Austin 2nd Healthiest Housing Markets for 2009

#2: Austin, Texas - Healthiest Housing Markets for 2009

(2008 Total Building Permits: 14,250)

Nine years ago, during the tech bust, some builders felt that Austin was too crowded and left. The bloom is back on Austin’s yellow rose now; it moved up the leader board to become the sixth largest home building market last year. Job creation explains the move. While other markets lost employment, Austin added 17,400 jobs last year, 2.3 percent growth rate.

It helps that Austin is home to both a major university, The University of Texas, and the state capital. Existing homes cost a little bit more in Austin than other Texas markets, roughly $188,600, but that’s still below the national average.

Also, Austin is one of the few metro areas in the country where median prices actually rose in 2008--2.7 percent. Amazingly, Austin now generates more home building activity than Chicago, which has six times more people. Busiest Austin builders: D.R. Horton, Lennar, KB Home, Centex Homes, Meritage Homes.

#1 - Houston, TX
#2 - Austin, TX
#3 - Fort Worth, TX
#4 - San Antonio, TX
#5 - Dallas, TX
#6 - Raleigh, NC
#7 - Seattle, WA
#8 - Indianapolis, IN
#9 - Fayetteville, AR
#10 - Washington D.C.
#11 - Nashville, TN
#12 - Denver, CO
#13 - Charlotte, N.C.
#14 - Willmington, N.C.
#15 - Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Courtesy: Hanley Wood Market Intelligence By: Boyce Thompson

Austin 2nd Fastest Growing City in the Nation!

Austin was the nation’s second-fastest-growing metropolitan area between 2007 and 2008, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The population in the Austin-Round Rock area grew 3.8 percent to 1.65 million between July 2007 and July 2008. Among major U.S. metros, that growth rate was second only to Raleigh-Cary, N.C., which experienced a 4.3 percent population uptick during the 12-month period.

Large metro areas — those with 2008 populations of 1 million or more — were home to nine of the 10 fastest-growing counties. Texas had the largest number of counties on the 100 fastest-growing counties list with a total of 19. The Lone Star State was also home to 10 counties among the 25 with the highest numerical gains.

Four metro areas--including two in Texas--increased their populations by more than 100,000 people between 2007 to 2008: Dallas-Fort Worth (147,000), Houston (130,000), Phoenix (116,000) and Atlanta (115,000).

From Ausitn Business Journal 3/19/09

Forbes Ranks Austin #8 for Biz & Careers!

Forbes.com ranks Austin the 8th best place for business and careers in its latest list.
Texas' Capital City rose significantly from 47th on last year's list. Austin was behind cities such as No. 1 Raleigh, N.C. and No. 4 Fayetteville, Ark. The list was ranked according to factors such as cost of doing business and projected employment growth.


Forbes.com cited Austin's projected annual job growth rate of 2.3 percent--the fifth fastest in the country, and its relatively low subprime mortgage exposure.
For its reporting on Austin, Forbes.com spoke with the Charles Schwab Corp., which expanded its Austin presence in 2007 when it purchased the 401(k) Co. "The city of Austin is extremely business-friendly. They have bent over backwards to accommodate us," Glenn Cooper, head of real estate at Schwab, told the news site.


The top 10 cities on the list were as follows:
1) Raleigh, N.C.
2) Fort Collins, Colo.
3) Durham, N.C.
4) Fayetteville, Ark.
5) Lincoln, Neb.
6) Asheville, N.C.
7) Des Moines, Iowa
8) Austin, Texas
9) Boise, Idaho
10) Colorado Springs, Colo.

From Austin Business Journal 4/3/09

Texas Counties Show BIG Growth Numbers!

Ten of the top 25 fastest growing counties in the country between July 2007 and July 2008 are in Texas, according to a Capital Area Council of Governments analysis of the most-recent U.S. Census report.

That’s more than any other state, with California registering six of the top 25 and Arizona and North Carolina each capturing two.

Texas counties among the top 25 include:

Harris, No. 2
Tarrant, No. 5
Bexar, No. 10
Collin, No. 12
Dallas, No. 13
Travis, No. 14
Fort Bend, No. 18
Denton, No. 21
Williamson, No.23
Hidalgo, No. 24

Central Texas counties experienced considerable population increases over the period—emphasizing the need for a continued focus on managed growth, CAPCOG officials said.

CENTRAL TEXAS COUNTIES: The numerical and percentage growth break down among counties in CAPCOG’s service area is as follows:

Bastrop: 1,364, 1.9 percent
Blanco: 81, 0.9 percent
Burnet: 901, 2.1 percent
Caldwell: 299, 0.8 percent
Fayette: 241, 1.1 percent
Hays: 7,526, 5.3 percent
Lee: 115, 0.7 percent
Llano: 58, 0.3 percent
Travis: 28,651, 3 percent
Williamson: 22,172, 6.0 percent

“These latest figures from the Census Bureau underscore the fact that we can’t stop talking about how to manage growth effectively, even during a recession,” said Brian Kelsey, director of community and economic development for CAPCOG. “The number of people relocating to the Austin-Round Rock region has likely slowed as a result of the recession, but we need to appreciate that Hays, Travis, and Williamson alone added nearly 60,000 people between July 2007 and July 2008, according to these latest figures. For some perspective, that’s more people than the entire city of Cedar Park.”

From the Austin Business Journal 3/27/09

2009 Austin Area Market Update - Alamo Title

While homeowners nationwide have watched their home values plummet, the Central Texas real estate market has fared much better in comparison. Economic forecasters now say a looming housing shortage will increase real estate prices within the next two years.

With the relatively healthy local economy encouraging continued population inflows to Austin, economic consultant Angelos Angelou forecasts demand to soon outstrip supply, a theory consistent with current real estate sales absorption rates (see attached).

Angelou estimates newcomers move to Austin at a rate of approximately 42,000 per year. New residents coupled with a decrease in the number of new home starts locally may lead to a shortage over the next few years, he said. Three years ago, we were building at the pace of 18,000 a year, but last year, only 8,100 were built; this year, only 6,000 new homes will be built.

Angelou said this is an ideal time to buy, and that current sellers may consider waiting for increased demand and prices in the upcoming housing shortage.
Like in January and last fall, the number of transactions per month are still down as many borrowers face difficulty securing financing and investors wait for signs of confidence in the markets. Austin-area prices remain stable and affordable, and properties are selling, on average, after just 83 days on market.

Austin Tops the Top 10 Lists in 2009

Here are some stats for those of us that already love Austin!

Healthiest Housing Markets for 2009 - BuilderOnline.com
Austin #2

Fastest Growing Cities in the Nation - Austin Biz Journal
Austin #2

Top 10 Best Bang for the Buck Cities - Forbes Magazine

Austin #1

Top 10 Most Recession-proof Cities - Forbes.com

Austin #3

TOP 10 Best Cities to Work & Play - Kiplinger.com

Austin #6

Top 10 Greenest Cities in America - Popsci.com

Austin #10

Top 10 Best Cities to have a Baby - FitPregnacy.com

Austin #9

Top 10 Golf Cities in America - Golf Magazine

Austin #1

Top 10 Best Places to Live in America - CNN/Money Magazine

Round Rock #7

Top 10 Best Cities for Married Couples - Forbes.com

Austin #5

Best Cities for Dating - Sperlings

Austin #1

Most Educated Cities in the US - US Census Bureau

Austin #5 (41.5% have a college degree or higher!)

There are more on the attached link!

It's a good time to live in Austin!

JoAnne

My Core Values:

Continual Education, Targeted Excellence, Balanced Growth & First Class service!

JoAnne McKinney, Broker/Owner, GRI, CRS, ABR
Violet Crown Realty
943 East 51st Street Austin, TX 78751
512.628.0990 wk · 512.628.0992 fax · 801.9001 mb
JoAnne@VioletCrownRealty.com
http://www.VioletCrownRealty.com/

2008 Average Prices - Austin

Attached is our annual Average Price map for the Austin MLS for the past year. The percentages show the change from 2007 to 2008 per MLS area.

Keep in mind that this is a bird's eye view of the city, not intended to estimate the price on a specific home or neighborhood.

For example, Area 3 now includeds the new Mueller Redevelopment Neighborhood(http://www.MuellerAustin.com/) as well as cute cottage communities from the 1930s & 40s like French Place (Dean Keeton to Cherrywood to 38 1/2 to I-35). There are other parts of Area 3 that include Windsor Park & University Hills where the homes are built in the 60s & 70s. Each of these smaller communities are are different price points and the only way to determine the market value of a specific home is to look at the houses most similar in that neighborhood. Sites like http://www.zillow.com/ average aggregated data and don't give a true representation of a specific home's market value.

Contact us if you have questions about a home, condo or neighborhood in the Austin or Central Texas area!

It's a good life...

JoAnne McKinney
Violet Crown Realty
943 East 51st Street
Austin, TX 78751
http://www.violetcrownrealty.com/

AverageSalesPrice09.pdf