Austin Texas Real Estate Blog

Having lived in the Austin area since 1988, I'm not surprised when I see our city making national "most desirable" or "best" lists, and a recent list from Walletpop.com is no exception. 

On the list entitled, "10 Best Places to Buy a Home", Austin placed at #1 overall, garnering "Best All-Around City" honors. 

Although we've experienced a tougher economy in recent years, Austin has weathered the storm quite well compared with most cities and local markets around the country, and for that I'm thankful.  Since we've all been inundated with negative messages from the media about the "national housing market" (which is a myth - all markets are local and some are even hyperlocal), I feel like part of my job is to educate Austin -area residents about how good things really are here in this area.

More praise about Austin from the Walletpop.com article:

Texas' capital and a great college town, Austin is beautiful and the 12th-most-affordable American metro area. Job growth from 2000 to 2010 was 14.1%, according to Trulia; unemployment currently is 7.1%, compared with 9.8% nationwide. The city's population is growing too. These positive indicators are expected to continue in the coming decade. Fortune 500 companies abound here; it's home to more than 2,000 tech companies. Home prices are reasonable for the $73,747 median family income and let's face it, nobody does BBQ better than Texas.

To read the entire article, visit http://www.walletpop.com/2010/12/31/10-best-places-to-buy-a-home-in-2011/.

Photo credit: JDN via Flickr (Creative Commons 2.0)

If you're thinking of buying or selling a home in the Austin, Texas area, or if you have any questions, please feel free to call me anytime at 512-796-7653 (cell) or email me at jason@austintexashomes.com.  You can also visit our Austin real estate website at http://www.austintexashomes.com.  Thanks!

Forbes.com released its list of the best cities for couples in the U.S., and I wasn't surprised to see Texas placing really well on the list, with the top two spots going to Dallas and Houston, respectively.  Austin placed #5 on the list, and San Antonio placed 7th.

There are always a lot of lists like this floating around, like the most affordable places to live, or the "fittest cities", and so on.  This particular list struck me as interesting, partially because of the criteria they used to put it together:

1. Marriage rates per 1,000 people
2. Divorce rates per 1,000 people
   
3. Housing affordability - the specific focus here was on starter homes in each area, which may be why Texas fared so well overall
   
4. Income disparity - For this piece of data, they analyzed male vs. female income levels, with the thinking that greater disparity might also indicate big disparities in education and experience, which could lead to a mismatch.
5. Access to couple's counseling - Frankly, I'm not sure how helpful this particular item would be in forming a list like this one, but there you have it.  I suppose if there were no counseling available at all, that could certainly affect things!

If you are interested in reading the entire article, please visit:

http://www.forbes.com/2008/02/03/cities-couples-best-forbeslife-lovebiz08-cx_rr_0204couples.html

If you are looking to make a move to the Austin area, or if you need more information, please feel free to contact me anytime.  I would love the chance to help.  I can be reached anytime at 512-796-7653 (cell) or by email at jason@austintexashomes.com.

I have also gathered some previous posts of mine which you may find helpful as you are making decisions:

Austin Texas Relocation Package

My primary Austin real estate website is www.austintexashomes.com. Thanks for checking out this post - I hope to hear from you soon!

Photo above is courtesy of wattsbw2004 from Flickr.com.

I was excited to see that Austin was named #7 on HousingPredictor.com's latest list: "Hottest Buyers Markets in 2009".  Housing Predictor provides independent real estate forecasts.

Austin seems to be on this type of list perenially, but I know that this month is my best income month (and my busiest) since 2007, which is certainly exciting and perhaps gives more credence to this data. 

The combination of low interest rates, first-time homebuyer incentives, and the advent of the traditional sales season has made things really busy around here for us lately.

According to the article:

The Hottest Markets in 2009 represent areas of the country where there is stronger employment, prospects of growth and promises of prosperity. They represent exceptions in a cascade of deflationary housing markets that are projected to appreciate, despite an economy that has years to fully turn around.

Here's the full article along with the list if you're interested:

http://www.housingpredictor.com/hot.html   

If you are looking to make a move within the area, or if you are considering relocating to Austin, give me a call anytime at 512-796-7653 (cell) or email me at jason@austintexashomes.com.  I look forward to helping you find the right home!

In a Top Ten list released today by Forbes.com, Austin, Texas was named the #2 most family-friendly city in the United States!

Having lived in this area since 1988, and as a father of three now, I can attest to this fact.  I often tell my clients who are relocating that Austin is a terrific place to start and raise a family.

This particular study focused on affordability for families.  To rank the affordability of the country's 40 largest metropolitan statistical areas, Forbes.com used the Economic Policy Institute's Basic Family Budget Calculator. 

Austin posted the following numbers in the story:

Median Annual Family Income: $66,064
Average Annual Family Budget: $42,220
Budget as Percent of Income: 64%

The top city was a surprise to me - San Jose, California was at 55% for the last figure. 

The entire article is here, and it includes links to all of the cities on the list, as well as those considered to be "least family friendly":

http://www.forbes.com/2008/12/02/cities-ten-budget-forbeslife-cx_fl_1202realestate.html

One of the major reasons that Austin consistently gets buyers who want to relocate here is the fact that homes remain imminently affordable overall, with an average sales price in the low $200's for the metro area.

If you are considering a move to Austin, Texas, I would love the opportunity to help you find the right home.  Our Austin TX real estate website is www.austintexashomes.com.  You might also be interested in checking out my online relocation package right here:

 Austin Texas Relocation Package

In a report that was just released via MSN's Real Estate portal, Austin ranked #10 on the list of "66 Cities Where Buying Makes Sense".  Not surprisingly, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and McAllen, Texas also made the top ten!

The study was conducted to determine whether it is a better financial move today to rent a two-bedroom apartment or to purchase a low-priced home.  According to the published estimates, if you purchase an affordable home in the Austin-Round Rock area, you will have substantial equity in four years' time. 

The article alludes to the fact that home ownership is typically not a short-term proposition, which is something I have taught my clients for 12 years now.  Flipping homes was never really very prevalent here in Austin, partially because prices didn't increase at precipitous levels.  Consequently, we have weathered much of the worst economic times relatively unscathed.

In the top 24 markets analyzed (including Austin), home values are expected to outpace a 6% mortgage loan very easily.  They estimated that a low-priced home in this area would provide just over $70,000 in equity by 2012 with a loan at that rate.

To see the entire article and list of cities, visit: http://realestate.msn.com/Buying/Article2.aspx?cp-documentid=8378117. 

If you are considering purchasing a home in Austin (or anywhere in the general central Texas area), please feel free to give me a call.  I would love the opportunity to help you find the right home.  You can visit my primary Austin Texas real estate website at www.austintexashomes.com.  You can also reach me anytime on my cell phone at 512-796-7653 or via email at jason@austintexashomes.com.  Thanks for checking out this brief analysis!  

Well, the Austin Texas real estate market made news in a national magazine once again.  AARP The Magazine placed Austin on the list of the top four "retirement-friendly" cities to watch, as reported by the Austin Business Journal.  Features that make a community livable, such as mass-transit systems, expanded sidewalks, better healthcare and a wide range of mixed-use housing, were among the criteria for determining the list.  You can read the entire Business Journal article here.  At our company, we have certainly seen an upswing in retirees over the past several years. 

The Austin Business Journal released its new list of the top 50 corporate employers in the Austin area.  Although Dell recently announced a round of layoffs, they remain in the top spot (for now) with 17,000 local employees.   H-E-B, which is a grocery chain based in San Antonio, was a distant second place with 7095, followed by Seton Healthcare Network, Wal-Mart, and St. David's HealthCare.  There were a few surprises this year.  For the entire list, check out my Austin Texas real estate website here:

http://www.austintexashomes.com/austin_top_corporate_employers.htm

Lots of tech and health care companies are found on this list.  Keep in mind that it doesn't include any government agencies, school districts, or universities.  The Top 25 overall employers can be seen here:

http://www.austintexashomes.com/topemployers.htm

If you have any questions about the Austin area, or if you are looking to relocate, give me a call anytime at 512-796-7653 or email me at jason@austintexashomes.com.  Thanks!