Develop Austin Texas

New numbers just released by the Austin Chamber of Commerce show that Austin has gained 11,400 jobs over the past 12 months for a 1.5% growth rate.  This ranks Austin 15th in the nation as far as growth rate – down from December when the Brookings Institute had Austin at #1 for job growth. While this may sound disappointing to some, Austin is experiencing growth while other cities are still losing jobs.  Austin is ranked 1^st in terms of having lost the least number of jobs from our peak employment month of November 2008. Other markets have lost many more jobs so they have a much longer way to go to get back to their peak – we only need to gain 16,700 jobs to be back to our November 2008 peak.

Another big indicator, the unemployment rate, shows Austin has the lowest unemployment rate in the state of Texas and the 3rd lowest in the entire nation.  Follow this link to see more data from the recent Austin Chamber of Commerce Report.

Located in the Lago Vista peninsula, these 315 acres feature Lake Travis waterfront, lake views and cleared fields with frontage on 2 paved county maintained roads with a hard corner.  There is about 3,000 ft. of very deep cove frontage on Lake Travis – the cove is about 70 ft. deep from the 680 ft. shoreline.  The land gently slopes to the waterfront making it very accessible along most of the shoreline.  The land is mostly cleared of cedars and junk brush to reveal nice vistas and fields of native grasses.  It’s currently ag exempt keeping holding costs low.

Known as The Falls, this land is fully entitled and platted for development through the City of Lago Vista.  The 520 lot plan includes large waterfront tracts, condo units, marina plan and production builder lots.  Water and wastewater are available though the City of Lago Vista but must be brought onto the property.  Commercial potential with excellent road frontage on both Lohman Ford Rd. and Sylvester Ford Rd. with a hard corner at the intersection.

This property is appraised at over $8,800,000.  We recently reduced the asking price to $6,500,000 or $20,635 per acre.  Other developments in the area are priced at $30,000+ per acre.  Visit our web site for more information about this property.

The 900 acre development of Spanish Oaks is going up for auction on Aug. 03.  Located in the scenic hills west of Austin, this community features a golf course winding through the 436 home sites.  The project is owned by three separate entities, Hillwood Development Company, Discovery Land Co. and CCNG Realty Inc. According to the Austin Business Journal, after failing to settle the $32 Million loan, Comerica Bank has foreclosed on the property and will be auctioning it off on August 03.

The recession has caused the luxury home market in Austin to really take a tumble and this foreclosure is a direct result of the lack of demand in high end custom homes and home sites.

According to the Austin Business Journal, the commercial real estate market seems to be stabilizing.  The retail and office markets seem to be doing well but industrial vacancy rates remain dismal.

The second quarter saw vacancy rates in office space decrease for the first time since 2007 due to the fact that new construction in office space has slowed significantly and the market is catching up.  The biggest mover is the downtown Austin Central Business District where rates have been falling steadily since the 4th quarter of 2009.  New plans for high density developments are in the works.

Occupancy rates for retail buildings has also increased to just under 92% making the Austin area the only Texas metro area to show an increase in the first 6 months of 2010.  Minimal amounts of new construction will see those occupancy rates increase even more over the next few months.

Meanwhile, industrial vacancy rates are at a high not seen since the big crash of the late 1980s.  The citywide vacancy rates increased from 22% at the end of 2009 to the present rate of 24%.  However, experts are predicting this to slow down soon as there are several large leases pending.

Overall area brokers are reporting an increase in the volume of deals getting done in the marketplace.  This has lead to an increase in optimism and an sense that things are turning around.

The Austin-American Statesman reported last Thursday that new home starts in the Austin area were up 11% in the second quarter of this year.  The new home starts were mostly in the $200,000-$400,000 dollar range, with many people taking advantage of the recently expired tax credit.  According to Residential Strategies, the median price of a new home increased 3 percent to $203,476 in the second quarter but that’s still off 4.3% from the same quarter last year.

The Austin market has remained one of the strongest real estate markets in the country.  We have not seen the big dips in prices that other markets across the country have seen.  This can be attributed to restraint by area builders who did not create an oversupply of housing and to our strong local economy which is still creating jobs.  Just recently Samsung announced they were investing $3.6 billion to expand its semiconductor business here.

Although it’s going to be a slow recovery, it’s good to see that signs are definitely pointing in the right direction.

177 Main Body Lake Travis Waterfront Acres Located Across from the Confluence of Lake Travis and the Pedernales River. Very Accessible Main Body Waterfront. Additional Acres Available.

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Just when it seemed that making use of the First Time Home Buyer Credit was completely gone, Texas introduces the new Texas Department of Housing & Community Affairs (TDHCA) Bond 77 Program. The Bond 77 program is a new Zero Down Home Loan that will assist home buyers with their down payment towards the purchase of a home.  It is said that the state of Texas has backed this program with $500 million dollars in funding and should be releasing the program in late May. With this kind of allotment of funds available for the program and an alternative option for down payment, it’s sure to become a popularly sought out program by both first time buyers and existing home owners looking to purchase a home.

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Creek on 48+ acres in Southwest Austin

We just listed this gated, wooded 48+ acre estate tract with intermittent creek and deep pond. Land currently features a 4,000 sq. ft. home and barn. There is the possibility of subdividing this property into 2+ acre tracts for development.

The 48 acres are gated with frontage on 3 county maintained roads, city water line, well, electricity on property. This rare tract is located just off Hwy. 290, only 20 minutes to downtown Austin. Find out more about it here.

Business is booming and we need some help! We are looking for a sharp, witty marketing person who can handle marketing our listings and who is on top of new and emerging technologies – especially as they relate to the real estate business.

Who We’d Like to Meet:

You have experience in the real estate business and have a real estate license or a getting a real estate license

You are highly proficient in all Microsoft Office products

You have enviable Photoshop/Creative Suite skills

You love to blog and are very familiar with blogware such as Wordpress – you want to show us your very successful blog

Familiarity with tracking and compiling web site data

When you’re not working (or sometimes when you are), you’re networking on Facebook, Twitter and that newest site that no one’s discovered – yet

You listen well and don’t want to be told what to do over and over again

Your friends and family envy your organizational skills

You like to take the ball and run but don’t mind a little direction along the way

You have a reliable form of transportation

Please submit resume and cover letter by clicking on this link!

Thanks,

The Dave Murray Team

www.DMTX.com