Luxe Austin Homes - round rock

"Austin metro's hottest housing markets ranked"

Austin Business Journal shares, "Neighborhoods on the shores of Lake Travis, in Round Rock and in Driftwood are among the hottest housing markets in the Austin area.

That's according to The Business Journals' inaugural hottest housing markets ranking, which is based on third-quarter listing and sales data from Intercontinental Exchange Inc.

The ranking is intended to emphasize sales and pricing momentum in individual ZIP codes, using a weighted formula that includes quarterly and year-over-year comparisons. Only ZIP codes with complete data were included in the analysis. You can read more about the methodology at the bottom of this story.

Using those criteria, Austin’s 78726 ZIP code was found to have the most momentum in the metro. Located…

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"Austin makes new list of 10 easiest cities to pay off a mortgage"

CultureMap Austin writes, "Whether a homeowner's mortgage lasts for 15 or 30 years, paying off such a large debt can be an arduous process. But luckily for homeowners living in the Austin area, paying off a mortgage is much easier than it is in many other large metropolitan areas in the country, according to a new report by SmartAsset.

Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown ranked No. 10 in SmartAsset's new study analyzing the top 40 large U.S. metros where it's easiest to pay off a mortgage. Rankings were determined based on the principal and interest payments for conventional 30-year fixed rate mortgages issued in 2023, relative to the median income of new homeowners.

Leading the nation as the No. 1 easiest place to pay off a mortgage is Pittsburgh,…

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"Outside Austin, the metro's wealthiest ZIP codes are up north"

Austin Business Journal writes, "The Austin Business Journal recently revealed that the metro's wealthiest ZIP code is in the core of the city: downtown Austin.

But what about when you venture outside of city limits? That honor belongs to Cedar Park's 78613 ZIP code, which came in at No. 18 on the list.

American City Business Journals, ABJ's parent company, used a weighted formula with numerous factors, including per capita income, home equity, typical home value, estimated savings and poverty rate to determine the wealthiest ZIP codes.

That determined that wealth looks different in the suburbs. The 78613 ZIP code, which roughly spans north from the Lakeline Mall off Farm to Market Road 620 to New Hope Drive, has a per capita income of around…

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"3 Austin neighbors shine on new list of America's safest suburbs"

CultureMap Austin shares, "Crime may be a concern for some Austinites, but life is a little more relaxed just beyond the city limits. Cedar Park, Georgetown, and Round Rock were just named among the safest suburbs to live in the U.S., as declared in a new report by financial advisor marketplace SmartAsset.

The report ranked 360 suburbs of major U.S. cities based on their crime rates, vehicular and drug poisoning mortality rates, and the percentage of the population engaging in "excessive drinking." Housing affordability was an additional factor considered for the 35 safest suburbs.

The No. 1 safest American suburb is Lehi, Utah, which is nearly 30 miles south of Salt Lake City.

Cedar Park (No. 45) was the highest ranking Austin suburb,…

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"McKinney, Round Rock, Austin rank in top 10 best cities for renters"

Bay News 9 shares, "A few Texas cities and the South in general were heavily featured in the best places for renters to live in a new report.

RentCafe, an apartment listing service that conducts research on the real estate market, posted its annual rankings of the best cities for renters earlier this month. Its rankings were determined by looking at 20 different metrics in three categories–cost of living and housing, the local economy and quality of life. 

While Charleston, South Carolina, took the top spot for the second year in a row, three Texas cities ranked in the top 10. 

McKinney, a city in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, came in at No. 4 on the list because of its “lower-than-average cost of living, high-end apartments in top locations…

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"Austin-area housing inventory edges higher in June with potential price relief on horizon"

Austin Business Journal shares, "Housing stock in the Austin area continues to edge higher, reaching healthier levels not seen in the metro in over a decade — and it's possible lower prices are on the horizon.

The Austin-Round Rock metro's housing inventory reached five months in June — the highest it's been since 2011, according to the latest Austin Board of Realtors and Unlock MLS market report. That's closer to the six months of inventory that housing experts say typically represents a healthy balance between supply and demand, and it's up from a level of 3.7 months of inventory in June 2023.

But what does an increase in inventory mean? According to Clare Knapp, an Unlock MLS and ABOR housing economist, buyers and sellers could expect to see…

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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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"Work begins on development that could bring nearly 3,000 homes to Hutto"

Austin Business Journal writes, "Thousands of homes are headed to Hutto, where Houston-based Empire Continental Land LP is building a sprawling new neighborhood.

Empire Continental Land, the Texas land division of residential builder and developer Empire Communities, announced March 18 that work had begun on the project. Flora, as it is called, will rise on more than 800 acres and have nearly 3,000 homes once complete. It’s yet another example of massive neighborhoods sprouting in largely rural areas of the metro as Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Tesla Inc. and other companies expand in the region and spur population growth.

“Hutto is in a period of dynamic growth for both businesses and residential communities,” said Steve Sellers, president of…

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"Suburbs are the stars of the 'Austin' population boom"

Austin Business Journal writes, "About eight out of every 10 people added to the Austin metro during a recent 12-month period settled outside of Travis County — which roughly mirrors the Austin city limits. Travis County added an estimated 7,400 new residents in the second half of 2022 and the first half of 2023, which is not far off of what Oklahoma City can expect for annual population growth these days.

It's perhaps a sobering comparison for many Austinites and especially Texas Longhorn fans, but a deeper dig into the latest U.S. Census Bureau data reveals what may be a more disturbing fact: More people are moving away from Travis County than to it. If it wasn't for babies, Travis County would be shrinking.

Travis was the only county in the…

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"The District mixed-use project moving forward even bigger than originally planned"

Austin Business Journal reports, "one of the region's most-anticipated projects is back on track — and much bigger than previously planned.

Eight years ago, Mark IV Capital, a Newport Beach, California-based commercial real estate firm, purchased a 66-acre plot near Interstate 35 and the State Highway 45 toll road for a project known as The District. But the plans subsequently stalled, mostly due to shifting market conditions stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

Since then, the size of the project has more than doubled. The District is planned as a $500 million investment that will result in 3 million square feet of development and a minimum of 5,000 jobs at full buildout in 2039. Original plans called for 1 million square feet by 2039 and a…

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