downtown Austin's real estate and neighborhood blog
Not much info has been released about the design of Riverside Resources’ 20 16-story apartment building under construction at 3rd & Brazos (in the newly monikered Railyard District).
The video below is a virtual flyover of the building, and provides more insight into the design. (update: the video settings have been changed to private)
[Read more…] about Virtual Flyover Of The 3rd & Brazos Apartment High Rise
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.
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.
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This piece of real estate ephemera fell into my hands only a day ago. I didn’t set out to publish two consecutive posts about the Railyard, but this was too interesting not to share!
Most of you know the Railyard condos were converted from apartments in the late ’90s. This flyer was intended to lure renters of the original Railyard apartments into buyers of the soon-to-be condos before opening them up for purchase by the general public.
Walter’s vision is to bring housing into downtown Austin for people who earn $15.00 per hour, or less.
Say what?!
Proposed is a 135 efficiency-style apartment building (for rent) at the southwest corner of 11th & Trinity. The site is currently a surface level parking lot. It is intended that 27 of the units will be reserved for people with absolutely no income, specifically clients of Caritas, Trinity Center, ARCH, and the Salvation Army.
Musicians can afford it. Many downtown workers, including State employees can afford it. Veterans on disability can afford it. Initially, the average rent would be between $400-650 per month, all bills paid.
Walter is the Executive Director of Foundation Communities (FC), a nonprofit affordable housing developer. FC has a track record of success. Established in 1990, FC is owner and manager of 13 communities all around Austin and built with support of local neighborhood associations. They are a long term owner, have never sold one of their properties, and claim they never intend to. Last year FC opened M Station on MLK: the first LEED for Homes Platinum apartment building in the entire country!
Here’s the rub: FC cannot build an affordable housing community without the express support of the immediate neighborhood association. In this case, it’s either DANA or the DAA.
I was invited by FC to tour their other buildings, which was needed because I wasn’t really educated about affordable housing. Elliott McFadden, the communications director for FC (also the publisher of Austin On Two Wheels), succinctly explained what affordable housing isn’t. [Read more…] about Capitol Terrace: An Affordable Housing Development Proposed In Downtown Austin
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.
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…] about 2011 Recap of Downtown Austin Condo Sales
