Luxe Austin Homes - residential real estate

"Housing Market Filled With ‘Wait-and-See’ Home Buyers"

Realtor Magazine reports, "Contract signings fell last month to the lowest level on record, as the housing market continued trudging through a sluggish summer. The National Association of REALTORS®’ newly released Pending Home Sales Index—a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings—dropped 5.5% in July and was down 8.5% compared to a year earlier.

“A sales recovery did not occur in midsummer,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “The positive impact of job growth and higher inventory could not overcome affordability challenges and some degree of wait-and-see related to the upcoming U.S. presidential election.”

Some prospective home buyers also may be waiting for mortgage rates to drop. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome…

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"3 Austin neighbors are the best Texas suburbs for house renters"

CultureMap Austin shares, "For single-family home renters, finding the right suburb to live in around Austin can be a complicated process. But three distinct Austin neighbors have come out among the top 10 best best suburbs for house renters in Texas: Hutto, Lakeway, and Leander.

This crowning achievement was awarded in online real estate marketplace Point2Homes' new study, "Top Texas Suburbs for House Renters." The report compared suburbs within a 20-mile radius (or 30-mile driving distance) from Texas' five largest cities — San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Dallas, and Fort Worth — based on 12 metrics, including a suburb's cost of living, share of single-family rental listings, five-year renter income growth, and more.

Hutto ranked as the No. 3…

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"Buyers are snatching up starter homes"

RealEstateNews.com shares, "While the market remains tepid overall, starter homes are drawing more interest as mortgage rates trend lower and inventory rises.

Pending sales for starter homes jumped more than 10% in July year-over-year, according to the latest Redfin report, reaching the highest level in nearly two years. That's in stark contrast to pending sales for all other tiers, which fell by between 6-10% over the same time period. 

Sale prices of entry-level homes were also up, but increased at a slower pace than other home segments, a sign that inventory and demand are more balanced in the lower price tiers. Redfin defined starter homes are those with a sale price in the 5th-35th percentile. 

Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar…

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"Slight Uptick in Home Sales as More Listings Hit Market"

Realtor Magazine reports, "Home affordability conditions are improving slightly, which helped to fuel more real estate transactions in July. Existing-home sales, which account for completed transactions for single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, saw their first uptick in about four months, rising 1.3% in July compared to June, NAR’s latest housing report shows.

“Despite the modest gain, home sales are still sluggish,” says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, adding that sales are still down 2.5% from a year ago. “But consumers are definitely seeing more choices, and affordability is improving due to lower interest rates.”

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.49% as of Aug. 15, down from 7.09% a year earlier, which is…

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"Townhomes — why aren't they popular here?"

Austin Business Journal writes, "Even with a ballooning population and pushes for increased density, Austin has shied away from townhome development.

There are about 570 active single-family projects in Austin, and 40 of them are townhome developments, said Keith Hughes, vice president of sales at housing analytics company Zonda. And that’s keeping in track with other Texas cities, according to Zonda’s National Outlook report, but lagging behind other metros across the country.

Zonda defines townhomes as multilevel, single-family residential units sharing a common wall with another similar structure. These homes are typically built in series or rows.

Zonda's data shows that, while townhome deliveries have slowed since the pandemic in many…

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"D.R. Horton could bring around 1,500 homes to Bastrop"

Austin Business Journal shares, "The busiest volume homebuilder in the region plans to bring around 1,500 homes to a small town outside Austin.

Bastrop City Council was shown new plans for a public improvement district called Valverde on Aug. 13 that could be valued at $557 million at full buildout. The property is owned by D.R. Horton Inc. through its Continental Homes of Texas LP subsidiary, according to property records.

The Valverde plans are the latest evolution of a project that was formerly called Viridian, which was also a D.R. Horton project.

Valverde would rise on 399 acres north of State Highway 71, and plans call for both single and multifamily development. In a statement, D.R. Horton Austin Division President Scott Wilburn…

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"Where wealthy people live"

Austin Business Journal writes, "In his 2005 State of the City address, then-Austin Mayor Will Wynn — fresh off leading the Downtown Austin Alliance — had a goal of 25,000 people living in downtown Austin.

At the time, about 5,000 people called the Central Business District home. Almost 20 years later, downtown is still far short of that goal but growth has ramped up as thousands of new apartments and condos rise toward the sky. 

The DAA now pegs downtown's population at about 15,000. Almost 900 were added last year, DAA reports. They come for the high-rise living, entertainment, quality restaurants and urban hike-and-bike trails.

It's an appealing package if you can afford it — the downtown ZIP code, 78701, is now the wealthiest in the area…

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"Austin home sales slip as more buyers look outside the city, report says"

CultureMap Austin writes, "It's been a long-established trend that Austinites will relocate to a much more affordable part of town, even if it means sacrificing shorter work commutes and coveted Austin zip codes. The latest real estate report from Unlock MLS and the Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR) shows home sales have dropped in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA, but are on a steady rise in neighboring Central Texas counties.

Residential home sales fell 3.5 percent year-over-year from July 2023, totalling 2,652 closed sales in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA. Median prices have plateaued at $450,000 for the second consecutive month. With more than 3,800 new home listings added — a 0.3 percent drop from this time last year — the total…

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"Home sales volume continues to remain low in Central Austin"

CommunityImpact Austin writes, "The real estate market for the Central Austin area experienced some decline in home sales volume in July year over year; however, home sales volume increased compared to June, according to data from the Austin Board of Realtors.

This was coupled with an increased amount of time on the market and a decline in sale prices year over year, according to the data.

The details

Home sales volume declined in half of the ZIP codes in the Central Austin market, with the biggest percentage decrease in 78701, while the largest percentage increase was seen for 78731. In June, all 12 ZIP codes experienced a decline in sales.

There was also an increase in all but two of the 12 ZIP codes in days on the market, with the largest increase…

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"Million-dollar markets: America's most expensive ZIP codes for housing"

Austin Business Journal writes, "California's 94027 stands alone when it comes to the nation's most expensive ZIP codes for housing.

The typical home value in 94027 - Atherton, which is located near San Francisco, was $7,711,460 in March 2024 — leading the way among all ZIP codes in America.

That’s according to research obtained for The Business Journals Wealthy 1000, a recent ranking of the nation's wealthiest ZIP codes based on a weighted formula that looks at numerous wealth metrics, including typical home value data from Zillow.

California's 94027 stands alone when it comes to the nation's most expensive ZIP codes for housing.

The typical home value in 94027 - Atherton, which is located near San Francisco, was $7,711,460 in March 2024…

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