The Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association (DANA) is holding its 4th Annual Downtown Living Tour Sunday, September 30th, from noon to 5 pm. The event, which typically attracts more than 1,000 visitors, showcases homes and the benefits of living in downtown Austin. This year’s tour will feature a combination of existing residences, units in new buildings,…
Austin in 2010: The Tallest Buildings
Today, The Frost Bank Tower looms across the Austin skyline with a singular presence. While it may look like the world’s largest nose hair trimmer, it stands 120 feet taller than any other building in the city of Austin. Of the top ten tallest buildings in Austin, only three — Frost, 300 W 6th, and…
New Project: 8th & West Tower
Between the credit crisis, skyrocketing construction costs, and the slowing real estate market, we didn’t expect to see anymore downtown condo projects for a while. Today, however, we were surprised to learn of another downtown condo project announcement. Austin’s Fortis development today announced a new 20-story 200-unit condo tower to be developed on West avenue…
Condo Sales: How Firm are They?
While the mortgage lending crisis seems to be easing, jumbo mortgage rates remain significantly higher than they were just two months ago. During this period, many projects have announced stellar sales and reservations of new units brought on the market during this awkward period. So what’s the deal? Is the Austin market so strong that…
The Monthly Cost of Luxury Living
Condo fees fund the daily operations and maintenance of most condo buildings. They cover security, landscaping, cleaning of common area, common area energy use, maintenance, and other key building functions. With this posting, we are publishing the condo fees of two new ultra-luxury projects, The W Hotel & Residences and the Four Seasons Residences, for…
The Shrinking Downtown Austin Rental Market
The Austin residential rental market — the whole thing, not just downtown — has been very strong throughout 2007. Throughout the first half of the year, both rents and occupancies increased significantly. For example the mid-year citywide occupancy rate was 96.8 percent, up 2 percentage points from December. Despite the strong rental market, plans for…