BY THE NUMBERS: Downtown Austin Highrise Sales

downtown austin real estate prices

In light of the recent Statesman article highlighting new construction sales, I thought this would be a good time to update our trending chart for downtown condos.

Combined sales of new construction and resales of downtown Austin condos delivered a seasonally strong 46 transactions representing $26,720,149 total sales volume in March.

Currently there are 95 resales and 197 new construction condos available for sale in the downtown Austin core.  That’s not many.  Within the past 12 months, we’ve seen 201 resales and 186 new construction sales.

In the chart below, that little red trend line for average resale price per foot gets steeper each month as we see more resales in the top-tier buildings.  By this time next year, you will be able to count the total availability of new construction condos on two hands.

downtown austin real estate prices

March 2012 Resale Statistics

- # of resale transactions = 29
- avg price per foot = $364
- avg sales price to list price (SP/LP) = 97%
- avg days on market (DOM) = 32 days
- Total resales volume =  $12,038,599

March 2012  New Construction Statistics

- # of new construction transactions = 17
- avg price per foot = $554
- Total new construction sales volume =  $14,681,550

Downtown Austin New Construction Closings

ProjectDate of
1st Closing
# of
Closed Units
(Clerk)
# of
Original Units
(TCAD)
% Units
Closed
# of
Remaining Units
Average
# of Days
Per Sale
Trending Completion Date (estimated)
TOTALS52171873%197
Four Seasons ResidencesMay 7, 20109914867%496March 2013
Spring CondosAugust 17, 200924724899%1 (5 reported)4June 2012
W Hotel ResidencesJanuary 10, 20119115957%684February 2013
The AustonianJune 10, 2010
84163
52%797November 2013
The data was assembled on May 1st, 2012. Only new construction sales counted. Data does not reflect units currently under contract. Combined units were divided into their respective original units.

 

DAB Stats: Downtown Austin Sales

downtown austin condo sales - february 2012

February delivered strong numbers for sales of downtown Austin condos.  I count nine new construction sales and 14 resales (compared to six and 10 in January respectively).

The 14 resales averaged $397 per square foot – the highest monthly average for resales that I can remember.  Don’t mistake this for accelerating appreciation, though.  Included in February’s numbers is a resale at the Austonian.  And, while there’s clearly a gradual upward trend in the resale market, February’s price-per-foot surge is attributable to this burgeoning market for resales in the top-tier buildings.

trailing 12 months of downtown condo sales

You can anticipate that by the end of March all of the top-tier buildings will [factually] be over 50% closed. Each has already crossed the chasm.

Notably, Spring condos has only a couple of new units left, the [seriously amazing] penthouse(s) being one of them.  For most buyers, Spring condos can be considered sold out and opportunities to buy are in the resale market.  The Four Seasons Residences leads the pack in terms of percentage of units sold, though the W Hotel Residences is showing the greatest velocity. See below.

Downtown New Construction Closings

ProjectDate of
1st Closing
# of
Closed Units
(Clerk)
# of
Original Units
(TCAD)
% Units
Closed
# of
Remaining Units
Average
# of Days
Per Sale
Trending Completion Date (estimated)
TOTALS50371870%215
Four Seasons ResidencesMay 7, 20109314863%556March 2013
Spring CondosAugust 17, 200924724899%14March 2012
W Hotel ResidencesJanuary 10, 20118315952%764February 2013
The AustonianJune 10, 2010
80163
49%837November 2013
The data was assembled on March 4th, 2012. Data does not reflect units currently under contract. Combined units were split into their respective original units.

2011 Recap of Downtown Austin Condo Sales

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...]

Crossing The Chasm: A Perspective On New Construction

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...]

Downtown Austin Condo Sales Remain Strong In May

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...]

Is Austin Bicycle Theft On The Rise?

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...]

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

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...]

Downtown Austin: Census Data In Perspective

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...]

Downtown Austin Condo Sales Show Growth

chart-upward

Downtown Austin condo sales continue to reflect strong fundamentals as resale data from February shows increases year-to-year, and from month-to-month.

I’m continuing to tinker with some new statistics, including the effect of the average age of square footage sold. Values of downtown Austin condos tend to be highly correlated with age. This “age/area” metric is useful when comparing monthly data, and I can quickly tell if the data set is skewed towards older or new buildings.  In February, the [Read more...]

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

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...]