Jude Galligan

Downtown Austin Condo Sales Remain Strong In May

Jude Galligan | June 7, 2011 |

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.

Picnic This Weekend With Downtown Austin Families

Jude Galligan | June 3, 2011 |

This weekend at Duncan Park you can catch up with and meet other downtown Austin families.

When: Sunday June 5th from 10am-noon
Where: Duncan Park (9th Street btw Lamar and West)
What: Bring a blanket or chairs, toys, and some snacks.

Save W 6th Street

Jude Galligan | June 1, 2011 |

West 6th Street is in danger. Of what we’ve not been able to confirm (and, yes, this is a real promotion).

This could be a response by W. 6th Street bar proprietors to area push back against “bar creep” and early morning noise proliferating into more residential parts of downtown Austin, outside of established entertainment districts.

The Texas Bar & Nightclub Alliance (TBNA) has been active in recent months to reel in problematic bars operating and turning up the volume without an outdoor music venue permit.

A subset of TBNA representing only W 6th Street proprietors has engaged Drenner Golden to find alternatives to the conditional use permit language recommended by the Downtown Austin Plan for new bars in the CBD.

If you want to Save West 6th Street, you better get to drinking and voting June 8-12.

[Read more…] about Save W 6th Street

AF1 Racing – Downtown Austin’s Neighborhood Superbike and Scooter Store

Jude Galligan | May 19, 2011 |

AF1 Racing is opening a Downtown Austin store. This is their second location, and they are taking the old OK Paper space near Cesar Chavez and Trinity. I spotted the window graphics going up yesterday, accross the street from Downtown Austin’s Four Seasons Residences.

A quick check of their Facebook page confirmed the news.

Ironically, one month ago I sold my amazing Aprilia Scarabeo 50cc. Back in 2008, I searched the entire country using Craigslist for a specific two-stroke version with low miles. (The two strokes had more torque and could zip around much better.) I found one in Atlanta and shipped it back home. It quickly became one of my preferred modes of transportation in downtown Austin.

And, I never worried about parking.

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

Jude Galligan | May 9, 2011 |

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?