Luxe Austin Homes - residential real estate

"Four Seasons preps amazing piece of Austin for resort-style residences"

CutureMap Austin writes, "One of the most scenic pieces of real estate in Austin is in an area many locals would never have visited. High up in the hills above Lake Austin, it's accessible by a switchback road tucked into 2,000 acres of protected land beyond some existing residences and offices. Soon, residents will also be able to travel by air-conditioned funicular — a European cable car — transforming this escape 380 feet above the lake into a quasi-alpine retreat: the Four Seasons Private Residences Lake Austin.

The Four Seasons and and Austin Capital Partners have taken their time to get every detail right before breaking ground on the 100,000 square feet of private amenities. In 2021, the Four Seasons unveiled the plans (with slightly…

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"Is it a buyer's or seller's market? Neither — but it's moving toward buyers finally"

Austin Business Journal shares, "The Austin-area housing market has reached a stalemate between buyers and sellers — and that's allowing much-needed inventory to catch up and prices to hold steady.

A few years ago it was common for some parts of Central Texas to have a week or two of housing stock. Home inventory in May was clocked at 4.9 months — 1.5 months more than a year ago. It's a level of inventory that hasn’t been seen in 13 years, according to the Unlock MLS report on the Austin Board of Realtors website. Housing experts often say six months of inventory is representative of a healthy market.

“The good news is that we are moving toward a more sustainable level of inventory, which will provide price stability for sellers and more choices for…

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"New real estate report shows big spike in active Austin home listings"

CultureMap Austin writes, "Potential homebuyers on the prowl for a house in the Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown area have a lot more inventory to choose from than usual. Active listings rose to over 12,000 residential properties in May, according to the latest real estate report from Unlock MLS and the Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR).

The spike in active listings is a 37.7 percent year-over-year increase from May 2023, the report said, with more than 5,200 new home listings added last month in a 16.3 percent increase from this time last year. Median prices for homes in the Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown MSA dipped to $459,450 in May after they reached nearly $470,000 in April.

This glut of available housing allows buyers a greater level of…

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"A key housing metric just fell to its lowest point ever"

Austin Business Journal writes, "The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment — a gauge of how good buyers feel about the housing market — fell to its lowest number since the agency began measuring it in 2010.

In May, just 14% of consumers surveyed by the agency said it was a good time to buy a home, down from 20% in April. Those who said it was a bad time to buy increased to 86%. 

Even seller optimism slipped, dropping from 67% who believed it was a good time to sell in April to 64% in May. The growing pessimism comes even as about 20% of those surveyed said their household income was higher than it was a year ago. 

The declining sentiments are yet another factor weighing on the housing market, which is fueling an affordability crisis in many…

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"Work to start this fall on Four Seasons neighborhood on Lake Austin"

Austin Business Journal writes, "First there was the hotel. Then the condo tower next to the hotel. Soon, there will likely be an entire neighborhood here with the esteemed Four Seasons brand — 179 residences and nine villas in all on top of hills but with access to the lake via a funicular. Construction may begin soon.

Turnbridge Equities, a real estate investment and development firm responsible for major Austin projects such as Music Lane and the CitizenM hotel, has joined Austin Capital Partners and Four Seasons Hotel and Resorts as a development partner for the upcoming Four Seasons Private Residences Lake Austin, a luxury housing development on Bridge Point Parkway with views of Pennybacker Bridge, the West Austin hills and the downtown…

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"More than 1K new homes on tap for fast-growing Georgetown"

Austin Business Journal writes, "Georgetown, recently crowned the fastest-growing U.S. city of over 50,000 people for the third year in a row, is getting a new housing development encompassing more than 300 acres.

The Georgetown City Council on May 28 approved the creation of a municipal utility district for Ragsdale Ranch, a housing development that would see more than 1,000 homes rise just a few miles north of Liberty Hill's Santa Rita Ranch — itself one of the fastest-growing neighborhoods in the metro.

Ragsdale Ranch is being developed by HK Ragsdale LLC, according to the meeting agenda, with Paul Kuo listed as the developer contact. According to his LinkedIn profile, he is a managing partner at HK Real Estate Development, a San…

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"Is Austin's housing market overvalued? At least by one measure, the answer is yes"

Austin Business Journal writes, "Home prices in Austin are eclipsing the median buying power of local residents.

That's according to data from First American Financial Corp., which found the housing markets in at least half of the nation's major metro areas are overvalued compared to local buying power.

Home prices have soared nationally over the past decade — especially during the pandemic — and that's driving a significant affordability crisis in many regions. High interest rates and a sustained lack of inventory aren't helping matters.

Local buying power in Austin is $434,663, according to the data. Unfortunately for those in the market for a new home, the median sale price of a house in Austin was clocked at $466,867. That's about a…

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"US rental market continues to cool as record amount of new supply delivers"

Austin Business Journal writes, "The national rental-housing market has continued to cool, with differing outcomes based on geography and unit type.

Several markets in the South posted significant year-over-year declines in apartment rental rates as of April, according to a new Realtor.com analysis. Those declines were led by Nashville, Tennessee, and Austin, Texas, the latter of which has seen an 8.3% annual drop in asking rents and an 11.5% drop since peaking September 2022.

And while most rental markets similarly have come off an August or September 2022 peak, a few locations are bucking the trend — including Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Minneapolis, which all experienced record-high rents in April, Realtor.com found.

Danielle Hale, chief…

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"Home sales are up in Austin thanks to stabilizing housing prices, new real estate report says"

CultureMap Austin writes, "Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown experienced its highest year-over-year increase in home sales this past April, illustrating a growing optimism in the metro area's housing market. That's according to the latest real estate report from Unlock MLS and the Austin Board of Realtor (ABoR).

More than 2,700 homes were sold in April across the Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown MSA, which is a 5.9 percent increase from this time last year. Median prices landed at just under $470,000 in a 1.1 percent increase year-over-year. There were 10,808 active home listings on the market, which is nearly a 32 percent jump from April 2023.

"Despite the higher rate environment, the uptick in affordable inventory in the $300,000 range is allowing more…

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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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