The September MLS statistics on sales of existing single family homes are out and the news is about as good as can be expected. During the month, sales of existing homes fell by 8 percent while the median price stayed flat. Notably, prices are actually up approximately 10% from September of 2006. While the rest…
BartonPlace Video Commercial
You don’t see many commercials for new condo projects on Austin’s major television stations. While this is unlikely to change, BartonPlace recently produced a profile video on the project that is currently posted on youtube. While the video could use more fancy renderings and images of the units, it’s always interesting to hear real people…
Austin Rental Market Deteriorating
Over the last decade, Austin has been one of the strongest rental markets in the country. As rents increased while supply grew, developers continued to come to Austin to add new rental capacity. Over the last few months, this trend has reversed. With thousands of new units hitting the market and economic conditions deteriorating, both…
Be it Known: Austin is Very, Very, Very Lucky
An important article in today’s Wall Street Journal exposed how dire the national housing crisis has become. Today, across the country, one in six homeowners is underwater in their mortgage. By this, The Wall Street Journal reports, nearly 16% of U.S. homeowners owe more on their mortgage then their home is worth. In a county…
October, 2008: Austin Market Analysis
As financial markets retreat, the credit crisis looms, foreclosures spike, and mortgage problems persist, the national housing market is clearly struggling. In this tough environment, even the Austin market has turned negative with a year-over-year pricing decrease of a little less than 1%. While times may be rough, the truth is that bad times are…
Analysis: The Impact of U.S. Financial Market Turmoil on the Downtown Austin Condo Market
It has been a tumultuous few weeks in the financial markets. With the failure of major financial institutions, the government rescue of Freddie and Fannie, the volatile value of oil and the dollar, and the on-again off-again financial rescue package, the dynamics of U.S. markets are rapidly changing. Like all major products and markets, the…