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DAB STATS: September Residential Transactions

by | October 6, 2010 |2 Comments

Chill out.  Cool off.  It’s not just the weather, but the market chilled in September yielding a stellar month for downtown Austin buyers.  In September, the average sale price of a downtown Austin condo was $282 per square foot.  This is based on 12 recorded transactions in the Austin MLS.   Year-to-year comparison shows last month was down from $338 per square foot across 20 transactions in September of 2009.  Month-to-month, September was down from $298 per square foot across 16 transactions recorded in August.

Highlights:

-Speaking of cooling off: hell froze over in September as the Statesman, frequently antagonistic to high rises, published an upbeat review of the downtown luxury market.

-A cartoon reminded us of an all too familiar exchange.

-We saw a glimpse of 2006 with a genuine bidding war on a bank owned unit at Brazos Place.

Top Tier Summary:

Not reflected in the MLS data are developers’ direct transactions at the top-tier buildings.  According to TCAD, the Austonian shows eight closings, which is one more than last month.  At the W Hotel Residences, with 159 total units, we’re told that 60% of the units are under contract, and the ability to now get into the building has been increasing contract velocity to 3-4 per month.  We’ve been informed that at the Four Seasons Residences ~40 units have closed, with another 40 under contract.

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

September Downtown Austin Condo Sales

AddressBuildingBedroomsSquare FeetSold Price
710 Colorado St #A8Brown Building1849Call
360 Nueces St #3703360 Condos1728Call
54 Rainey St #1220Milago Condos1750Call
54 Rainey St #517Milago Condos1865Call
1212 Guadalupe St #301Penthouse Condos2954Call
360 Nueces St #2707360 Condos1852Call
54 Rainey St #1011Milago Condos1756Call
800 Brazos St #911Brazos Place Condos1622Call
603 Davis St #607The Shore Condos1771Call
901 W 9th St #419The Nokonah1731Call
507 Sabine St #303The Sabine1693Call
360 Nueces St #1013360 Condos1861Call
Austin MLS data collected in September for the downtown Austin market area

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

Downtown Austin Open Houses

by | August 14, 2010 |Leave a Comment

downtown Austin open house listings for Sunday, August 15th
(Got the wrong week? Click here)

  1. 1705 Pearl St, 3bd/2ba, $550,000 2-4pm [Moreland Properties]
  2. 1800 Lavaca St, Greenwood Towers # 608, 2bd/1ba $146,000 2-4pm [Green Mango Real Estate]
  3. 904 West Ave, 904 West #211, 1bd/1ba $193,300 1-4pm [Urbanspace]
  4. 1212 Guadalupe, Penthouse Condos #401, 2bd/2ba $215,000 2-4pm [Green Mango Real Estate]
  5. 510 W 18th St, Chestnut Square #113, 1bd/2ba $259,000 1-5pm [Capital City Sotheby's Realty]

Expand your home search using DAB’s map-based Austin Property Search


When you’re done with the open houses, you can enjoy an afternoon on Lady Bird Lake by renting a canoe or kayak from at the Texas Rowing Center. Or, dine al fresco at Annie’s Cafe on Congress Ave for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  Make sure to checkout my transaction report from July and discuss with a Realtor who lives and works in downtown Austin.

-Jude

Filed Under: austin open houses, austin towers and high rises, Downtown Austin lofts, condos, apartments

Deconstruction @ 201 W. 5th Street

by | July 29, 2010 |2 Comments

Clearing the way for a new, and much needed hotel in downtown Austin, 201 W. 5th has been demolished. The concept, “1 Hotel” was announced last September and is being designed by BOKA Powell.

What is not clear is when construction of the hotel will begin, leaving many people concerned about the blight of more surface level parking.

Below are photos taken over the past few days showing the incremental demolition of the old building.

Photo courtesy of Chris Bradford (click image for article)

Filed Under: Austin photos, images, austin towers and high rises, Austin Views, downtown austin, urban planning

FREE Electric Car Charging Stations Available!

by | June 2, 2010 |1 Comment

EVERY Downtown Austin condo tower and parking garage should apply to get one of these.  FREE while supplies last!

From the June 2nd Statesman story:  “Electric vehicles aren’t yet common on Austin roads. But recharging stations could start showing up on local streets and in home garages later this year.  A Silicon Valley-based company has received a $15 million federal stimulus grant to provide, for free, nearly 5,000 charging stations in Austin and eight other areas across the country. Businesses and homeowners alike can apply to receive one of the stations. Austin is one of nine regions serving as a kind of pilot for the charging stations.”  READ MORE HERE

Filed Under: austin towers, austin towers and high rises, austin transit, downtown austin

W Hotel Residences Sneak Peek

by | April 12, 2010 |2 Comments
from the vantage point of the pool deck

from the vantage point of the pool deck

Members of the DANA were provided with a backstage pass to downtown Austin’s W Hotel Residences. We’ve always admired the sleek monolithic design of the building, and even through the construction dust you can envision the interior will make a similar impact.

DANA members on the 37th floor of W Hotel Residences

The contractor is expected to hand the keys over to the hotel portion in September/October. The doors won’t be open, but that should be the time when the hotel can begin to furnish everything. The Austin City Limits venue and residential condos will be ready in Q1 of 2011.

The most significant milestone will be the removal of the street barriers mid-summer! This is great news for any resident or retailer in the 2nd Street District.

Flickr Slideshow

mezzanine level seating for the Austin City Limits venue

Filed Under: 2nd Street District, Austin photos, images, austin towers and high rises Tagged With: ,

The Shore Condos Closeout

by | January 11, 2010 |Leave a Comment

Perhaps in light of the upcoming Sabine auction, The Shore Condos is aggressively working to closeout their sales program.  We just received a note from sales office: eight units remain and discounts range from 10-25% off of original asking prices.  A large 1bd + study on the 18th floor can be purchased for $243,750.   This same unit would have been offered at $325,000 in late 2008.

A pdf of the remaining units and pricing can be downloaded here.

DAB readers will recall that 2009 was a great year for the Shore, as they quietly discounted and sold nearly 75 units over this past summer.  In fact, in November, Amber and I closed on our new space at the Shore [we've leased our beloved 1bd at the Sabine].  The construction quality is outstanding, and the proximity to Rainey Street and the trail cannot be beat.

Filed Under: Austin photos, images, austin towers and high rises, downtown austin, Downtown Austin lofts, condos, apartments, Real Estate

Auction Planned For Downtown Austin Condo – Sabine On 5th

by | January 6, 2010 |6 Comments
sabine condos exterior

*** UPDATE: Sabine auction results ***

A selection of the remaining units in downtown Austin’s Sabine On 5th building will be auctioned on February 28th.  A lawsuit filed by residents against CWS, the developer of the Sabine On 5th, and the building’s condominium association (which was under CWS’s control) has been withdrawn as the parties have reached a settlement agreement.  The lawsuit was filed last year as residents grew tired of lack of action by CWS regarding “persistent and major problems” relating to elevator repairs, amongst other problems.

The HOA has been turned over to the owners, which is unusual in buildings where less than 50% of the units are sold.  The specific terms of the settlement agreement have not been released.  Scott Dixon Smith, president of the Sabine On 5th HOA, indicated that “there will be major renovations to the building to alleviate the concerns of the lawsuit.”

Greg Miller, vice president of investments at CWS, has confirmed that steps are being taken to prepare the Sabine for the auction.  27 of the remaining 44 units will be available for bidding.

During the litigation no units were available for sale, and CWS’s loan had twice been posted for foreclosure by Compass Bank.  The first time in September, when Compass Bank granted CWS an extension to remedy issues.  Then in December, it was reposted for January’s courthouse auction.  CWS was able to restructure the debt and is expected to offer most of the remaining inventory for sale via an auction this February.

There were several condo auctions in 2009, and when the Sabine goes to auction, it will be the second major development in downtown Austin to do so.  The first, Brazos Place, was auctioned last year by Kennedy Wilson.  Brazos Place is frequently compared to the Sabine on 5th since both structures are located east of Congress Avenue and are adaptive re-use condo conversions

Originally built as an office building in 1981, and converted into condos in 2007, the Sabine is located along the west bank of Waller Creek, on Sabine St between 5th and 6th Streets.  With the success of developer discounts at 360 Condos and the Shore Condos, the Sabine is the last “attainably” priced building with new inventory left.

Email jude [@] downtownaustinblog.org, or send me a note, to inquire about the Sabine auction and the status of Waller Creek.

-Jude

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Filed Under: austin condo auction, austin towers and high rises, downtown austin, Downtown Austin lofts, condos, apartments, waller creek Tagged With: , ,

Shoal Creek Walk Concept

by | December 11, 2009 |1 Comment
shoal-creek-walk-render-2

Schlosser Development is proposing a new mixed-use complex in the parking lot to the east of the downtown Austin Whole Foods.  The following renderings and description were recently submitted to the City of Austin Design Commission and will be presented on Monday, December 14th.  The status is currently conceptual.

The Shoal Creek Walk, a proposed development project from Schlosser Development, will be a true mixed-use building complex located at the corner of West Sixth and Bowie Streets in downtown Austin, Texas. The project will closely conform to the constraints of the site which include a capital view corridor over approximately one half of the property and the Shoal Creek floodplain elevation.

These site limitations create a specific and very limited area where building improvements can be made on the site, by restricting both the building height and the overall footprint of any buildings on the site. Within those limitations, two buildings will be situated along Bowie Street, as the eastern portion of the site is within the floodplain. The high-rise building, at 350′ tall, will be located on the north portion of the property with a total of approximately 490,000 sq. ft. of office, retail and residential uses. The low-rise building will be situated at the corner of West Fifth and Bowie Streets, with primarily offices above the first level retail component for a total of about 100,000 sq. ft.

The two buildings together will provide more than 450,000 sq. ft. of office space, which is of a size able to attract a major employer and will likely be built in phases, to allow accommodation of a variety of tenant sizes. This flexibility will greatly enhance the feasibility of the project moving forward. The larger building will also have a residential component of about 90 units located above the office in what will be a narrower, residential footprint. The residential component adds to the feasibility of the larger building and is consistent with the downtown plan preference for vertically integrated structures.

The parking will be entirely within structured parking garages, both above and below grade, possibly with several surface ADA and drop-off parking adjacent to the building. Materials for the building will be of durable quality and wi ll be consistent with the architecture represented in the Market District.

Filed Under: Austin photos, images, austin towers and high rises, buildings, downtown austin, Downtown Austin lofts, condos, apartments, Real Estate, urban planning Tagged With:
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