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 people…
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…
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…
Fight over Riverside Lakefront Towers Continues
While zoning variances seem easy to come by for most downtown condo projects looking for increased density or height, there is one request that remains sacred: building in the protected zone around Lady Bird Lake. Long-standing rules prohibit construction within 200 feet of the former Town Lake. This is a problem for CWS Capital Partners…
BartonPlace Shows Condo Demand is Still Strong
BartonPlace , a planned 270-unit condo project behind Austin Java on Barton Springs Road, announced today that despite recent media attention and public speculation about whether the Austin condo market is being overbuilt, 300 people have already made reservations for a chance to buy a condo in their 270-unit project. They also announced that they will…
21c Museum & Condos Takes a Step Forward
The 21c Museum & Condos moved a step closer to reality this week. The project, a 44-story tower which will combine a museum, hotel, and condos in a very attractive structure on Third and Brazos, received approval from the Austin Design Commission. Next, the Austin Planning Commission will review the project on September 11 before…