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Austin, TX Real Estate News

By Jason Crouch, Broker - Austin Texas Real Estate (512-796-7653)
(Austin Texas Homes, LLC)
 My nine-year old son has been training for several years in Tukong Moosul, and I wanted to promote this business as a terrific place for kids to learn and exercise.  Specific skills that I have seen improve for my son include balance, strength, and endurance.  Additionally, there is a mental toughness instilled that impresses me.  In addition to this, the teachers that he has had are all "good with kids", especially Master Ali Brown.  Master Ali is young and personable, and the kids always respond well to him.  In fact, we switched to the headquarters school a couple of years ago in order to follow Master Ali.  Grandmaster Wonik Yi (pictured at right) actually developed Tukong Moosul for the South Korean Special Forces in the late 70's, and he runs the school where my son trains today....
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By Alan Kirkpatrick, Alan in Austin
(Austin Texas Homes)
 SOCO PROJECT AIMS FOR APRILAUSTIN (Austin American-Statesman) - A new mixed-use development in the downtown area is projected for completion this spring.The SoCo Lofts and Shops will consist of 69 loft-style apartments above 22,000 sf of retail space at the southern corner of East Alpine Road and South Congress Avenue.Symcox Development Co., Tierra Capital LLC and Greystar Development have partnered on the 7.3-acre, $65 million development. The loft apartments are slated for completion in April, while the retail space should be completed in June. Want a closer look at Austin? Join my blog.
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By Garreth Wilcock, Sherlock Homes Frisco
(Sherlock Homes Frisco)
After last week's rumors of Countrywide's impending bankruptcy, the latest news is that Bank of America are going to buy Countrywide. The nation's largest lender is being bailed out by BoA, after a $2 billion injection of funds last August.The two together make one in four U.S. mortgage loans, making BoA the largest lender around. Some insiders at BoA said that this will help to stabilize the mortgage market, and increase consumer confidence in availability of credit. On the one hand, the loan market right now is encouraging -BoA are offering 5.375% on a 30 year fixed loan. On the other hand a loan officer told me this morning that 40% of the homebuyers who would have qualified last year will not qualify this year as lending requirements tighten up.How is this impacting real estate in t...
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There's been a heck of a lot of residential development in Downtown Austin these days, so I developed a presentation that gives a picture of the scope of this change.  If you'd like a copy of this presentation in a pdf format, definitely let me know.Downtown Austin: A Landscape of ChangeCourtesy of Sam Archer, REALTOR512-633-4650From the Statesman Letters to the Editor January 10, 2008“I would like to build some condominiums at the Texas Capitol.  Of course, the Capitol building can remain for character and whatnot”Presentation Overview The Big Picture The Downtown Development Juggernaut Future Sustainability of Growth What’s Next? The Big Picture Austin - 735,000 residents in 2007 Austin is the 16th largest city in the U.S. and grew 41% in the 1990s. The area is projected to double in...
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By Jason Crouch, Broker - Austin Texas Real Estate (512-796-7653)
(Austin Texas Homes, LLC)
 I debated over whether or not to write this post, but then I figured I could save others some grief.  Manny Hattan's New York Deli in Austin is one of two restaurants that I will no longer frequent based on THREE bad experiences that I had while eating there (one was more just funny, the others were upsetting).  I will probably write about the other one at some point soon.About four years ago, I sold a home to some clients who live part of the year in Long Island.  They were anxious to try Manny Hattan's since it was billed as an authentic New York deli experience.  My client laughingly made the remark, "Wow, I guess they really are trying to make it authentic, complete with the rude servers."  I have never been to New York, so I certainly cannot judge this, but it was funny that he sa...
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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 Alan Kirkpatrick, Alan in Austin
(Austin Texas Homes)
 My Friends at KC Capital can help you get the best commercial loan for your real estate commercial investments. Now is a great time to buy in Austin Texas and they stand ready to assist you. There are some great multi-family properties and Apartment Complexes currently on the market in Austin Texas. If you would like to take a closer look contact me:Alan, KC Capital would like to take the opportunity to thank you for your support in 2007 and we look forward to an even more exciting year in 2008.Since rates have recently dropped, now is a good time to contact me about financing your next commercial or multifamily project. THE APEX PROGRAM Fixed PeriodApartmentMHPCommercial3-year5.500% 5.500% 5.750%5-year5.750% 5.750% 6.000%10-year6.130%6.130%6.380% - 30 year amortized- 3-year interest o...
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By Jeff Kessler, Broker,CLHMS,GRI
(Austin Homes, Realtors www.OwnAustin.com)
Here are a few activities and events in Austin Texas this Tuesday.Enjoy.TUESDAY, JANUARY 15TH  Austin, Lyndon Baines Johnson Library And MuseumJan 15, 9:00am Construction Advisory Committee Meeting Jan 15, 10:00am Austin, City Of Austin Exhibition - Laguna Gloria Grounded Jan 15, 10:00am Austin, Austin Museum Of Art Exhibition - Roy Lichtenstein Prints Jan 15, 10:00am Austin, Austin Museum Of Art Exhibition: WorkSpace - Paul Ramirez Jonas Jan 15, 10:00am Austin, Blanton Museum of Art Jorge Macchi - The Anatomy of Melancholy Jan 15, 10:00am Austin, Blanton Museum of Art Rotary Club Meeting Jan 15, 11:30am Austin, Rotary Club Of Austin Story Time Jan 15, 2:00pm Austin, Austin Childrens Museum Story Time Jan 15, 4:00pm Austin, Austin Childrens Museum Duke TIP 4th/5th Grade Talent Search Ja...
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By Alan Kirkpatrick, Alan in Austin
(Austin Texas Homes)
Austin Commercial Purchase (edit/delete)   Two Austin office buildings have been purchased by a California company. Triple Net Properties LLC bought both the 433,024-square-foot property on 816 Congress in the downtown area, and Avallon, a 318,217-square-foot set of office buildings in the northwest district of Austin. Both properties were purchased from Crescent Real Estate Equities Co for $82.5 million. Crescent itself was bought by Morgan Stanley Real Estate for $6.5 billion. The office building at 816 Congress is a very distinct and prized office building in downtown Austin. Renovated in 1995 and originally constructed in 1983, this 20 story Class A office tower is very close to the historic Texas Capitol. Offices on top floors have excellent views of the Capitol, and everyone in th...
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By Paul D'Arcy
(AustinTowers.net)
John Wooley, the founder of Schlotsky's, this week announced plans for Zilker Place Condominiums, a new 74-unit condo development on a prime lot on Barton Springs road adjacent to Zilker Park. With quick access to the park and the hike and bike trail, three 5-story buildings will be constructed on a 2 acre lot that currently houses the restaurant Wanfu Too. Prices for the units will start at $300,000 for 900 square feet and will top out at $1.3 million for a 3,030 SF unit. The project will feature a central courtyard and pool, screened porches on many units, and protected views of Zilker Park. Here is a rendering published by the Statesman: When combined with Barton Place, a 270 unit project just a few doors down, it is clear that the area on Barton Springs between the park and Lamar is...
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A movement is developing in Austin to link downtown zoning variances to "voluntary" contributions to community programs. While a density bonus sounds like a special gift to developers who meet the city's stated goal of a dense vertical downtown, in reality, it is the opposite. Density bonuses essentially charge developers for variances -- if they want to build taller, they need to pay for the privilege. Here is a summary from the Austin Chronicle: The incentives are the "bonus." For a developer, adding density is gaining additional project entitlements and additional value – more square feet, building floors (height), condo units, retail or office space to lease or sell. Zoning code limits the size of buildings; for example, in the Central Business District, entitlements are limited to ...
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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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