Develop Austin Texas

Eagles Glen

The master planned community of Steiner Ranch is exceeding expectations, according to developers and agents, because of its great amenities and the strong reputation of local schools, Texas A&M’s Real Estate Center and the Austin Business Journal report.

In 2009, even with the economic downturn, 143 homes were sold in Steiner Ranch at the end of August. Compared to 164 homes by that time in 2008, just a 13% drop. Compared to the 35% drop the Central Texas area saw, particularly early in 2009, the Steiner Ranch development is going faster than planned. The median sale price for a home in Steiner reached $350,000 this year, also a significantly stronger performance than the rest of the area.

Currently in development for Steiner Ranch is Longhorn Village, a retirement community with assisted living services aiming to give University of Texas alumni a chance to reconnect with the University life.

Steiner Ranch, located northwest of the city on RR 620, is near both Lake Travis and Austin. To read more about our featured property on Eagles Glen and some more amenities Steiner has to offer, see here.

Within six months, we will know if the city approves northwest Austin’s first major retail project in nearly three years, the Statesman reports. Developers Rodney Speaks and Leslie Perry Sloan have proposed a $70 million, 300,000 Sq Ft Center on 69 acres at RM 620 and Wilson Parke Avenue, near RM 2222. They plan to break ground by June for a targeted summer 2011 opening. It is the only new development of its size expected to get built in the next couple years.

Sloan and partners are working with the views and the land in that area and hoping to work with local retailers and restaurants to create not “just another strip mall. We want it to have a very ‘Austin’ flair.” The project will make use of the large greenbelt running across the rear of the property backing Balcones Canyonlands Preserve, and the large oak trees on the site. In addition to shops and restaurants, there will be playscapes, ponds and two miles of trails. “We are going to extreme measures to design around some very, very beautiful trees.”

Jim Smitherman, member of the development committee for the Parke Homeowners Association (representing 180 households within a mile of the proposed development) said the plans are the best he’s seen for the site, among others previously proposed. He says it will fill a demand for local retailers and sit-down restaurants, which the area is “starving for.”

 The area is near a HEB grocery store, a Home Depot, a Target and a Walmart. Developers hope to attract a movie theater, hotel, and specialty grocery along with sporting goods, books, and clothing retailers.

This summer in Austin saw existing home sales flatten: for the first time in two years, monthly sales were not lower than the same month the year before. July’s median home price was still down 2% from July 2008, meaning there are still deals to be made for the smart buyer, but the signs of the healthy market are still apparent. “The sales volume momentum in Austin continues, now reaching 2008 levels,” says Jay Gohil, chair of the Austin Board of Realtors. “That’s good news, but I think it’s even better news that we’ve achieved that increase while maintaining a steady median home price.”

Elsewhere in the nation, the S&P/Case-Schiller US National Home Price Index reported the first quarterly rise in home prices in three years. The index examines 20 metro areas around the country, and reports that only two (Las Vegas and Detroit) did not show positive home price growth. “For the second month in a row, we’re seeing some positive signs. There are hints of an upward turn from a bottom,” says David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee. It’s “a crucial trend that may help stabilize the broader US economy,” AP reports.

Turbines

For the second quarter of this year, Texas added 454 megawatts of wind generating capacity, giving the state of Texas’ capacity more than 8,000 megawatts for the first time, and to be the first state that has done so.

One megawatt of wind powers 225-300 homes.

The state of Texas is first in new wind power generating capacity, according to the American Wind Energy Association. Iowa is second, with around 3,000 megawatts. Missouri, Washington and California also appear on the list. Texas was second in wind growth, behind Missouri’s push to expand more than 90%.

Central Texas is home to the Roscoe Project, the nation’s largest wind project, which helped push Texas to its 8,000 megawatts.

According to American Wind Energy Association CEO Denise Bode, “Our challenge now is to sieze the historic opportunity before us to unleash this entrepeneurial force and build up an entire new industry here in the U.S. that will create jobs, avoid carbon and strengthen our energy security.”

Based on numbers of building permits issued from May 2008-May 2009, Texas and its cities lead the nation in new home construction. In perspective, Texas had more permits than California and Florida, combined.

The city of Austin appears 6th on the list of metro areas throughout the country, along with 3 other Texas building hot spots in the top 10.

Top 10 Markets for Single Family Home Building

1. Houston, TX
2. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
3. Phoenix, AZ
4. Washington, DC
5. Atlanta, GA
6. Austin, TX
7. San Antonio, TX
8. Riverside-San Bernardino, CA
9. Charlotte, NC
10. Raleigh-Cary, NC

The monthly Texas Economy Review, from the Real Estate Center (at Texas A&M University) uses employment data, by area and industry, to rank growth and economy health throughout 26 metro areas in the State of Texas.

The data places Austin-Round Rock as 5th for employment growth, and ahead the state average. The report also places Austin-Round Rock as 9th lowest unemployment rate, almost a full percent below the state average.

The reason for some of these numbers may be behind what industries are hiring: the government sector, for one, added 40,600 jobs in the past year. With the capitol being in Austin, the State of Texas was already Austin’s biggest employer (followed by the 5th largest employer, the US Government; the 6th largest employer, the City of Austin; and the 13th largest, Travis County).

59,000 jobs were added in health care and social assistance. Four of Austin’s top 25 employers are healthcare networks or hospitals, including Seton, the largest non-profit healthcare network in Texas. Also gaining 3,000 jobs in the past year is the arts/entertainment, recreation, accommodation and food service industry.

While Texas has experienced a negative job growth of 2.6%, it has fared better than the rest of the nation’s loss of 4.2% of non-farm jobs. Austin, with a negative job growth of 0.2%, is one of the first and largest areas to show strong signs of recovery, and continues to be a great area to invest in.

According to the Austin Board of Realtors, last month, June ‘09, Austin’s home sales were at their highest level in a year.

April’s sales in ‘09 were down 18% from April ‘08. May ‘09 sales were down 19% from May ‘08. But June had a 4% decrease from ‘08, the smallest decrease since the 2% drop in June ‘o8 from June ‘07.

Also in June, Pending Sales (sales set to close in July) were up 4%.

Reasons for the upturn include

• $8,000 tax credit (for homes closed on before December 1)
• Population increase – numbers of people moving from other cities or states
• People looking for lower risk investment opportunities (Real Estate is historically considered a strong investment choice)
• Builders have been building fewer new homes, affecting the balance of supply and demand, and putting more demand on resales.

Despite recession woes around the nation, the state of Texas has gained small businesses, according to the SBA. Their report covering the growth in 2008 outlines the specific numbers of new self employed persons. The state’s “entrepreneurial drive” is outpacing the rest of the nation, according to the Texas Association of Realors; despite the economy, Texas continues to attract small businesses. “Studies show that states such as Texas, with strong economic growth in recent years, are highly entrepreneurial,” says the Dallas Morning News.

Joseph Picken, executive director at the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Texas states that employment in Fortune 500 companies is declining, and “employment in the small business sector is creating all the new jobs.”

By the numbers:

• The number of self employed people nationwide fell 2 %

• The number of self employed people in Texas rose 2 %

• Current number of self employed people nationwide: 15.9 million

• Current number of self employed people in Texas: 1.1 million

• Number of employer firms in Texas: almost 450,000

• Percent increase of employer firms in Texas from 2007-2008: 1.4% (about 6,750)

• Almost 90% of those employer firms have less than 20 employees.

View, Montandon Ranch

The Montandon Ranch piece of property on Lake Travis just had a sizeable price reduction, to $5,900,000. It is 171 Acres of dramatic views of the lake, manicured acreage, rolling hills, mature oaks and big, deep waterfront, consisting of some cove waterfront and main body waterfront. The perfect deal for the right buyer. Able to divide into 100 and 71 acres.

See the listing here.

From Forbes:

“Total Population: 1,249,763
Number of Top Companies: three
Median Household Income: $56,422
Cost of Living: 94.93 (average is 100)
Unemployment Rate: 5.8%

With one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, Austin’s popularity streak continues. This has quite a bit to do with the metro area’s employers, which include the University of Texas, Advanced Micro Devices and Dell.”

Accolades just keep coming in for Austin!

If anyone’s curious about the rest of the list:

10. New York, NY

9. Kansas City, MO

8. St. Louis, MO

7. Austin, TX

6. Washington D.C.

5. Boston, MA

4. Pittsburgh, PA

3. Minneapolis, MN

2. Dallas, TX

1. Houston, TX