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2011 Recap of Downtown Austin Condo Sales

January 20, 2012 By 6 Comments
downtown austin condo sales - 2011 prices trailing 12 months

Challenged to articulate a narrative around 2011 downtown Austin real estate data, I’ve been keeping this post under wraps for a couple of weeks.  Data is useful to me and my clients, but these numbers have little meaning without context and history.

How do I convey that the best news is no news at all?

Stability in the downtown condo market continues to be the story. Stability attracts the timid buyers from the sidelines. Those additional buyers embolden timid sellers to enter the market.

What forces are creating stability downtown? Low interest rates, shrinking inventory, and multi-generational demand for urban lifestyle. We can see the outcome of stability in the chart below: the gradually upward sloping trend line.

downtown austin condos - 10 years of resale data

downtown austin condos - 10 years of resale data

In 2011, if you were a seller in downtown Austin, then you did slightly better than sellers in 2010.  If you were a buyer in downtown Austin in 2011, then you were more focused on lifestyle and proximity, rather than the post-bust discount pricing found in 2008-2009.

Highlights

Looking back on the downtown Austin condo market in 2011, we see $77,688,824 in total resales over 200 resale transactions.  Combined with an estimated $120,000,000 in downtown new construction sales from another 200 transactions, 2011 reflects a healthy real estate market, gradually trending up. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Austin Data & Statistics, DAB Stats, data, statistics, downtown austin, Downtown Austin lofts, condos, apartments, Real Estate

Crossing The Chasm: A Perspective On New Construction

September 13, 2011 By 11 Comments
Crossing-The-Chasm-Adoption-Lifecycle

Because I’m a real estate geek, I’m continuously looking at sales metrics, updating my databases, and endeavoring to uncover useful information.  In this post, I’m attempting two things: 1) offer some perspective on sales in downtown Austin’s high profile buildings, and 2) predict when those buildings will approach being completely sold.  If you just want the data then skip to the end.

One of my mentors shared with me an insight: the first buyers are innovators - early adopters that fill up the bandwagon and help throttle the acceptance of something new.  It applies to new real estate development, as much as it does to new technologies.

Now that the cranes are long gone, where are the new construction projects in their sales cycles? [Read more...]

Filed Under: austin condos, Austin Data & Statistics, DAB Stats, data, statistics, downtown austin

Downtown Austin Condo Sales Remain Strong In May

June 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
downtown austin condo closings may

For the first time since the bubble burst, the average price per square foot of a downtown Austin condo has increased four months in a row. Last month, downtown Austin closed 62 condos* with 29 more pending!

Highlights

In May, we counted 41 closings of new-construction condos from the Four Seasons Residences, W Hotel, Austonian, Spring Condos, and Barton Place.  The W takes the cake with 15 closings in May.

On the other hand, the number of resales comes in at 21 units closed – a strong showing – averaging a price of $334 per square foot. We also count 29 resales pending as of May 31st!  So, we can expect next month’s closing count to be similarly strong.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: austin condos, Austin Data & Statistics, DAB Stats, data, statistics, downtown austin, Downtown Austin lofts, condos, apartments

Is Austin Bicycle Theft On The Rise?

May 30, 2011 By 3 Comments
austin-stolen-bike

There were more bike thefts reported in the heart of downtown Austin during the first five months of 2011, compared to 2010, according to city police records I compiled. However, reports are down in the South Congress area.

I know this because I decided to do my best Council Member Chris Riley impression — sans silver hair — and work on reducing my car usage in favor of pedal power to commute to the Capitol area. I bought a bike over the weekend, did some research and promptly shelled out another $200 for accessories, aimed mostly at anti-theft.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Austin Data & Statistics, austin lifestyle, austin recreation, austin traffic, austin transit, city council, crime, data, statistics, downtown austin, life in austin, rumors, gossip Tagged With: ,

Downtown Austin Condo Transaction Report For April (And March, Sort Of)

May 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment
march data

In April, I didn’t publish a transaction summary covering March’s downtown deals.

I had assembled all the info, drafted the post, and it was ready to publish.  Some of you noticed that I never got around to posting it, and I’m sorry for not getting it out there (here’s to you John K.).

Jude, why u no post March data?

First and fortunately, I was at the tipping point of having more business than I could handle.  Springtime is always busy for me.  Combine that with opening the RE/MAX Downtown Austin office and I got distracted, operating on little sleep.

Secondly, I couldn’t come up with a headline for March!  March’s data didn’t seem to have a compelling story.  March’s data seemed too predictable.  That spooked me – what was I going to write about?  DAB readers have built up filters to exaggerated headlines, but readers do expect a story.  You should expect some insight.  What’s the story?

[Read more...]

Filed Under: austin condos, Austin Data & Statistics, austin lofts, austin towers and high rises, DAB Stats, data, statistics, downtown austin, Downtown Austin lofts, condos, apartments

Downtown Austin: Census Data In Perspective

April 12, 2011 By 4 Comments
2010 downtown austin census blocks

Anyone who knows what a construction crane looks like knows that downtown Austin experienced phenomenal growth between 2000 and 2010. The 2010 Census confirms what we could see: Census tract 11 (which includes the CBD and Rainey Street) more than doubled in population, from 2,386 to 5,512. And that excludes dense developments that most would consider part of “downtown,” including Gables Park Plaza, the Monarch, Spring and Nokonah, all within Census tract 12. Add these and Downtown’s growth was even more impressive. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Austin Data & Statistics, DAB Stats, data, statistics, Downtown Austin lofts, condos, apartments, Real Estate Tagged With:

W Hotel Residences Begins Closings In January As Downtown Austin Condo Sales Rise Higher

February 8, 2011 By 5 Comments
w austin residences grand opening downtown austin blog

The most significant downtown Austin condo news from January must be the first closings at the W Hotel Residences (aka Block 21 Residences).  The W is the last of the luxury high rises to open, and these closings represent a significant milestone for the downtown Austin building boom.  Naturally, the proud new owners are taking possession from the lower floors going up.  Occupancy is permitted up to the 24th floor, currently.  Prices at the W Hotel Residences are firmly placed into our “top-tier” category with starting prices at [Read more...]

Filed Under: Austin Data & Statistics, austin towers and high rises, DAB Stats, data, statistics, downtown austin

Downtown Austin Condo Prices On The Rise in December

January 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
downtown austin condo stats december 2010

1) Price Per Foot, and 2) Number of Transactions (monthly, Jan-Dec 2010)

The downtown Austin loft & condo market hit many milestones this year: 1) Austonian opened 2) Four Seasons opened 3) W Hotel residences approached completion.  Downtown hosted over $60MM in resale transactions during the year.  Moreover, to the surprise or chagrin of some, buyers are flocking to the top-tier buildings.  We close out 2010 with 38 closed transactions in the month of December – 18 resale, and 20 direct to developer.

The above chart shows downtown austin condo resale trends based on monthly data from 2010.  Direct to developer transactions are not shown on the chart.  The most salient trend we can glean from this data is the average sales price hovering steadily ~$300 per square foot.

Details after the jump… [Read more...]

Filed Under: austin condos, Austin Data & Statistics, austin towers and high rises, DAB Stats, data, statistics, downtown austin, Downtown Austin lofts, condos, apartments, Downtown Austin lofts, condos, apartments

Choice Downtown Austin Block Purchased For $21.75MM

December 15, 2010 By 12 Comments
travis-county-purchases-downtown-austin-amoa-block-200

Travis County will purchase a tract of downtown Austin land owned by the Austin Museum of Art for $21.75MM, according to InFactDaily.  Located directly south of Republic Square Park, it is certainly a choice piece of dirt. Currently a surface level parking lot, this land has everything going for it, most importantly it is not subject to a Capitol View Corridor. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Austin Data & Statistics, downtown austin, Downtown Austin lofts, condos, apartments

DAB STATS – August Residential Sales Summary

September 3, 2010 By 2 Comments

Oh, August.  TGIF.  It’s been so friggin’ hot!

August and December seem to be the two months when real estate is not a priority for most families.  It’s vacation time.  Back-to-school time.  And, in Austin, Texas it’s violently hot.  So hot that downtown Austin’s walkability loses some of its romance.

In August we recorded 16 transactions, with the average sale price of a downtown Austin condo hovering around $298 per foot.  Once again, this is consistent with recent evidence that shows +/- $300 per foot seems to be a homeostatic equilibrium for downtown Austin.

Of the top-tier buildings, TCAD shows 11 7 closed units at the Austonian.  The W Hotel Residences are approaching completion.  The Four Seasons Residences TCAD entries have yet to be divided into individual records.  TCAD can take 30 days to update.

You can search for Austin condos and lofts using our map-based viewer.  Registered members of DAB can download a complete statistical and transaction report here.

-Jude

Filed Under: Austin Data & Statistics, DAB Stats, downtown austin, Downtown Austin lofts, condos, apartments
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