Develop Austin Texas

Yesterday, Forbes released their feature on US Cities on the Rise: vibrant cities welcoming the most newcomers. They’re not the big cities you’d think they are – in fact, New York is at the bottom of the list. It turns out Americans are most attracted to “job growth centers,” and college towns.

Three of the cities on the list are home to major universities, including Austin, Texas. Many young professionals, and everyone in thes areas, are very welcoming to newcomers. “If there are lots of newcomers, it’s easier to make friends; there’s a sense of vibrancy there,” says a senior fellow of the Brookings Institution, about these areas. “Places that don’t have a lot of new migrants tend to be older and more stagnant. They’re also more close-knit.”

Another draw to these cities are the universities themselves: universities are top employers and offer a steady flow of jobs. The population is educated, and it helps cities like Austin thrive. Says a senior fellow at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard, “these places retain people after they’ve graduated, and attract like-minded people.”

Austin sits at #4 on the list of US Cities on the Rise, with a population just over a million people and just over 6% of them having relocated to the area in 2008.

Customer satisfaction with home builders is up, driven by "intensified competition"

The New Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Survey from J.D. Power and Associates generates satisfaction ratings for 24 markets across the US, including Austin. 12 home builders in Austin were examined and rated.

For the second year, overall customer satisfaction in the 24 markets is up, to an average of 811 points out of 1,000 – up 32 points (from 779) in 2008, with overall satisfaction increasing in 22 of the 23 markets studied both years.

Problems reported decreased in all of the 23 markets studied both years. (The most common quality issues were landscaping, heating/air conditioning, and kitchen cabinet quality and finish.)

The reason for the positive increase in consumer ratings? Researchers have tied it to increased competition among home builders in the recession. “Fierce competition among home builders has led to a market where only the strong survive,” says Paula Sonkin, VP of the Real Estate and Construction Industries Practice at J.D. Power and Associates. “This is great news for new home buyers – particularly first time buyers – since builders are offering unprecedented high levels of quality, value and service at relatively low prices.”

Customers can also expect their homes to be completed faster: homes delivered both completely finished and on time increased to 76%, from 70% in 2008.

In this market, what consumers value has changed: the importance of workmanship and quality “increased notably” from the year before, whereas the builder’s sales staff and construction manager became less important. Buyers are looking for more quality for their money, and care less about the customer service experience. 

Peaceful Hill Country Escape, featuring a green rainwater collection system

Another point of interest for buyers is the Green factor: 31% of buyers qualify their home as environmentally friendly, but 65% say their builder did not indentify their house as being so. Buyers are seeking out Green homes to save on power and heating, to save water, and to reduce their impact on the environment, in that order. According to Sonkin: “Builders that neglect to point out environmentally friendly home features to buyers are missing a very important opportunity. New home buyers are increasingly seeking out green home features and the benefits they bring in terms of energy and cost savings.”

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.

NuWire Investor and Housing Predictor released their Top 10 List for best housing markets to invest in for the remainder of 2009. “The top 10 US real estate markets for 2009 are not large metropolitan areas, but rather small communities with strong prospects for growth,” they report. “The following list of high potential housing markets may not appreciate in the short term, but have the highest likelihood of long term appreciation.”

Texas appears twice on the list: in the number one spot is Amarillo, Texas; and number eight is Austin, Texas. “Austin, Texas and Tucson, Arizona are the largest metro areas to be named to the list possessing the highest probability of growing through the recessionary economy over the next few years,” the article continues. “As a high-tech hub, Austin will have what it takes to not only sustain the downturn but see home values inflate.”

Seeing Texas twice-over on the list shouldn’t be a surprise; earlier in the summer NuWire Investor reported that the Southern region posted the strongest quarter-over-quarter price return in the housing market (despite the overall decline of 1.7%).

Austin, Texas clearly continues to remain a good investment with great development land deals to be made.

We’ve said it before and we are saying it again now. The Austin market has been and will remain relatively immune to the recent economic downturn. With news coming out that the national economy is starting to look up, analysts are looking for places that are going to recover the fastest and Austin tops the list according a recent Forbes article. Because of our diverse economy, continued population growth and immunity to the past housing crisis (and by past I mean in the past!), the Austin area is poised to show the strongest positive economic growth of any U.S. city by the end of this year.

I just watched the Texaplex video that has been floating around lately. It presents some great facts about our strong economy, job growth and population in the triangle formed by Houston, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Austin and San Antonio. I don’t agree with the blanket term “Texaplex” used to describe the triangle since these are all vastly different cities with their own economies and more importantly their own social and cultural identities. Watch the video and let me know your thoughts…

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.

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

As reported in the Austin Business Journal, Texas was named the Number One State for Business by Directorship, a publication for corporate/boardroom leaders.

Reasons cited:

• A solid economy
• Affordable cost of living (including the health of the Real Estate Market)
• Pro-business Tax Climate
• Ability to attract Fortune 500 (and other) companies (including, recently, Comerica, and a new assembly plant for Catepillar)
• Ranks 1st in Fortune 500 companies currently located in the state
• Ranks 10th best litigation environment.

Governor Rick Perry’s take on Tuesday’s news?

“Our commitment to low taxes, predictable regulations and a fair tort system are setting an example for the nation and creating a magnetic force for the businesses and jobs that are vital to maintaining Texas’ competitive advantage in the global market.”

The U.S. Recession Report prepared by the Brookings Institution placed Texas cities as 4 of the top 5 cities on their list ranking the biggest 100 metro areas in the nation. Austin  was placed 3rd (behind San Antonio and Oklahoma City). These cities, and this state will prove to have the shortest recovery time ahead.