Homebuilders broke ground on 2,109 units in Austin during the second quarter, a 32.3 percent increase from the first three months this year, according to Residential Strategies Inc.

The increase represents an 11 percent gain on the 1,903 homes started in the second quarter last year. Builders began a total 7,360 new homes in the past four quarters. Read more…

Austin named third most recession-proof city in America

06/29/2010

Brookings Institute released their quarterly in-depth analysis. Read more… ]]> http://downtown-austin-condo.com/austin-named-3rd-most-recession-proof-city-in-america/feed 0 http://downtown-austin-condo.com/austin-ranked-2-in-parenting-coms-best-cities-for-families http://downtown-austin-condo.com/austin-ranked-2-in-parenting-coms-best-cities-for-families#comments Fri, 02 Jul 2010 21:53:49 +0000 ChuckDenny http://www.downtown-austin-condo.com/?p=2380

06/15/2010

Check out this year’s rankings of the best American cities based on health, safety, education, economy and recreation. Read more… ]]> http://downtown-austin-condo.com/austin-ranked-2-in-parenting-coms-best-cities-for-families/feed 0 http://downtown-austin-condo.com/tow-high-profile-austin-downtown-condos-opening http://downtown-austin-condo.com/tow-high-profile-austin-downtown-condos-opening#comments Wed, 16 Jun 2010 19:10:43 +0000 ChuckDenny http://www.downtown-austin-condo.com/?p=2245 Residents are moving this month into two high-profile condo projects that will shape downtown Austin’s skyline, the Four Seasons Residences Austin and Austonian, which have been highly anticipated in the real estate community since construction began two years ago. Read more…

We used Pending listings because a lot of the April Pending sales haven’t closed yet, but anything that qualified for the tax credit would have to be Pending by April 30th, so this gives us a sneak peek at what the sales data will look like for May closed sales.

A couple of interesting things to note here.  We went back to 2007 because that was the peak year for Austin. As you can see on the chart, April Pending listings exceeded the peak year of 2007 for April. We suspect we’ve never experienced an April in Austin where almost 3,000 homes received accepted offers. What does this mean for the future?

Looking forward, and seeing the trend lines of previous years,  we think it’s safe to say that when we update this chart in June, to include all of the listings that go to Pending status in May, we’re going to see the green line dip almost all the way back down somewhere between the 1200-1600 line. That’s going to look quite interesting visually. We’re more than halfway through the month and there is only 656 Pendings so far for May. Unless the second part of May experiences a huge uptick in activity, we will in fact see the market swinging from one extreme to the other and the green line above will take a breathtaking plunge.

Then the question will be whether or not the May plunge will represent a temporary market hangover and will eventually rejoin the other trend lines, or at least somewhere close, or if we have in fact stolen so many future buyers and crammed them into the first 4 months of 2010 that the trend line will remain below the others for the remainder of the year. If the latter happens, it won’t be good news for Austin sellers and we will see continued price slippage.

Meanwhile, because of economic turmoil in Europe, caused by Greece’s problems, and the subsequent “flight to safety” by investors to safe U.S. fixed income products, interest rates have not taken the expected upturn yet and in fact remain at historic lows.

Thus, if you’re a buyer who missed the $8K tax credit, the good news is you’re going to realize a much greater savings than that in the lifetime interest paid on your sub-5% loan, if you get in and buy a home while interest rates are still low and sellers are seeing fewer showings.

Sellers, it’s going to require some patience to see if June/July summer selling months shake off the May hangover and snap back into normal behavior. It’s still a guessing game, but if you are a seller able to hold, we’re more optimistic about summer 2011 than the summer 2010.

But won’t rising interest rates hold down prices in 2011?
Maybe, but we think that will be offset by improving job growth and the continued migration of job seekers to Austin from areas that may take years to recover economically.

And who’s going to say it’s necessarily a bad deal for someone to buy a house in Austin in 2011 at the 2007 price and a 6% interest rate? Come on. Really.

Developers plan to build 425 condominiums in two towers rising up to 500 feet northwest of the former Green Water Treatment Plant.

The lead developer, Austin-based Constructive Ventures Inc. , would build the $220 million project on a 1.7-acre site that is currently home to the Austin Energy Control Center.

The City Council is set to vote today to authorize the city manager to sign a development agreement with a partnership of Constructive Ventures and Trammell Crow Co. to buy the tract for $14.5 million.

The community benefits from the project would include contributions for public art and $2.7 million for the city’s affordable housing fund, the largest proposed payment from a developer for a project to date, said Rodney Gonzales, deputy director of the city’s Economic Growth and Redevelopment Services Office.

“This is a really good chance for the city to convert an underutilized piece of downtown property into one that generates property and sales taxes for the city and brings forth a substantial contribution for the affordable housing trust fund,” Gonzales said.

In 2008, the city chose a partnership of Trammell Crow, Constructive Ventures and USAA Real Estate Co. over four other teams to redevelop the Austin Energy site and the nearby 6-acre water treatment plant at West Cesar Chavez and San Antonio streets with a hotel, apartments, office and retail space.

Those projects are part of the city’s grand plan to transform downtown’s southwestern edge, including the former Seaholm Power Plant, into a lively, densely developed district. A new central library is also planned along Cesar Chavez.

The city is still negotiating a development agreement and purchase price on the Green site, Gonzales said.

The agreement says the soonest that Constructive Ventures could purchase the Austin Energy property is March 2013. The city must first relocate the control center, from which the entire Austin Energy electric grid is managed year-round.

Larry Warshaw, a principal with Constructive Ventures, said the condominium buildings would be so-called point towers — slender buildings on a wider base like the Spring condominium high-rise, of which he was a co-developer — and would soar between 400 and 500 feet.

“Financing will be the most likely factor dictating a start date,” he said.

“The demand for downtown housing remains strong today,” Warshaw said. “By 2013, the demand will be even stronger. The unknown factor is whether banks will be ready to lend money for this type of development again by 2013.”

Gonzales said the market “is still working itself out” after the recession. However, he added, “We would fully hope that the capital markets would thaw by then and demand would be back and the project would be under way.”

Warshaw said the project would generate about $4.8 million a year in tax revenue for the city, county and other local taxing jurisdictions.

In addition to condos, the project planned for the Austin Energy site includes 15,000 square feet of retail, all of which would be leased or sold to local businesses, according to the development agreement.

Tim McCabe, senior vice president with Trammell Crow, said the company plans to build a $750 million project at the former Green plant, which is being demolished.

McCabe said the plans for that project remain as outlined in the bid proposal, which envisioned 1.9 million square feet of development. He said the soonest that construction could start would be 2012.

Austin was ranked the third best city to move to in the United States, according to a RelocateAmerica.com report.

The relocating resources website listed Austin just behind Huntsville, Ala. and Washington D.C. for overall best place to move. Those listed were nominated by RelocateAmerica.com users and then selected by the site’s editorial team. The company also analyzed reviews, interviewed residents and looked at economic, environmental, education, crime, employment and housing data.

The Texas State capital took the No. 2 spot on the “America’s Top 100 Places to Live for 2010″ report for recovery, among others less impacted by recession and therefore expecting a swift recovery. Huntsville, Ala. was ranked first on that list.

Austin was also listed as the fifth-best “earth-friendly” location behind Portland, Ore. (No. 1); Boston, Mass. (No. 2); Madison, Wis. (No. 3); and Boulder, Colo. (No. 4).

The council released its Business Tax Index: Best to Worst State Tax Systems for Entrepreneurship and Small Business report. The report analyzes and combines 16 different tax measures into one tax score for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, including income, capital gains, property, death/inheritance and unemployment taxes. The report also takes into account various consumption-based taxes such as state gas and diesel levies.

“Taxes at the state and local levels matter by diverting resources from and reducing incentives for productive, private-sector risk taking that generates innovation, growth and jobs,” said Raymond Keating, chief economist for SBE Council and author of the report. “Quite simply, economic recovery will be restrained by high or increasing taxes, or boosted by low or falling taxes. Governors and legislators have a choice.”

The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council is a nonpartisan, nonprofit small-business advocacy organization.

Read more: Texas has one of country’s best small business climates – Austin Business Journal: