From the monthly archives:

November 2005

Austin Area home sales surge in October

November 23, 2005

From today’s Austin Statsman
Supply is shrinking fast, but price increases remain modest.
AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Wednesday, November 23, 2005

A third consecutive record year for Central Texas home sales is all but ensured after an unusually strong October in which the number of houses changing hands increased by 27 percent year-over-year.
Home sales from January through October are up 19 percent [...]

Read the full article →

Austin Real Estate Expired/Withdrawn to Sold Ratio Analysis

November 23, 2005

With all the talk and news articles about how wonderful the Austin Real Estate market is doing, I thought I’d take a look at a different set of numbers and share with you what I found.
While it’s good news that Austin is selling record numbers of homes, many homes still do not sell. How do [...]

Read the full article →

The Downside of Living in Austin – Allergies

November 21, 2005

Its’ official. Austin Allergy season has started for me (and many others in Austin). Austin is considered one of the top “allergy capitals” in the US. There are allergens in the air throughout the year in varying amounts but for Austin and Central Texas, Cedar Fever is the most annoying.
I felt great this morning – [...]

Read the full article →

Austin Home Pricing Analysis

November 15, 2005

The National Association of Realtors ((NAR) compliled a home price analysis for 130 real estate markets across the U.S. as part of a study into whether or not a nationwide housing bubble exists. Their conclusion? – no bubble exists, and especially not in Austin.
About Austin, the report says:

“A thorough analysis of the Austin-Round Rock metro [...]

Read the full article →

Austin Population and Growth Forecast

November 10, 2005

I came across some interesting demographic information tonight on the City of Austin website. City of Austin Demographics are changing and the City of Austin site provides a lot of info worth checking out, with predictions about where new growth will happen for the remainder of this decade.
Check out the link to Population and Household [...]

Read the full article →

California firm invests $57M in Southeast Austin

November 7, 2005

The article below from the Austin Business Journal talks about Industrial real estate. The reason I am posting it here is once again it contains quotes and information that are wonderful to hear for those of us in the Austin Real Estate business who have slogged through the recent slack years.

Read the full article →

Austin Real Estate Rental and Sales Market Update

November 3, 2005

As of November 1, 2005, there are 1417 homes listed for lease in the Austin MLS. During September, 555 homes leased. There are 7291 homes (excluding condos and townhomes) listed for sale in the Austin MLS as of Nov 1, 2005. 2179 homes sold in September.
I’ve changed my monthly leasing graph to follow a [...]

Read the full article →

Do Better Schools Increase Property Value?

November 2, 2005

I was asked a simple question the other day – “Do better schools increase property value?” I can’t answer the question as asked because it’s somewhat of a “which came first, the chicken or the egg” question. Let me explain.
Looking at the Austin ISD list of school ratings, it’s clear at a glance that [...]

Read the full article →