Austin Named 4th Most Surprising Real Estate Market in 2012

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Austin has been named one of 2012’s most surprising real estate markets by real estate firm Realty Pin.

Jan Buchholz

Staff Writer 

Austin Business Journal

New York-based real estate firm Realty Pin named Austin one of 2012’s most surprising real estate markets.

Austin was cited as the fourth most surprising real estate market among five selected.

“It may not be as big as other cities in the Lone Star State,” the report notes, “but the Texas’ capital city has got a great real estate market.”

Among the pluses: The median sales price in July was 4 percent higher than in July 2011. The time it takes to sell a home is getting shorter.

“As an added benefit, the average joes are having the easiest time selling homes here,” the report states. “According to the latest numbers, if your home is priced at less than $200,000, it will likely sell in less than three months.”

And perhaps even less, based on some local observations.

The one downside of the real estate market here, according to the report, is that rents have skyrocketed.

“So if you plan on calling Austin home, you’ll get more bang for your buck if you buy,” the report continues.

The most surprising real estate market in the list was Honolulu, which has seen strong investor interest by international buyers, especially Asians and Canadians. Foreclosure activity also is low.

In the number two spot is West Palm Beach, Fla., and the surprise here isn’t the good variety. West Palm Beach has a very high foreclosure rate with one out of every 349 homes receiving a foreclosure notice in July 2012. The median home price also dropped 15 percent in July 2012 compared to the previous month.

Minneapolis-St. Paul captured the No. 3 spot where building permits issued have skyrocketed since this spring from a low of 400 in March to 1,100 in July. According to theFederal Housing Finance Agency Home Price Index homes in that northern metropolis have jumped 6 percent since the beginning of the year.

Austin logged in at No. 4 and the No. 5 most surprising real estate market was Richmond, Va., which has had a long hard climb out of the Great Recession. Foreclosures remain a serious problem throughout the state. The current median asking price of a home is $210,000, about the same as it was in the mid-1990s. Pending sales were up 20 percent in July, however, leading to more upbeat expectations.

“It’s nice to see that people are getting more excited about real estate in Richmond, but when you look at the numbers, their enthusiasm is a little surprising,” the report states.

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Austin Business Journal by Jan Buchholz, Staff Writer

Date: Monday, December 31, 2012, 12:26pm CST
Full Text of Article

Austin #7 in Home Price Jump

Austin No. 7 nationally in home price jump

Austin Business Journal

Date: Tuesday, December 11, 2012, 6:54am CST

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Austin home prices have risen 2.97 percent in the last year.

Home prices jumped 2.97 percent in Austin between the third quarters of 2011 and 2012, the seventh-highest change in the nation.

Using the Federal Housing Finance Agency scale that holds 1991's home prices at 100, Austin's prices rose from 196 on the index in the third quarter of 2011 to 201.83 in the third quarter of 2012,according to On Numbers.

The cities with prices that increased faster than Austin include Phoenix (9.53 percent); Cape Coral-Ft. Myers, Fla. (7.57 percent); Boise, Idaho (6.7 percent); Bakersfield, Calif. (4.47 percent); San Jose, Calif. (3.45 percent); and Modesto, Calif. (3.32 percent).

Link to Austin Biz Journal Article

Angelou says he's 'Bullish' on Austin's Economy

Economist Angelos Angelou says he's 'bullish' on Austin's economy, citing fast population growth, a rise in job opportunities and continued worldwide exposure to the city's entertainment offerings.

"Corporations are looking for the best workforce, entrepreneurial environment and young people and we've got all those here in Austin," said Angelou. 

Angelou spoke to a crowd of hundreds at the AT&T Conference Center on the University of Texas Tuesday morning. This is the 27Th year Angelou has given a forecast.

Angelou predicts 130,000 people will move to Austin over the next two years, putting additional demand on the area's real estate market. He forecasts double digit housing growth in the Austin area for the next three to four years, and he believes housing prices will increase.

He also predicts retail sales will grow by eight percent in the next two years and bring an additional 3,500 new jobs. Angelou says leisure, hospitality, education, health and tech industries will continue to grow.

Angelou forecasts that Austin will lead Texas in the biomedical field thanks to the newly approved UT medical school and teaching hospital. He said a $225 million dollar new VA hospital will also add to the growth in that field.

"Austin is the entrepreneurial center of Texas, and there will be a lot more ideas and new start-ups in the biotechnology sector in the years to come," said Angelou.

(From an article on KVUE.com)