It’s not easy to get a clear picture of downtown condo sales volumes. Real estate sales statistics are reported by MLS area, and the downtown area cuts across a few zones: Area 4 runs from Guadalupe to I-35. Area 1B runs from Scenic on the west to Guadalupe / Lamar. Both are bounded on the south by Town Lake and the north by 2222. There are also some projects south of town lake in Area 6. While most of the downtown units are captured in these statistics, there are also some units near the university, in Tarrytown, and in the other corners of central austin contained in area 1B and 4.
So what do the numbers show? Downtown condo sales grew from 2004-2006 by 33% while sales volumes in the larger Austin market grew by 27%. In fact, downtown condo sales as a % of all Austin condo sales actually shrunk from 31% to 25% during the same period. In 2006, a total of 619 condo units were sold in areas 1B and 4.
I draw three conclusions from the numbers:
