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BREAKING: Sales Of New Downtown Austin Condos Average More Than $1,000,000

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For the first time, the average sales price of a new condo in downtown Austin is more than $1,000,000.

It’s not news that residences cost more than $1,000,000.  It is news when we’re talking about averages!  To be clear, we are focusing on new construction only, not resales (which have also had a banner year, and we’ll cover that in a future post.)

In 2012, the Austonian, Four Seasons Residences, W Hotel Residences, and Spring Condos (which in 2012 closed out their sales), accounted for 124 sales.

According to builder reports assembled by Capitol Market Research for new construction condos sold during the past 12 months:

  • average price = $1,061,682
  • average size = 1,701 ft.
  • number new condos sold = 124

The data is provided to us monthly as an aggregate of the above four buildings.  Anonymizing individual building sales was the only way to convince the developers to share their sales data.  To qualify the average price, we can approximate a median price using the 12 monthly aggregate records we have.

  • median monthly average price = $1,044,181 (min $777,813 to max $1,687,857)

The refrain which began in 2010 continues: there are no new downtown Austin condos being built.  Nor have we seen any new site plans for downtown condos.  Inventories continue to decrease (by 124 units in 2012) and residences are selling quickly at prices close to the asking price.  An ancillary effect of this shrinking inventory is rising prices for resales.

By my estimation, when compared against TCAD records, only 115 new construction units remain.  If interest rates remain low, the downtown Austin real estate market is on a trajectory to complete sales of new construction condos in 2013.

I’ll continue to provide detailed analysis of 2012 results over the coming weeks, including resales and analysis of building-by-building performance.

-Jude

Hotels in Downtown Austin: Girls’ Night at the Omni Downtown

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I already live, work, and play in downtown Austin, which means that I know a lot about this area.  However, one element that I’m not really that familiar with is the hotels in downtown Austin.

Recently, I was lucky enough to receive a complimentary stay at the Omni downtown.  I decided to take advantage of the free stay and do a mini stay-cation with a couple of fun girlfriends.  I figured this would be a different way to get to know the city, and have [Read more…] about Hotels in Downtown Austin: Girls’ Night at the Omni Downtown

DAB Stats: Downtown Austin Sales

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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.

[table id=29 /]

Coming Soon: The Changing Face Of The Railyard District

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Let it be known as the Railyard District, that part of downtown Austin, south of 5th Street and sandwiched between Congress Ave and the Austin Convention Center.  You could straddle the convention center and include the area east, around Moonshine, too.

It’s an interesting mix of conventioneers and locals, both feeding on chicken and waffles at Max’s Wine Dive.

For decades, the district has been anchored by the Railyard condos, and recently flanked by the Four Seasons.  Soon, these will not be the only full time residences.

In the past couple of years we’ve seen improvements and new businesses open in the neighborhood, including AF1 Racing, Vince Young Steakhouse, Hank’s Garage (which is gone), and Skinny’s Ballroom.

Walking around a post-SXSW absent is the hyper-pedestrianism of the past 10 days, and I observe a “coming soon” sign.  I see more as I keep walking.  In one lap around the Railyard district, I counted nine businesses or projects “coming soon”!

Nine!

What’s COMING SOON to the Railyard District?   [Read more…] about Coming Soon: The Changing Face Of The Railyard District

2011 Recap of Downtown Austin Condo Sales

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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…] about 2011 Recap of Downtown Austin Condo Sales