of homebuilders increasingly pivoting to smaller and more affordable homes to appeal to buyers pinched by high mortgage…

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"The Vesper Condo Tower Wraps Up in Downtown Austin’s Rainey Street District"

TOWERS writes, "The 41-story Vesper condo tower is now complete in the Rainey Street District of downtown Austin, with its first phase of move-ins kicking off this week. According to developers Pearlstone Partners and sales agency Prospect Real Estate, the building is currently 67 percent sold. The 452-foot tower broke ground in the summer of 2021, situated on a small 0.4-acre site at the edge of the neighborhood at 84 East Avenue, pretty tightly hemmed in on three sides by the Camden Rainey Street apartment building and a famously garish Homewood Suites. 

It’s just one of a forest of towers now rising in the Rainey District, with the perspective of the aerial shot below showing not one, not two, not three, but four separate tower projects underway…

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