New Wilshire Luxury Home in Austin

With stunning natural beauty, a vibrant cultural scene stoked by a University and the famous SXSW music festival, and unemployment figures that beat national averages, Austin, Texas has been a population mecca for years now, and, for good reason, is one of the five fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States. Yet even with such dynamic growth, Austin’s real estate market remains affordable relative to cities with similar economic, social and cultural profiles (such as San Francisco), meaning that buyers looking for new homes in Austin, Texas have plenty of options to suit every need or desire.

Urban Housing in Austin

Homebuyers looking to stay close to the heart of the action in downtown Austin need look no further than Mueller, a new mixed-use urban village ideally situated near both downtown and UT-Austin. Located on nearly 700-acres left empty by the removal of Austin’s old airport, the property is being redeveloped to include retail, commercial and residential buildings, planned and constructed in a sustainable way. The village will be connected to public transportation, and will eventually house nearly 5,000 single- and multi-family homes, ranging in price from $100K to over $1 million. Options will include condos as well as single-family homes, all of which are designed with function, flexibility and the unique nature of urban living in mind.

The Austin Burbs

Those looking to spread out a little and enjoy the Austin suburbs will also find plenty to choose from. Nearly all of the largest national (and many regional) builders are busy putting their best work forward for Austin’s exacting new home shoppers. Prices in these communities range from the low 100s to the upper 500s, and offer space and convenience, with floor plans from 2,000 to 5,000 square feet, and 3+ bedrooms. Looking for an upscale, gated community within 15 miles of the city? KB Homes has it. Want a 1+ acre homesite a little further out? Mercedes Homes is happy to comply.

Green Homes in Austin

Finally, Austin, Texas is also known for its environmentally-conscious ethos, to which homebuilders pay homage through their various green building programs. Energy- and resource-efficient homes with thoughtful selections of lighting, HVAC, insulation and water-saving upgrades, as well as precautions for indoor quality, are widely available from a number of large homebuilders, as well as from some active niche builders, such as Austin’s Green Builders, Inc. The connection between green building and affordability is getting made in Austin, thanks to decades of cultural and environmental activism on the part of the city’s residents, and their unique blend of cosmopolitan sophistication and grassroots activism.

Long and short of it? In many ways, Austin is a  new home buyer’s paradise, and the endless options offered by Austin home builders are enough to make anyone consider making this one-of-a-kind city home.

See Also:

Austin unemployment data

image credit: Wilshire Homes – Stonewall II in Austin, Texas

The city of Austin has decided to rename the solid wastes department & put it to its residents to come up with names and cast votes. I must say, looking at the winning entry (and winning by a TON) makes me proud to share this city with such cool people. Want to vote? Click here.

I typically run end of the year statistics around this time of the year.  This year, I was curious to see how Austin has performed since 2006 (arguably the start of Austin’s real estate boom) through 2008 (arguably the peak) through 2010 (arguably the end of the recession.)  I expected to see numbers that showed neither the Chicken Littles (the sky is falling!) nor the Real Estate Cheerleaders (most agents) were correct.  I expected to see a gradual decline in volume & price, with a very slight uptick in pricing in 2010.  The numbers were pretty contradictory. First, all the numbers (you can click to expand.)

The first thing I noticed is the total units sold.  This number is way, way down (almost 35%.)

So it looks like the sky actually is falling.  The next set of numbers indicates roughly the same thing.  Total sales volume is also way down – almost 30%.

However, if the # of units sold is down by 35% and sold volume is down by 30%, then it indicates that prices have actually gone up.  If we look at average sold price, we see they’ve increased by just under 7% since 2006, with a decent dip in 2009/2010.

Many people don’t like to look at average sold price, but prefer to look at median.  If you look at median, the price flux is toned down, but price is still up by almost 10%.

So median sold price is up with a dip in 2009.  Many people consider median sold price/s.f. the best metric.  If we look at this, we’re still up by almost 5%, but down slightly since 2007.

So who’s right – the Cheerleaders or the Chicken Littles?  In my opinion, both are right, and both are wrong.

Austin was towards the top in yet another poll, this time with regards to “security.”  Farmers Group ranked cities crime, weather, risk of natural disasters, housing depreciation, foreclosures, air quality, terrorist threats, environmental hazards, life expectancy and job loss statistics.

The formula to intellectual success is being both a capital city and an academic hub, says The Daily Beast, a news and opinion Web site.  The cities of Austin and Denver prove that the formula works. Each ranked high in The Daily Beast’s first-ever “America’s Smartest Cities” list.  Denver ranked No. 5. Austin, which came in as No. 12, far outranked all the other Texas cities.

How did The Daily Beast metro IQ test measure “smartness”? Half of the score was based on the local percentage of college graduates, with 35 percent of the total based on bachelor’s degrees and 15 percent on graduate degrees.

The other 50 percent of the score was based on three factors:

• per-capita nonfiction book sales (25 percent)
• ratio of institutions of higher education to the local population (15 percent)
• percentage of eligible voters who cast ballots in the last presidential election (10 percent).

The Daily Beast added these specific comments about the two cities. “Austin only fell short in one ironic measure, political engagement.” Denver residents are “educated. They’re well-read. And [they] have a bit of cowboy swagger as well.”

The website rated 55 U.S. cities with metro-area populations of 1 million or more. Although Raleigh-Durham topped the Smartest Cities list, I’m still partial to Denver and Austin, in no particular order.

Brian Kinkade is a broker and team lead with Cherry Creek Professionals Realty, a full service Denver real estate firm. His team specializes in Denver luxury real estate, homes, condos and equine properties. Brian invites you to visit website for more information about the Denver real estate market.

If you’ve read Robert Kawasaki’s book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, you’ve probably caught the passive income bug. The bug that says if you buy property, rent it out, you’ll have free passive income forever. Post 2008, this dream is much harder to come by now since the value of homes has fallen through the floor. Now, lots of people have homes that are under water (worth less than what was paid) that went from assets to liabilities.

While lots of people have given up on this avenue for now, if you do your homework, you can still find homes that support Kawasaki’s principles. Namely, this is the Austin, TX Duplex. We’ll jump right into it:

How I Have a Home & Get $150/month

Let’s start with a personal example. I have a home in the north area of Austin near Austin Community College. Great neighborhood. Nice small duplex home. Here’s the home info:

Price of the Home: $187,000

Size: 1789 sq ft.

Bed: 4

Bath: 4

Type: Multi-family

What’s the big deal and how is this passive income? Lets crunch the numbers.

30-year-fixed @ 5.25%, 20% Down: $1117.35/month (includes property tax and insurance).

Now the going rate for a rental in Austin TX is slightly less than $1/sq ft. So with each side having about 875 sq ft, priced to rent quickly, I currently get $700/side. You’ll have to include the property management company @ 6% coming out to $84/month. Throw in about $50/month for random happenstance.

With income at $1400/month and expenses at around $1250/month, I’m up close to $150/month and own a home.

What the Austin Duplex is not!

Unlike Seattle, New York, and portions of L.A., Austin’s property value, for the most part, does not appreciate much at all. Austin is one of the most rock solid housing markets, going neither up or down very far during boom or bust. Your home will go up only incremental values during the life of a 30 year fixed loan. The value will come out when you sell the home and from your tiny passive income.

That said, you have a home that pays $150/month.

About the Author: Justin Louie is a writer and primary technologist for Incolo.com – Seattle WA Homes for Sale. Having lived in Austin, TX for 2 years working at National Instruments, he learned of the Austin housing market in late 2007. After narrowly avoiding a terrible home purchase for his first home, he picked up the property near ACC. Incolo.com is a real estate start-up out of Issaquah, WA servicing the greater Seattle area.

My third day in Austin started with rainy weather throughout the day which, although a bummer for walking, made me glad I rented a car today. Three days in and I started to feel like I needed something that reminded me of New York. The answer to my New York woes ended up being pepperoni pizza at Roppolo’s Pizza on 6th St in Downtown Austin Texas. As with most things, the story of how it came to be is even better than how it ends.

Why I Picked Roppolo’s Pizzeria

During my stay I’ve been using the Yelp iPhone app to help guide me on restaurant picks in the city. The Yelp app will give you a list of matches (if you search for “pizza” it’ll show you nearby pizzerias) with useful info within each result like distance from your current location, reviews (1-5 stars) and how pricey the food is. There’s more info on there but for my needs the above features do the trick. Sitting about half way down the results was Roppolo’s Pizzeria with 3-stars out of 51 reviews. That didn’t look promising.

Ordinarily I would dismiss the idea of going to a place with a low review but I didn’t want to walk too far from the hotel and, more importantly, I was starving.

Heading down the street to check it out I once again noticed how truly unique Austin is. There is just art, music, hobos, college life and luxury all balled up into one cool town.

Artwork along San Jacinto Blvd

Solid Location

Roppolo’s is located on 6th St in the Entertainment District of Downtown Austin. 6th St gets pretty crazy every night though hotel staff and other locals have noted that it gets even more rowdy on weekends. There are a ton of bars (dive or otherwise), restaurants and my personal favorite: Shop24; a 24-hour convenience store.

6th St Entertainment District - Austin Texas

The significance of Roppolo’s location is that you can go out for the night, get rowdy, grab pizza and head straight back to your hotel. They’re open ’til 3:00 am, seven days a week.

What’s Roppolo’s Like?

Inside Roppolo's Pizzeria

First, the atmosphere of the pizzeria is pretty cool. It’s not upscale by any means and it’s readily apparent who their primary clientele is: drunk revelers seeking late night grub. The unpretentious setting is perfect for a quick bite to eat. If you’re seeking a romantic ambiance you would be better suited to the Old Pecan Street Cafe a few doors down.

There is a certain charm to the place that I really liked. It’s Americana at its finest from the bluesy music in the background to the decadently cheesed pizzas sitting behind the counter.

How Was The Pizza?

Speaking of pizza, I would say it’s in the top 10 best pieces of pizza I’ve ever had. The crust had the perfect crunch factor — enough to make it feel like you’re not eating lasagna but not so crunchy that you walk out with bleeding gums — and the cheese was enough to make it a treat worth breaking a diet for. Roppolo’s pizza is far better than most higher end brick oven restaurants I’ve dined at and a tasty force to be reckoned with. In the end it was a surprising illusion: The humble exterior and eclectic interior of Roppolo’s belied the amazing quality of their pizza.

Would I Recommend It?

Absolutely. This is THE pizza joint to stop in while hanging around 6th St. There are still places in New York that do pizza better (hey, it’s New York!) but Roppolo’s is one of the top few I’ve ever seen do pizza this good outside of NYC.

Pennybacker Bridge - Austin, TX

I’ll be in the Austin area from Sunday, September 20th to Saturday, September 26th so if you’re in the area or know of cool stuff to do/see locally drop a comment in the box below!

During my trip I’ll be doing a ton of awesome stuff including:

• Checking out the restaurants & Sixth St
• Looking at some of the coolest high rise condos/rentals in Downtown Austin
• Seeing what makes Austin weird
• Meeting Austonians from the interwebs

Along the way I’m going to blog about the trip right here so stay tuned. In the end these posts will serve as a sort of raw visitor’s guide to Austin Texas full of pics and maybe even video. Remember, if you know of any must do’s that you think I should try while I’m in town post them in the comments below and I’ll add them throughout the week!

Image Credit: Igor Bespamyatnov

And again….the Austin real estate market is down from 2007′s record year, but still fairing well.  Active listings are up 20%, and # of homes sold are down 20%.  However, we’re still appreciating.  The median sales price is up to $196,120 from last year’s $184,050.  The average sales price is up 5%, $263k from $250k.  The good news is that the glut of inventory looks like it’s being absorbed.  Last month’s numbers indicated 5.03 months of inventory on the market, and this month’s indicate 4.91.

The market is still holding strong.  The median sales price is slightly up, and the average sales price is slightly down.  The # of homes sold is down roughly 14% from April 2007.  Again, we’re not setting records this year, but the market is doing fine.  In my opinion, the average sales price dip is due to the difficult jumbo market, and the glut of luxury homes (14 month+ inventory) currently on the market.  Definitely a good time to get a steal on a luxury property.