On ABC's "Today Show" on Friday, nationally renowned real estate expert Barbara Corcoran gave her opinion on the top five up-and-coming markets in the country. She named Austin as the top up-and-coming market nationally, and she stated that it is currently a terrific time to buy Austin Real Estate, specifically in the SoCo (South Congress) area, just south of downtown.
The Austin Business Journal also featured a recent article about Austin's appreciation over the past year, which was almost 10%. This places Austin at seventh in the country for 2006-07. Clearly, it is a great time to buy property in this area!
Ms. Corcoran stated that the SoCo area exemplified Austin's slogan, "Keep Austin Weird". The slogan was put in place in order to support local businesses, rather than large chain stores. It actually inspired similar movements in many other cities nationwide, including Portland and Tampa.
Corcoran said the combination of quirky and trendy shops make it a great place for nightlife. She admitted that SoCo might not be the ideal spot for families, but she said it is a good place to make money.
"Old ladies on park benches are a good sign? I've seen it over and over again. You have a ghetto area, where no one sits on a park bench. Suddenly, old ladies are there, so if it's safe enough for them, then it's safe enough for you to put your money into," said Corcoran.
The low prices in Austin combined with a strong local economy make it a natural mecca for real estate investors and new residents.
If you are looking to make a move to Austin or if you are interested in purchasing an investment property (or more than one), please call or email me and I will be happy to help. I can be reached at 512-796-7653 (cell) or at jason@austintexashomes.com. I look forward to helping you with any and all Austin real estate needs.
Here are the previous articles that I have written about various price ranges here in Austin:
Austin Real Estate - What can I buy for $200,000 in the Austin area?
Austin Real Estate - What Can I Buy in the Austin area for $300,000 or less?
Austin Texas Real Estate - What Can I Buy in the Austin area for $400,000 or less?
Austin Real Estate - What Can I Buy in the Austin area for $500,000 or less?
What Can I Buy in the Austin Area for $600,000?
What Can I Buy in the Austin, Texas Area for $650,000 - $700,000? WOW!
What can I buy in the Austin, Texas area for $750,000 - $800,000?
What Can I Buy in the Austin, Texas Area for $800,000 - $900,000?
What Can I Buy in the Austin, Texas Area for $1 Million?
Copyright 2007 Austin Real Estate Jason Crouch All rights reserved
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Austin is a great city. It's not THAT weird.. except - what's with all those bats?!
Hey Crouch....
Now is that more media pandering, or is Austin really that beautiful?
Someone must be paying attention, because the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau just sent me a book on Austin, which somehow my wife cannot put down......at least, she wants to visit!
Jason,
I saw the story on the Today show. I was in Austin last month and loved visting your fine city. The only thing I regret is that I didn't see any of the bats. Have a great week.
I want to visit any town that has the guts to "Keep it Weird." I've always loved the music that has come out of the area. (Stevie Ray Vaughn, God rest his soul). One day, I will make it to the South by Southwest Music Festival.
The bats are such a bonus!
Jason,
How wonderful your market is appreciating. I'm looking forward to my market picking up steam after the holidays.
God Bless
TO ALL: I wrote this post along with a couple of others that garnered quite a bit of attention. Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to respond.
GAIL - I always like seeing you on my blog since you are local. Did you read my latest post? It relates to this. As for the local market, I think it will heat back up in the early months of 2008.
BILL - How do you know that I didn't send that book? Kidding. Austin really is a beautiful place, or at least parts of it are. Good to see you here, buddy!
ELIZABETH - Yeah, I guess I could do without an amorous cab driver myself. Glad to hear that you had a great time. It really is a fun place to live and work. I really enjoyed speaking with you earlier. I look forward to talking again soon.
LISA - I hope you at least have good music at your pity party, unlike our "guilty music pleasures" posts.
MARLENE - I agree - who knew this about the old ladies? Pretty cool stuff. Thanks!
HAROLD - I hope you also have a great week. Sorry that you didn't get a chance to see the bats. It's pretty fun, but perhaps a bit overrated.
KAREN ANNE - They probably do have shirts like that, truth be told. And yes, I do my part to contribute to the weirdness.
ADAM - This has been Austin's slogan for about 10 years or so, and a LOT of other cities have adopted it since. Thanks for your compliments about the series, etc. Maybe you can visit again someday.
BRIAN - I certainly hope so. I think that 2008 will be a great year for us locally, but time will tell, I suppose.
ELAINE - I have a feeling that you would fit in very well here in Austin. It's a great place, and the music is second to none. We have a larger-than-life-size statue of Stevie Ray next to Lady Bird Lake downtown.
FRAN - Things are appreciating, although November was quite slow. December seems good, and I anticipate a great 2008 here locally. I hope to hear some good reports about your market soon, too!
I just ran across this one. Did you note, Jason, that the area that they called "very affordable" and "up and coming" hat met their specs was SoCo, which has been hot, hot, HOT for years now? I have some others in mind that actually met their criteria much better - but I'm not telling them, just my buyers! ;-)