Austin Real Estate Blog

07/14/2008 – study: most middle-class retirees will outlive savings (austin business journal)
almost three out of five new middle-class retirees will outlive their financial assets if they keep up their pre-retirement ways of living, according to an errnst & young llp study on behalf of americans for secure retirement.

06/04/2008 - http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/105190/best-cities-to-live,-work-and-play (yahoo.com)
these ten great places will only get better. our approach this year to picking the ten best cities in which to live and work was simple: look for places with strong economies and abundant jobs, then demand reasonable living costs and plenty of fun things to do.

05/27/2008 - case-shiller: house prices fall 14% (wall street journal)
home prices tumbled 14% in the first quarter as the subprime-loan meltdown continues to weigh on the sector, according to the national S&P/case-shiller home-price indexes. las vegas, miami and phoenix had the weakest markets.

05/27/2008 - home sales rise in hard-hit areas (wall street journal)
home sales are rising in some U.S. areas where lenders have cut prices on foreclosed properties, amid overall weak sales.

05/23/2008 – downtown’s tallest building opens (austin american statesman)
the 360 condominium tower was the place to be thursday evening. hundreds of people attended grand-opening party for the 44-story skyscraper held on the ninth floor pool deck.

05/24/2008 - home resales, prices decline, while inventories Increase (wall street journal)
existing-home sales dropped 1% during april from the previous month, the second decline in a row, while inventories surged and home prices dropped sharply from a year earlier.

05/23/2008 - home-price declines accelerate (wall street journal)
house prices dropped 1.7% in the first three months of 2008 from the previous quarter -- the largest quarterly price decline on record, according to ofheo. prices were 3.1% lower than last year as values dropped in 43 states.

05/22/2008 - biggest downtown condo project opens amid a cautious market (austin american statesman)
all units at 360 sold, developers say, though other plans run into financing, other difficulties.

05/21/2008 – planned unit development ordinance to be reconsidered (austin business journal)
the austin city council will consider changes to the planned unit development ordinance after a public hearing on june 5th.

05/20/2008 – austin home sales fall for 10th month in a row (austin american statesman)
sales of existing homes fell 14 percent to 1,981 compared to the same month last year, according to the austin board of realtors.

05/16/2008 - travis home foreclosures reach record-high (austin business journal)
foreclosure postings in the four-county region rose 15 percent in the first half of 2008, further evidence that austin has not been immune to housing woes.

05/11/2008 – holly power plant to come down (austin american statesman)

05/09/2008 - ground breaks on w (austin business journal)
with financing in place construction began this week on the $295 million w austin hotel & residences downtown.

05/07/2008 – austin recession-proof? (austin business journal)
austin was named third on the forbes.com list of the top 10 "recession-proof cities" in the united states.

05/07/2008 - big plans for green water treatment plant (austin american statesman)
five options are in play to turn the green water treatment plant site into a residential and commercial hub.

05/07/2008 - five firms submit proposals for green plant (austin business journal)
in the largest redevelopment opportunity ever for downtown austin, the city has received five proposals for the purchase and redevelopment of the thomas c. green water treatment plant and the adjoining austin energy control center. the two properties total about 6.1 acres or five city blocks.

05/05/2008 - villa muse puts final nail in city of austin negotiations (austin business journal)
villa muse has ended its negotiations with the city of austin and is actively looking at other texas cities to build the project.

05/02/2008 - bartonplace breaks ground, has already received $45M in sales contracts (austin business journal)
a ceremonial groundbreaking was held today for the 270-unit bartonplace condo project on barton springs road.

04/24/08 - new-homes supply builds (wall street journal)
U.S. new-home sales slid further in march to their lowest level since 1991 while the supply of homes for sale soared to nearly a three-decade high.

04/24/08 – foreclosure-relief gains (wall street journal)
a house panel wednesday approved $15 billion in loans and grants for local governments to purchase the growing number of foreclosed homes throughout the country.

04/23/08 - new light-rail plan rolls into austin (austin american statesman)
a consultant hired by the city is recommending a 14-mile light-rail system for central austin, not streetcars as proposed by capital metro. the system would run from the airport to downtown, through the university of texas and east to the emerging mueller development.

04/23/08 - home sales fall, but signs of stability emerge (wall street journal)
U.S. sales of previously owned homes declined in march as the housing-market slump continued, but two gauges of home prices provided a glimmer of hope that the downturn might be easing a bit.

04/21/08 - cws reaches deal to build lakefront condos (austin business journal)
those opposed to cws capital partners llc's plan to build condos close to lady bird lake have reached an agreement with the developer. also see the article on kvue.com on friday, april 18th.

04/18/08 - central texas home sales still slow, but prices keep rising (austin business journal)
the austin area's home sale tumble doesn't seem to be slowing down.

04/18/08 - freddie mac working with citibank, others to finance more home buys - but not in austin (austin business journal)
freddie mac offered hope to thousands of home buyers when it said thursday it will finance $10 billion to $15 billion in large mortgages from big lenders including wells fargo and washington mutual. but the deal doesn't cover austin or any other texas markets.

04/17/08 - as villa muse pushes city away, its neighbor cozies up to get $3B project done (austin business journal)
after the unsuccessful bid by the developers of villa muse, a proposed multibillion-dollar film production hub, to build outside city land-use controls, the developers of two new projects in the same area are singing an opposite tune: they're entering an unusual -- and intimate -- financing partnership with the city.

04/15/08 - texas foreclosure numbers down, recent report shows (austin business journal)
texas is bucking the national trend of rising property foreclosure rates, according to a california-based research company.

04/13/08 - residents clash over proposed low-cost housing (kvue.com)
residents in east austin are fighting over a plot of land in their community. a local group wants to turn a private park into low-income housing.

04/11/08 - austin gives preliminary ok to new zoning near rail stops (austin business journal)
the austin city council on april 10 gave preliminary approval for new zoning plans at future stops on the commuter rail, due to begin service this fall.

04/10/08 - saltillo residents fight for affordable housing (kvue.com)
plans for new development in east austin have sent prices for small bungalow style homes in the saltillo neighborhood up.

04/10/08 - seaholm redevelopment plan approved (austin business journal)
the austin city council approved the master development agreement for the $117.2 million seaholm mixed-use redevelopment project today.

04/09/08 - bush to expand help on mortgages (wall street journal)
the white house appears set to back expanding an aid program for struggling homeowners in a bid to forestall more aggressive action by democrats.

04/08/08 - imf: action needed on crunch (wall street journal)
the IMF estimated that financial institutions world-wide may face losses of $945 billion over the next two years stemming from the global credit crunch, and urged industry and regulators to revamp their thinking on managing risks.

04/08/08 - pending home-sales decline (wall street journal)
a forecasting gauge of previously owned homes fell 1.9% in february after rising in january.

04/04/08 - circle c developer bradley stars in movie 'the unforseen' (oak hill gazette)
controversial circle c developer gary bradley is prominently featured in a critically acclaimed documentary, which is now playing in austin and is being distributed nationwide.

04/04/08 – states move fast on mortgage aid (wall street journal)
some states are launching aggressive programs to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, putting them at odds with mortgage lenders

04/03/08 – 21c project opts to anchor waller creek corridor (austin business journal)
the previously announced 21c museum, hotel and condo project is expanding and moving east to help anchor the waller creek redevelopment initiative

04/02/08 – judge approves probe of countrywide (wall street journal)
a federal judge authorized an in-depth inquiry into countrywide's mortgage-processing systems

04/02/08 – fed staff on-site at 5 big brokerages (wall street journal)
federal reserve staff members are on-site at five of the largest brokerage firms to monitor their financial condition, after agreeing to provide short-term financing to brokerage firms

04/02/08 – senate addressing nation’s housing crisis (wall street journal)
senate leaders agreed to forge a bipartisan bill to address the nation's housing crisis

04/02/08 - study dispels myths about condo market (austin american statesman)
owners vary widely in age, job location and former residence

04/02/08 – construction spending falls in february (kvue.com)
the commerce department reported tuesday that overall construction activity dropped 0.3 percent in february

04/02/08 – twilight at shady grove rv park (austin american statesman)
sixty-plus years: that's how long the shady grove rv park stood at 1600 barton springs road. shady grove rv park will close forever monday. the 3.5 acre property - purchased by constructive ventures and austin java company co-owner rick engel - is being replaced by bartonplace, a 270-unit, $130 million condo project

04/01/08 – jackson quits hud amid storm (wall street journal)
housing and urban development secretary alphonso jackson said he is stepping down april 18, a decision that deals a blow to the bush administration's efforts to tackle the housing and mortgage mess

04/01/08 - new home starts at 5 year low (austin american statesman)
number of closings outpace starts; builders pull back to prevent glut of homes on market

03/28/08 - home starts continue to plummet (austin business journal)
there was a 33 percent drop in first-quarter home starts in the austin area this year compared with 2007

03/28/08 - austin close to deal with developer for seaholm project (austin american statesman)
the city of austin and the local group it chose to redevelop the seaholm power plant and surrounding property three years ago are close to reaching an agreement that would allow the $117.2 million project to move forward.

03/27/08 – census: texas is the hot place to live (austin american statesman)
four texas metropolitan areas were among the biggest population gainers. check out krisstina’s observations in her blog article

03/26/08 – project to transform east riverside (austin american statesman)
houston developer wants to create a new district with shops, apartments and condos

03/25/08 – home prices fall by record 11.4 percent (kvue.com)
a widely watched index of US home prices fell 11.4 percent in january, its steepest drop since data for the indicator was first collected in 1987

03/24/08 - new home sales post unexpected gain (kvue.com)
the national association of realtors said that sales of existing homes rose by 2.9 percent in february to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.03 million units. it was the biggest increase in a year and caught economists by surprise

03/19/08 – austin area home sales continue to drop, but prices rise (austin business journal)
central texas home sales dropped again in february but sales prices increased slightly

03/18/08 - fed cuts key lending rate again (austin business journal)
the federal reserve cut the federal funds rate 75 basis points to 2.25 percent early tuesday afternoon

03/13/08 – countrywide’s foreclosure rate doubles (austin business journal)
countrywide financial corp. says the foreclosure rate on its 9 million mortgages rose to 1.64 percent last month from 0.8 percent in february 2007

03/13/08 - villa muse developers eye other cities (austin business journal)
the developers of villa muse, the proposed multibillion dollar film production hub, are negotiating with at least two other cities in texas

03/12/08 - austin is seventh on college real estate scorecard (austin business journal)
texas ranks high when it comes to home values in college towns, according to college real estate LLC