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…] about Downtown Austin: Census Data In Perspective
data, statistics
Downtown Austin Condo Sales Show Growth
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…] about Downtown Austin Condo Sales Show Growth
W Hotel Residences Begins Closings In January As Downtown Austin Condo Sales Rise Higher
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…] about W Hotel Residences Begins Closings In January As Downtown Austin Condo Sales Rise Higher
Downtown Austin Condo Prices On The Rise in December
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…] about Downtown Austin Condo Prices On The Rise in December
Downtown Austin Condo Prices Drop in November
Judging by the average numbers, November was a rough month for resales of downtown Austin condos. Conversely, luxury condos continue to post strong numbers for the second month in a row. Back in October, I was surprised by the large number of closings we observed in the downtown Austin’s top-tier condo buildings. The ABJ followed up with a story saying “Verdict’s in: Austin condos did work.”
Top-tier (new buildings)
While the high-end market continues to show good numbers, it’s not clear to me how many of these closings are from original reservations, rather than new purchase contracts (within the past 120 days).
-Four Seasons shows 49 closed units, six closed in November.
–Austonian shows 32 closed units, two closed in November.
-Spring shows ~165-170 closed units closed, nine closed in November. It should be noted that these were, in fact, all new contracts.
Resales
Using data available on Nov 30th, 11 downtown austin condos closed at an average $252 per square foot. That’s the lowest average price since August of 2009, and is 19.5% lower than the average resale price compared to November of last year. Compared to downtown condo sales in October, prices were down 14%. Also interesting, average days-on-market (DOM) was 118 days – not surprising to see closing prices averaging 12% less than original asking prices.
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