A Not So Big Luxury Home

Those with interest in home design have likely heard of Sarah Susanka’s ingenious book, The Not So Big House. Ms. Susanka encourages readers to consider how spaces in a home are used rather than how big they are - the idea of building homes that fit and function well rather than overwhelm.

In the high-end market it’s rare to find a small home with luxury finish-out. That’s in part because so many of us equate luxury with high square footage, and partly because it’s more profitable for builders to create large spaces with luxury details than smaller ones. Think about it. A small luxury home may have the same appliances, toilets, bathtubs, and light fixtures as a larger home, but because the framing materials, sheetrock, trim and other materials needed to construct a larger home is a small incremental cost, a builder can charge less per square foot and appeal to a larger audience with the large luxury home. 

Once in a while, though, a small luxury home does become available - and in today’s Austin real estate market, you may find small luxury homes you couldn’t build for today’s purchase price. As an example, look at the photos of this small luxury home in Spanish Oaks Austin. At 3,233 square feet, it’s one of the smallest homes in the neighborhood, but the attention to detail the builder put into the home is second to none. Eight hanging fixtures grace the open living and dining room, fir beams add structural interest in ceilings, and a built in banquette and large center island help create a kitchen that truly is the heart of the home. At $900,000, this home is a steal for Spanish Oaks, and a value to anyone who knows the Austin luxury real estate market.

To learn more about this home visit www.11919labarzola.com. To schedule a showing for 11919 La Barzola Bend or to learn more about other Austin Homes for Sale, please contact Michael J. Reilly at 512.600.1800.

Austin Home Sales Down 21% from 2007

The Austin Board of Realtors reported this week that Austin area home sales fell nearly 21 percent in July compared to this time last year.  Although the sales drop was spread across all price ranges, the majority of the reductions in sales came from the high and low end of the market.  For example, homes in the Austin area priced between $100,000 and $129,000 saw a 30% drop in sales from July 2007. Worse, homes priced over $1,000,000 experienced a decline of 33% for the same time period.  Compared to the rest of the nation, the value of an Austin home is holding up extremely well. The median price of an Austin area home is up 3% to $195,000 compared to this time last year. On another positive note, new home listings in Austin fell 5% which could help contain values as the inventory of available homes fall in line with the reduced number of buyers.

Austin will recover faster than U.S.

The Austin Business Journal reported comments today from Mark Dotzour, chief economist at Texas A&M University’s Real Estate Center. Mark predicted that “Austin will outperform the rest of the country in job growth and in the health of its housing market.”  The ABJ went on to quote Mark saying “Austin will add 8,500 new jobs between now and August 2009, despite a negative job growth across the country. The local housing market will turn around faster than the rest of the country by next summer”.  

Here at Great Austin Properties, we can’t help but like Mark’s optimism. As a leading website for Austin real estate, we have the opportunity everyday to talk with people moving to Austin. Whether it’s the beautiful scenery of the hill country and lakes, the culture of central Austin, or a growing job market, we hear the same thing over and over… folks want to move to Austin, Texas.
 

What will $1M get you in Austin?

Austin, Texas is known for its real estate affordability as compared to other idyllic places to live. While one million dollars in a city in California just might get you a fixer-upper, in this Texas town that’s far from the case. For example, check out this newly listed home in one of Austin’s most sought after communities, Spanish Oaks. For $1M on the nose you could live at 11919 La Barzola Bend:

We highlight this home not only because it’s our newest listing, but also because we think it’s one of the finest homes at this price point we’ve seen. And we’ve seen a lot of homes. Besides the great location in Bee Cave with easy access to Highway 71, 290, Southwest Parkway, and FM 2244 (Bee Cave Road) and across the street from the new Hill Country Galleria, 11919 La Barzola sits on a hill behind the 24/7 guard gated entrance in Spanish Oaks. The attention to detail is what sets the home apart as you can see from the photos on the 11919 La Barzola Bend virtual tour website. 

If you are interested in this home or other Austin homes for sale, or if you just want to learn more about Austin real estate, please contact Michael Reilly at 512.600.1800. Or start your Austin home search using the great search tools at AustinHomeListings.com. 

Recession-Proof Austin

According to Forbes.com, Austin is one of the top 10 recession-proof cities in the United States. With one of the lowest employment rates in the country (3.6%) and median home prices under $200K, Austin appears to be doing quite well. 

The Austin Board of REALTORS reported the median price for single family homes was $186,680 this March, which puts Austin in the top 5 of the 10 recession-proof cities as far as affordable housing goes.

Ready to put recession woes behind you? Austin may be just the place to call home. Start your search for Austin homes for sale with a great search tool and loads of neighborhood information at AustinHomeListings.com.

Reference: America’s Recession-Proof Cities by Joshua Zumbrun, Forbes.com, April 29, 2008

The Housing Crisis is Over

Many economists don’t expect the housing market to turn around nationwide until next year, but we’re hoping the optimism of the Wall Street Journal’s Cyril Moulle-Berteaux is more on target. In his opinion column today, he states “It is very likely that April 2008 will mark the bottom of the U.S. housing market.”  From the 1990s to the early 2000s the housing market boomed, making affordable housing out of reach for many buyers. Mr. Moulle-Berteaux predicts “the market will turn because normal people can afford homes again.” And as normal people start buying, home prices typically stop falling – or at least home price declines start ebbing.

In Austin, we’ve been somewhat sheltered from the housing slow down. While nationwide the housing inventory is 11 months (the highest it’s been in 25 years), Austin is currently at about 5 months supply which signals a healthy market.   

So if Mr. Moulle-Berteaux is right that the nationwide housing market is trending up, that’s good news for the country, and great news for Austin.

Start your Austin real estate search now.

Reference: The Housing Crisis Is Over by Cyril Moulle-Berteaux, The Wall Street Journal, May 06, 2008

Austin - Still hot!

AMD, Borland, Paypal, and others are setting up shop in Austin. The Wall Street Journal reported last Thursday that the reason is the relatively cheap Austin real estate and our highly educated work force. Those being the major drivers, we can’t help but point out the Austin scene has to be another big draw - the lifestyle Austin affords is hard to beat with abundant outdoor recreation opportunities, a great night life, new shopping, and unique neighborhoods.

Recreation includes in town hiking, biking and jogging around Town Lake (recently renamed Lady Bird Lake), swimming at Barton Springs, and soccer and disc golf at Zilker Park just to get started. The Veloway, Barton Creek Greenbelt, Hamilton Pool, and Lake Travis are additional draws for outdoor enthusiasts.

And night life? Restaurants like La Traviata, Uchi, Moonshine, Asti, and Jeffrey’s continue to impress. And an Austin stay without experiencing a little of Sixth Street, The Saxon Pub, Continental Club, or The Backyard would mean a missed opportunity to see why Austin has earned the moniker of Live Music Capital of the World. If you can, try to catch a show with The Mother Truckers, an Austin original.

And shopping? Trendy shops on South Congress and those near Lamar and 6^th keep Austin unique, and new shopping at The Domain and the upcoming Hill Country Galleria in Bee Cave bring upscale shopping to the area and prove that Austin is indeed a hot spot for growth.

And the neighborhoods? That’s what Austin Home Listings knows best. Be sure to read up on and see pictures of popular neighborhoods like Pemberton, Belterra, Hyde Park, and Lake Pointe in our Austin Neighborhoods Guide, or search for listings in 100+ neighborhoods using our neighborhood QuickSearch at the top right of this page.

We’ll admit to being a little biased, but we agree with people making the decision to move business and families here. It’s hard to beat the Austin lifestyle.

If you want to learn more about Austin Texas Real Estate, we would love to help! Contact Great Austin Properties - the Real Estate Brokerage that brings you AustinHomeListings.com - at 512.600.1800.

Austin market still healthy

You might think we spend all of our time reading the Austin American Statesman, but their reporters do a great job sifting through market data to to identify trends. In yet another recent article, reporter M.B. Taboada took a local look at the national story of accelerating foreclosure rates. As you may have seen in the news, economic pressures are causing increases in foreclosures, particularly among homeonwers who had utilized subprime lending options. (Typically for buyers with less-than-stellar credit ratings.) According to the article, more than 15-percent of the subprime loans nationwide were delinquent (a month or more overdue for payment) and more than three percent of residential properties are in foreclosure (both all-time highs.)

Fortunately, the picture is much more positive in the Austin area. With home resales continuing last year’s strong pace and sale prices up five-percent (versus drops in markets like Dallas), the delinquency and foreclosure rates are down and falling across the best Austin neighborhoods. According to the article, these factors actually make it more likely for homeowners who do experience financial trouble to sell their properties before they enter foreclosure.

Now, none of us like to think of words like delinquency or foreclosure, but they are a part of life. Fortunately, they’re less prevalent in Austin residential real estate, making it a great idea to look for Austin homes for sale. To make it easy for you, we have a unique search tool on our Web site, www.AustinHomeListings.com, which allows you to pick a neighborhood you’ve heard of and quickly search homes for sale. For example, if you’ve driven by the entrance to Falconhead or Circle C North, you can simply click our Neighborhood Listings Quick Search and find just homes in those neighborhoods. Or, as always, you can all us at 512.300.0928 so we can talk about the right Austin home for you.

New home sales jump nationwide

According to the latest information from the Commerce Department, new home sales jumped nationwide in April, increasing the most in the South. Across the country, sales of new homes leapt 16.2 percent, the highest increase in fourteen years. Whereas the Midwest experienced a four percent drop, builders in southern states enjoyed a 27.8 percent increase. Some analysts cited an accompanying drop in the median price of those same homes (an 11.1 percent decrease) as the cause for this movement in the new home market. According to their math, builders are trying to unload inventory before prices depress much further.

So, it sounds to us like, nationwide, residential real estate is growing into a strong buyer’s market, especially with builders holding inventory. Here in Austin, however, the market appears a bit more balanced. There are still strong opportunities for both sellers and buyers as the overall inventory is relatively stable. However, since builders read the same reports and articles that we all do, there might be some opportunity for buyers interested in newly built Austin homes from new home communities such as Belterra, Circle C, Avery Rnch and more. If you’re interested in those neighborhoods, give us a call at 512.300.0928 if you’d like to meet some of the builders doing great work there. We’d love to help you turn a national trend into the home you’ve always wanted.

Search more Austin homes for sale at AustinHomeListings.com.

Could the experts be wrong?

Over the past year or so we’ve seen a steady stream of news stories predicting a downturn in the economy in general and the real estate market in particular. Citing everything from rising fuel prices to the cost of wars overseas, economists have been foretelling gloom and doom with a consistency that could make the sunniest optimist retreat to their basement with a flashlight and some canned goods. Interestingly, the family down the street might not completely agree. In a recent L.A. Times survey of nearly 1,400 homeowners, researchers found that just about 1/3 of respondents expected their home values to increase and more than half were confident they’d at least hold steady.

Are they just optimists or are John & Jane Q. Public on to something? We can only speak about our own confidence in the strength of the Austin real estate market. Driving around the best Austin neighborhoods, from Round Rock to Kyle, we see ongoing commercial and residential development, we continually meet people arriving in Austin via corporate relocations and know even more locals who are well-employed and moving up-market.

If you would like to form your own impressions about Austin real estate, we’d love to show you around and buy you a cup of coffee in one of the countless places where new homes, offices and shopping are being built. Some might say “if it’s in the paper it must be true,” but we think you should see things with your own two eyes and come to your own conclusions. Give Great Austin Properties a call at 512-300-0928 and let us show you just how well things are going in Austin real estate.

Search Austin homes for sale at AustinHomeListings.com