This just in: Austin led the nation’s big city job markets for the third month in a row. In fact, Austin was the ONLY large metropolitan area to add jobs between April 2008 and April 2009. With 3,400 new jobs, Austin employment grew at 0.4% during the period.Since job growth is one of the strongest…
The Ugly Side of Downtown Austin
The shooting of 8 people last Thursday night outside a downtown nightclub was an anomaly for Austin. The terrible incident at Spiros nightclub, however, brought to light the problems that come with the vibrant alcohol-driven nightlife on sixth street and the surrounding blocks.After the incident, the Austin Police Department released an amazing set of statistics…
WOW! Austin Home Prices Rising!
Across the country, most major metropolitan areas are seeing home prices continue to drop. In fact, housing values are down 20% from their peak nationwide. Housing prices in Austin, however, never experienced the same loss of value. While inventory remains high and sales volumes have dropped — April 2009 sales were down 33% from the…
W Hotel & Residences Developer Faces Delisting
Stratus Properties, the developer of the W Hotel & Residences in the 2nd street district, is facing delisting from the NASDAQ for failure to promptly file financial reports. While this sounds bad, the event alone should not jeopardize the project. However, the developer’s accounting irregularities and delinquent financial reports will limit financial flexibility until the issue is resolved. This…
New Downtown Restrictions to Limit Lakeside Skyscrapers
The most contentious Austin zoning battles relate to development close to Ladybird Lake. The prime downtown lake is considered one of the city’s most important natural assets. As a result, the City has been closely examining proposals to protect the lake from future development. Essentially, the City Council would like to limit the height of…
Brazos Place Auction Results: All Units Sell, 29% Discount
Today was a big day for Brazos Place as all 19 remaining units were sold in less than 90 minutes to a packed room of bidders. On average, the units sold at a 29% discount to the original listing price. This is, however, a useless barometer as the units were not selling well at the original prices….