The Nokonah, A luxury high-rise project completed in 2002, was one of the first successful projects that helped to ignite the current condo boom in downtown Austin. The 11-story project is located at 9th and Lamar just north of Whole Foods and on the western border of downtown. When the Nokonah was built, the real estate market in Austin was stalling as the regional economy slowed. It was not clear how well the new project would do. Five years later we know the answer: the project sold out and the buyers have seen significant appreciation in the value of their units.
In order to better understand condo values in the downtown market, we’ve begun a comprensive analysis of public tax records (tax records are available online through the Travis Central Appraisal District) to better understand downtown condo market values and how they have changed over the last five years. This analysis, which tracks every unit in the Nokonah, shows appraisal value and $ / SF by floor, apartment size, # of bedrooms, and year. The data is fascinating and will be a useful tool for anyone looking to purchase a downtown condo (Register for the full report).
For example, the analysis shows that the average appraisal value of Nokonah units rose 61% from $233 in 2003 to $376 in 2006 – a growth rate of 17% per year. This is more than trible the 5% annual growth rate in sales prices for the Austin market during the same time period. Even as other projects have hit the market, Nokonah values have continued to increase in value.
While the average appraised value is $376 / SF today, there is incredible variance. If you’re trying to figure out what the right price is to pay for a new unit, the Nokonah data is very interesting: current appraised values actually range from $230 / SF to $498 / SF depending on size, floor, bedrooms, etc. In future postings, I’ll dive deeper into the factors that make a unit more or less valuable.
Over the next few weeks, I plan to post more information from the Nokonah analysis in this blog. In addition, I am going to provide all registered members with direct access to the spreadsheet with all of the data. This will be a great tool for anyone who is trying to ensure they don’t overpay for an Austin condo or anyone who is interested in better understanding Austin condo market dynamics. Registration is absolutely free — just click the link on the top of the page and complete our very brief survey. The summarized data will be published in a future post, and it will help AustinTowers better understand our readers. Please register — you’ll receive a link to the full Nokonah analysis later this month!
