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Austin, TX Real Estate News

By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
AustinTowers posts news and analysis on the downtown condo market 2-3 times every week. If you use Google for search, we've made it easy to add our news feed to your google home page. Simply click on the "Add to Google" button on the right and you will be directed to Google to create an iGoogle search page like the one below, to add AustinTowers to an existing iGoogle page, or to add AustinTowers to Google Reader. Once added, you'll see our latest headlines whenever you visit your iGoogle page to conduct a web search. If you later change your mind, it's easy to remove the AustinTowers feed or to revert to a basic search page. As many of you know, you can also subscribe to the AustinTowers feed on this site by simply clicking the Orange RSS feed button on the sidebar or by following this...
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By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
Rumors have been circling for months that AquaTerra, a 163 unit 20-story project planned for Barton Springs road between Congress Avenue and south First street, has been having trouble getting off the ground. In fact, the building was supposed to be complete by 2008 -- yet construction hasn't even broken ground. While we have not received any confirmation from the developers, we have heard from other sources that the project is in fact on hold and is unlikely to ever be completed. If true, this represents the first major cancellation of a downtown condo project. While it is easy to blame the project's demise on the credit liquidity crisis, AquaTerra has been in trouble for many months due to weak demand. Competition is intense to market units to downtown buyers --- projects that are not...
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By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
The Austin City Council today approved the first phase of a plan to create a second "downtown" urban center in the region of north Austin near Braker and Mopac -- essentially the area surrounding the domain. As we have reported in the past, between now and 2015, one developer alone plans to build 50 new buildings with heights ranging from 2-26 stories (as tall as 310 feet). When complete, The Domain will form a second Austin "downtown" with as many as 82,000 residents and 50,000 daytime workers. To put these numbers in context, Mayor Will Wynn has working hard towards a big goal: getting 25,000 people to live in the real downtown by 2015, the same timeframe. Here is the summary from the Austin Business Journal: Austin's City Council gave final approval of phase 1 of the North Burnet/Gat...
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By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
Population density, the number of people per square mile, is an indicator of suburban sprawl. A large city with a low population density will be spread across a broader geographic area than an equally sized city with a higher level of density. The lower the density, the more land it takes to fit all of a city's residents. The more land, the longer people must drive for work or to get groceries, the more lawn there is too water, the more the natural environment is reclaimed for malls and yards and roads. There are many benefits to having a higher density city. The environmental impact is minimized, public transportation is easier, sprawl is reduced. Today, Austin is not a high density city: even the central downtown area is relatively low density compared to the core of other major citie...
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By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
There has been lots of mixed news on the national and local real estate front over the last few months -- so it is a relief to see good news from BartonPlace Condominiums. According to the developers, the project has taken $30 million in deposits on 61 of their 270 units. With strong pre-sales, the project has been able to secure financing for the project from IBC Bank in Austin -- clearing the biggest hurdle to a new project and setting them up to begin construction in the first quarter of 2008. The project is being developed behind Austin Java on Barton Springs road. Here is the summary from the Statesman: The BartonPlace announcement comes amid a dramatically changed lending and credit environment nationwide, with experts predicting that some Austin condo developers who don't already...
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By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
The Austonian is going to be nice. At 56-stories, it will be the tallest building in Austin. In fact, it would be the tallest residential building in San Francisco. It has a beautiful pool and a dog park with a special doggie toilet. These luxury features, however, are not free. Units in the Austonian start at $500K and top out at more than $7 million -- more than the selling price of almost any apartment or single family home in the history of Austin. On top of this, residents will pay the highest condo fees of any project in the city -- an amazing $0.64 per square foot per month which equates to almost $1,300 per month for a 2,000 square foot unit. Condo fees fund the daily operations and maintenance of most condo buildings. They cover security, landscaping, cleaning of common area, ...
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By Scott Hutchinson, Lago Vista Real Estate
(REAL ESTATE)
 Caslano, a gated community, is a great place to live and with only one lot left you had better act fast. One of the biggest perks is being so close to the U.T. Golf Club but Steiner Ranch also offers an array of Shops, Restaraunts, and health spas.  Oh and dont forget about the Lake Austin Spa Resort. Located on what was once the legendary Steiner Ranch, Caslano on Lake Austin features 38 large home sites, created with sensitivity to space, privacy and nature. Caslano offers 18 lakefront home sites ranging from 2.52 to 11.81 acres); 10 lake view home sites ranging from 2.96 to 8 acres or 10 ranchette home sites ranging from 2.95 to 11.89 acres).
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Austin has long been a home for friendly folk- friendly to each other, friendly to animals, and friendly to the environment. What used to be considered as only the concerns of hippies and the bohemian sect, environmentalism is now at the forefront of commercial and residential design, and "green" businesses are popping up nationwide. Austin, however, was the first city in the United States to establish a local green-building program, laying out environmentally friendly and sustainable guidelines for home builders and its interested citizens back in 1991. Since the Austin real estate market is known nationwide as the leader of these green building methods, the National Association of Home Builders chose the city as its hub to launch an industry-wide effort to establish green-building gui...
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By Laura Laura
(Sky Realty)
Residential Single Family closed in November.  Although the number closed through November has decreased from 26,073 to 24, 379 and Volume sold through November from 6,019M to 6,012M the Average sales price through November has increased from $231K to $247K. 
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By Laura Laura
(Sky Realty)
Austin Area real estate market is unbelievable with its rapid growth and out of state relocates.  Austin is the central "hot spot" of America.  My personal experience of purchasing a house this year was incredible.  I too have been  bitten by the "real estate bug"  and jumped in for the first time in my life purchased my own first house not only was it a home purchase,  it was a full renovation of my home.  This home experience not only showed me hands on experience but the realm of contractors from electricians to painters to framers how busy the market is and will remain.  Sure the home market statistics show different at times but this is Austin Texas home of University of Texas and one of the live music capital's of the world.  From a Realtor's point of view we always hear statistic...
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By Dee Copeland, Principal Broker
(Copeland Group Realty)
If you've heard some rumbling lately, it's not a thunderstorm. There's trouble brewing in East Central Austin. Small lot property owners are upset with limitations the City Planning Commission proposed on December 11th. The new changes will decrease the ability of over 1500 East Austin residents to build on their small parcels of land. East Austin resident and property owner, "Hollywood" Henderson, sent a note to thousands of his fellow residents to cotral them take a stand at the January 17th City Council Meeting for the final vote on this issue. Here's an excerpt from Mr. Henderson's letter to his neighbors:Dear Neighbor,I have an urgent message about your current property rights. They are about to be taken. The City of Austin and a neighborhood group called OCEAN is planning to take ...
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By Garreth Wilcock, Sherlock Homes Frisco
(Sherlock Homes Frisco)
A report in the Austin Business Journal shows that homes in Austin rose in price by 8.62 per cent in the year ending October 2007. This report from First American LoanPerformance mirrors other data that shows Austin prices are holding strong, despite turmoil reported in the mass media on the overall US housing market. The old anology that describing the real estate market in the US is like predicting the weather in the US holds true. If you read the CNN Money report on the fall in new home sales, you would think there were storms from coast to coast. It uses words like “plunged” when it describes the fall in sales, and cites the downgrading of Lennar, Centex and Pulte homes debt to junk status by Moody’s. Certainly, the cloud over national homebuilders does extend to Austin - Centex re...
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By Alan Kirkpatrick, Alan in Austin
(Austin Texas Homes)
CLICK THE PICTURE  If you are coming to Austin you must have a Crepe!!! You can hardly get in during lunch the line is around the block and there is no place to park but if you can be patient you will enjoy the best food you have ever tasted. And for dessert try the Lemon Dreamcicle crepe with fresh blueberries, and the Cinnamon Sugar Crepe with cream cheese. Throw down from the food network recognized Flip happy and challenged them but lost to the two ladies who started this great business. There lines from opening to close so be prepared to wait but the wait is worth it.   
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By Christopher Brooks, Austin TX
(REMAX Capital City Austin Texas)
Perhaps one of the most important (and frequently asked about) sections in the Texas One to Four Family contract is Section 23, the Termination Option. More of a benefit to a Buyer than a Seller in most cases, this section allows the prospective buyer the unrestricted right, given an agreed upon time frame and fee, to terminate if they meet the following criteria. The first step is to negotiate the time frame and the fee amount during the offer phase. The fee is given directly to the seller in lieu of the time frame the buyer receives. Both fields within the section must be filled out and the in order for the option to be valid, the seller must receive the agreed upon fee which is generally paid within 2 days. The termination option then gives the buyer three rights; to do nothing and s...
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By Jason Crouch, Broker - Austin Texas Real Estate (512-796-7653)
(Austin Texas Homes, LLC)
This month marks my eleven-year anniversary in full-time Austin real estate.  When I started in January 1997, things were far different. Here are some of the key differences, both in our market and in my life: THEN: We about 2,700 agents in our local board.NOW: There are over 9,700 agents in Austin.  THEN: The average price in the Austin MLS was just $135,000, and the median price was $110,000.NOW: Current average sales price in our market is $249,300, and the median is $182,000.  THEN: In 1997, there were only 13 homes that sold for over $1 million in Austin.NOW: For 2007, there were 372 home sales in that range.   THEN: Overall, there were only 12,439 home sales in 1997.NOW: In 2007, this number swelled to 28,687, even in a "down" market.   THEN: I was just beginning my sales career, ...
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By Shay Hargus Webb
(Austin Avenue Real Estate Company)
Well, the holiday hustle and bustle has ended for another season but there is always bustling of one kind or another here in Austin.Distinctive in color, "Sunset Red" and topped by an impressive dome is one of the busiest places in Austin, our great State Capitol, not only as a place of conducting business (our state Senate and House of Representatives meet here) but as a place to be seen and admired by visitors and locals alike.  In the early days of Austin, Congress Avenue led from the Colorado River dock up the boulevard to the Capitol.  This was, of course, done for the express purpose of impressing all those who came to the capitol of Texas.  It still makes my heart swell when I am near the river and look up Congress Avenue and see our Capitol Building standing as proud and magnifi...
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By Alan Kirkpatrick, Alan in Austin
(Austin Texas Homes)
TECH THIS WEEKWESTMINSTER, Colo., Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Lynott & Associates (L&A), afull-service public relations firm that represents technology innovators, hasbeen named agency of record for REAL Software Inc. The new client,headquartered in Austin, Texas, develops and markets award winning softwaredevelopment environments used to produce applications that run across systemsexecuting Microsoft Windows, Apple OS/X or Linux.    Westminster-based L&A will provide strategic planning, product launches,media and analyst relations, white paper development and article writing andplacement for the company.BUSINESS:AUSTIN, Texas--(Business Wire)--Timothy Sullivan, President and CEO of Austin Texas-based MysticPharmaceuticals will present at OneMedPlace Emerging HealthcareTechnologies Finance F...
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By Phil Hutson
(Austin TX Real Estate)
Austin is a great place to live, here's a few reason's why:Austin is the Capital of Texas Austin is the 4th largest city in TexasAustin is renowned for it's culture and artsAustin is the live music capital of the USAustin has a 1.4 million residentsAustin is known for its highly trained workforce Austin has exceptional neighborhoodsAustin is known for it's outdoor recreational optionsPhil Hutson, RealtorShowcase of Homes.com2307 W. Parmer Ln.Austin, Texas 78727Local: 512-415-2213Toll Free: 888-410-5858 Austin Real EstateReal Estate Web Design
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The number of new home starts in Austin for the last quarter of 2007 is lowest since 2004. It looks like builders are pulling back on building new homes in Austin which is probably a wise move considering the Austin real estate market has slowed over the last few months. Apparently they have learned from their mistakes in other real estate markets where they failed to respond to market changes quickly enough. Read more on my Austin real estate blog Ki is a realtor in Austin he runs a site about Austin Real Estate
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By Ki Gray, Austin Real Estate
The vast majority of true rock and roll and blues artists have grown up and lived on the poor side of town. Today, the same rings true, as many of Austin's local musicians can be found just east of IH-35, where the streets are a little tougher and the rent a little easier to pay. It makes sense that several live music venues are found on Red River Street, where downtown Austin and East Austin converge, just one block west of the interstate. Though live music clubs can be found sprinkled around town, Red River hosts eight of them within a few block stretch. The music genres vary slightly on Red River with Rock, and its offshoots, as the primary focus. As opposed to the dueling piano players or slew of cover bands normally found on 6th street, the bands playing on Red River are playing al...
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