City of Austin June Housing Report

Many have wondered in these crazy CO-VID times how their industry is going to fare. Well, I’m happy to report that the Austin housing market is still alive and well, even during a global pandemic. The Austin Board of Realtors just released their monthly report, and the results are good. We see that the median sales price is up 3% in June while the average days on the market is down by 6. This means that it is still a seller’s market in Austin, Texas. If you have a property you would like to put on the market, believe it or not, now is still a good time!

Check out these other ABOR statistics below:

Interested in seeing what your home could be worth? Contact me below for your complimentary home evaluation!

Austin Real Estate Boomed in 2019. What's Next in 2020?

An astounding view from the balcony of Shore Condominiums, Austin, TX.

According to the Austin Business Journal and Mark Sprague, who is the state director of information capital at Independence Title, the Austin market continues to thrive beyond everyone’s projections. At the end of 2019, Mark Sprague pointed out two encouraging economic developments for Austin that demonstrate just how phenomenal the economy and housing market have been. First, Austin is one of only eight cities in the nation that has seen its home prices FULLY bounce back since the 2008 recession. Second, over the past 20 years, Austin’s GDP, or gross domestic product, has seen more growth than any other major city in the United States! In other words, its a great time to own a home and earn a living in Austin, Texas.

None of this should be too surprising from the city that has added more people to its population this past ten years than any other city in the United States! Austin’s population has climbed from 1.7 million in 2010 to 2.2 million in 2018. That’s a growth percentage of 26%! And, according to Austin Business Journal, the median price of a single-family home in Austin has increased 64% from 193,520 in 2010 to 318,000 in 2019. Median family income has not kept up with the increase in home prices, however. Most families only saw a 35% increase in their income during the same time frame, causing many home buying procrastinators to get priced out of their desired markets.

If those statistics are not encouraging enough, here are some more astounding findings from the Statesman about Austin’s home market: 9,572 single-family homes sold in the city of Austin last year, totaling almost $13.2 billion total dollars in sales. This is a major increase from 2018 and a brand new record for Austin in both number of homes and total dollar amount in homes sold. In addition, this is the ninth year in a row that the sales volume and the median price both topped the previous years numbers!

And, the good news (if you’re a seller!) is that the housing market seems projected to continue its rise in 2020. With housing inventory in the city limits of Austin down to just 0.9 months in December 2019, we will soon face a housing shortage in this city without new construction and more sellers on the market!

With numbers like these, it’s easy to see why so many buyers consider a home in Austin such a good investment. If you are interested in getting in on the “growing edge” of Austin and finding an affordable home for you at the right price, contact me below! Don’t miss out on this opportunity to capitalize on Austin’s phenomenal growth phase, which will continue into 2020.

Or, if you have a home you need to sell, now is a GREAT time to get it on the market. You will most likely see high competition and multiple offers on your home, especially if you are in a favorable school district or trending area of town.

Whatever your home need, I am available to help you capitalize on this unprecedented time in Austin’s real estate history. Contact me today and let’s realize together your real estate dreams for 2020!

It's Raining New Development on Rainey Street

More development plans are in the works for Rainey Street District, an area of town that will continue to rapidly transform before our eyes in the coming years. In addition to the 44 East residential development and 48 East short term condo rental development, each of which we have already written about in previous blogs, other developments coming to the Rainey Street District include 70 Rainey, 90-92 Rainey Street, the Quincy & the Travis Tower.

Let’s take a quick glance at each and see what’s in store for the Rainey Street District in the coming years:

1. 44 East- 51 stories; 322 residences. Construction to begin in 2020 and open in 2022. The Trail Foundation is partnering with the Austin Parks and Recreation Department to revitalize the Rainey Street trailhead, which is across from 44 East Ave. Intracorp (the builder of 44 East) will be contributing to that project.

2. 48 East- 33-story, 239 short term rental units. Construction began in 2019 and should open in 2021.

3. 70 Rainey-34-story condominium; residents began moving in in April 2019.

4. 90-92 Rainey Street-a 51-story mixed-use tower containing apartments (290 units) and hotel space (293 rooms) on a tract spanning 90-92 Rainey Street. Currently the Container Bar and Bungalow stand on this property—they will be incorporated into the design and construction of the building. See the rendering below for the ‘cut out” design of the building that will integrate Bungalow into the second floor.

5. The Quincy-a 30-story mixed-use tower with Class A office at 93 Red River St. Broke ground in March and will open in 2021.

6. Travis Tower-50 story tower at 80 Red River St. in the Rainey Street area downtown with a possible additional second tower. The first tower will have apartments for rent, and the second will have multifamily units for sale, hotel rooms and a ground-floor coffee shop. The site was once home to the Villas on Town Lake, a condo community that was demolished in February.

The Travis Tower (far left) with proposed additional tower, pictured to the right.

What do you think of all the potential developmental changes coming to the Rainey Street District? Will current residents get to keep their views? Will more and more Austin residents make the move to downtown? Which tower will see the best sunsets? Give us your thoughts in the comments below!

Project Catalyst, Recently Renamed "4700 East," Still Moving Forward

In its August meeting, the Austin City Council approved the re-zoning measures required for Project Catalyst, recently renamed 4700 East, to keep moving forward. If the mixed-use development project proceeds as planned, it will sit on a a 97-acre site in Southeast Austin and will neighbor Oracle’s new 40-acre corporate campus.

Often referred to as Austin’s future “Third Downtown" (with the Domain North being Austin’s “Second Downtown”), Nimes Capital has proposed building 4,700 residential units, 600 hotel rooms, 4 million square feet of office space, 60,000 square feet of medical and dental office space, and 435,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space at 4700 East. In short, an “urban village” would be created in this area near the corner of East Riverside Drive and South Pleasant Valley Road that would basically offer, well, everything!

The city could require developers to offer hundreds of income-restricted affordable housing units, but it would only do so if the developers build structures above the restricted height of 60 feet. To maintain the promise of affordable housing in the area, the developer is currently promising that 8-12% (400-550) of the units will be income-restricted as a trade off for greater building heights. Additionally, the developer formally committed to reserve 10 units for people who are transitioning out of homelessness. These housing units will be paid for with vouchers supplied by the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition.

In order for 4700 East to be built, there are some other buildings that will need to be removed for this project to move forward. For this reason, developers have been slowly purchasing apartments in the area over the course of the past several years. The buildings that would be removed, which are roughly 60% student-occupied, are The Ballpark North and Town Lake, as well as the Quad East, West and South. The properties account for a total of 3,702 bedrooms and 1,308 units, according to city documents. Developers will also ensure gradual displacement of current residents in the area—250 of the existing units on site will not be redeveloped or demolished for five years in an effort to defray displacement.

Construction is not envisioned to begin on 4700 East before 2020. However, once the project is officially approved by the Austin City Council, the development will be built slowly over a 25 year period in five different phases along the way. The developer will return to the city council for a third and final hearing in September, at which it will need to receive at least six votes in favor to pass.

East Riverside Development

If you haven’t driven through East Riverside Drive in a while, you might be surprised by the rapidly changing development in the area.  Some support the expansion of business, art, and residential communities in the area, while others are opposed to gentrification and its impact on long-time homeowners. The City of Austin has partnered with UT to study the development of this area and its impact on current residents and have pledged to offer tax credits to affordable housing opportunities in the area.  However, at the same time, private land is being to sold to developers and the area is rapidly evolving.

Oracle’s forsight to build a South Shore Campus really kicked off a chain reaction of East Riverside development. Oracle opened a “South Shore” campus in 2018 and will double its size by the end of 2019. The Austin Business Journal quoted an Oracle executive saying, “The Lady Bird Lake campus will soon employ 3,000 people onsite and that the headcount could grow to 10,000 people as the company expands.”  Oracle landing here has since driven much of the development in the area.

Here are just a few of the projects that have recently been completed or are currently in development in the area:

www.berkadia.com

UNDER CONSTRUCTION (BLUE):

#54 Foremost-new apartment development

#55 The Elizabeth at Presidio-apartment development; rental units ranging from 504-1938 sq ft.

#57 IO at Tech Ridge- apartment complex

#58 Lenox Oaks- Mixed-use (residential and commercial) property

ALSO UNDER CONSTRUCTION: The Montopolis Recreation and Community Center (1200 Montopolis Drive) is expected to be completed in the Spring of 2020.  This building will be co-operated by Austin Parks &  Rec and the Austin Public Health Department.  It will provide over 33,000 sq feet of new space, including a commercial kitchen, gym, fitness room, computer lab, conference rooms, and classroom areas. 

Montopolis Recreation & Community Center

berkadia.com

PLANNED DEVELOPMENT (DARK BLUE):

#113 6507 Riverside—apartment complex

#114 Aspen Heights Riverside- 325-unit apartment complex

#115 The Mont-apartment complex

#116 The Riverside-apartment complex

#117 South Shore District Phase IV-322-unit apartment complex

#144-Cambrian East Riverside-65-unit multifamily mid-rise to be located at 1806 Clubview Avenue with a planned 55 units rated as affordable, or available to tenants earning less than 80 percent of the area’s median family income. Only 15 units are one-bedrooms, with the rest a mix of two, three, and four-bedrooms. The living spaces have a total area of 57,268 square feet, and the indoor common areas total 2,444 square feet.

#145 Tierra Skyline-apartment complex; affordable housing development

#146 Vi Collina-apartment complex; affordable housing development

berkadia.com

PROSPECTIVE CONSTRUCTION (BROWN):
#198 Broadstone Riverside-apartment complex

#199 Project Catalyst-97-acre “urban village” along the East Riverside corridor, a mixed-use project including 4,709 multifamily units, 600 hotel rooms, 4 million square feet of office space, 60,000 square feet of medical and dental office space, and 435,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.

#200 Wickersham-apartment complex

#244 1600 Pleasant Valley-retail center property

#245 5700 East Riverside-retail center property

#246 The Point at Ben White-apartment complex with units ranging from 850-1185 sq ft

#247 Urban East-a mixed-used development with 100,000 square feet of office space and 20,000 square feet of retail/restaurant space.

This brief glimpse should tell investors and home owners alike that East Riverside and Montopolis are emerging areas to keep an eye on in the coming years. Let’s hope the city can continue to work with real estate developers and homeowners to create an East Austin anyone can live in and enjoy.