Develop Austin Texas » new homes

Spanish Oaks Going to Auction

admin — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 18:41:24 +0000

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.

Austin Area Home Starts Up 11%

admin — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:52:06 +0000

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.

Consumer Ratings on Home Builders Up Significantly

admin — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:09:51 +0000

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.”

Texas Leads Nation in New Home Construction, Austin in National Top 10

admin — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:52:09 +0000

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

Austin Area Home Sales Highest in a Year

admin — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:11:34 +0000

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.