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
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Austin Ranked Best City to Invest in Commercial Real Estate

Austin Ranked Best City to Invest in Commercial Real Estate

Austin has the best prospects for commercial real estate investment this year, a Grubb & Ellis Co. forecast reported today.

The Santa Ana, Calif-based real estate services and investment firm said it expects commercial real estate will continue to falter this year, but at a slower rate, according to the 2010 forecast. Most property types will reach bottom pricing near the end of 2010 with a slow recovery beginning in 2011, officials said.

In a ranking of the top 10 markets for long-term office, industrial, retail and multi-housing investment potential, Austin was listed No. 1. Houston was the only other Texas city to make the list, taking the sixth spot.

“Because commercial real estate lags the labor market, it still has a ways to go before reaching its own low point,” said Bob Bach, Grubb & Ellis senior vice president and chief economist. “The good news is that the freefall we saw in 2009 is over and the future is more certain, giving owners and users of real estate the confidence to begin making decisions again.”

The investment market will see a slight rebound in 2010, according to the forecast, with at least some assets entering the market in 2010. Officials said the shift should prompt increased sales volume of 20 to 30 percent. The report said record-high office vacancy rates will likely continue, reaching as high as 19 percent by the year’s close.

Source: Austin Business Journal : Monday, January 4, 2010