Renters have a different view of real estate economy than homeowners.

Source: PEW Research Center

It seems that renters are much more pessimistic about rising home prices. I’m not sure of the participants in this study were planning on buying a home in the near future, but this study does show something interesting about how you see the market when you own property versus when your at the mercy of a landlord.

More renters believe home prices are rising.

Are they pessimistic about their buying power? They may be feeling left out of the prosperity homeowners found during the boom years leading up to our current conditions.

Renters aren’t worried about the housing economy.

Renters expect prices to climb more than homeowners do. So why aren’t they buying? First-time home-buyers are seeing harder times with mortgage woes. It takes some patience and hard work to get a home loan, and perhaps renters aren’t willing to go through with it.

Americans are not optimistic about the economy.

Source: PEW Research Center

Yet this study is extremely interesting. We saw some of the greatest appreciations in Austin real estate in 2006. Many people sold out to collect their equity while late-comers created a building and flipping surge, especially in central Austin real estate. 2007 was much slower than 2006, especially in the last two quarters. Yet, the number of those who believe the economy is in poor shape has not increased as dramatically as I would expect. I think this shows how pessimistic people are about the economy anyway. We live in a fairly prosperous country and Austin has a steady growth rate which leads to steady real estate prices, yet I would expect similar numbers on a local study based on the fears and questions I receive.

Is this thing on?

I still wonder if anyone can actually hear me. Don’t be afraid to buy. We are currently in a RARE buyer’s market here in the Austin real estate market and at the same time, interest rates are at HISTORIC lows. I’m shopping for real estate in Austin now so don’t blame me if you don’t get in on this buyer’s market! Get your head out of that national news paper, turn off CNN, and get real. We’ve seen studies showing that people think the bottom is falling out of the American economy for years and it hasn’t. In fact, the primary reason for the housing slowdown and the buyer’s market here in Austin is the attitudes of people, not actual economic fact. Now that sellers are getting real, take a chance and think about investing in Austin’s real estate market. I’ll show you how!

Tags: austin real estate, buyers, development, economy, finance, hot market, housing, market, market statistics, money, mortgage, real estate, statistics by Aria
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I’m going to deviate from my norm of Austin real estate topics to hit on another environmental topic that I’ve been pondering lately. It’s HOT here in Austin. Not just warm but seriously HOT. Is it global warming? If so, what is the cause and how can we deal with it?

The findings of a recent survey surprised me. It seems that fewer Americans believe that global warming is an actual phenomenon now than several years ago.

Source: PEW Research Center

For me, it was the opposite. I was skeptical from the beginning talks of global warming but it now makes a great deal of sense to me. I just needed time to gather facts and make my own educated judgment. What I have yet to pass judgment on is whether it is caused by human or environmental factors. For now, I suspect it is a mix of both. With a history of cycles of ice ages and hot ages, it seems that we are entering a hot age. Yet it seems that this change has actually been noticeable in the past 5-10 years which leads me to believe than human factors are interfering with the natural cycle by speeding things up

Source: PEW Research Center

Do you accept global warming as a problem?
What steps do you believe in to fix it?

Source: PEW Research Center

I’m sure that there is no quick fix, however, making sustainable decisions to reduce landfills and emissions is an obvious start. Planting trees still sounds like a great idea to me. After all of the forests around the world that have been seized in order to create our great civilization, it certainly seems like replanting trees to clean the air and produce oxygen is an obvious and relatively easy decision. There’s talk, and then there’s action…

So what do you do to save the world?
How can we save the world in Austin?

Tags: carbon footprint, development, economy, environment, green, green energy, recycling, renewable energy, responsibility by Aria
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For those of you interested in the project at 4113 Avenue G in Hyde Park, Austin, Texas, the plans are available publicly:

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/agenda/2008/downloads/d3nrd20080088.pdf

It is my opinion that objecting to this project based only on the fact that an old house that is being removed (probably torn down, possibly moved) and being replaced by a new house is against the plans for growth that keep our local economy in Austin healthy. While there are many projects in Hyde Park that don’t conform with many people’s ideas of what is appropriate in Hyde Park, we must also remember that it is a high-density, urban neighborhood now. That comes with thousands and thousands of opinionated people. One may hate a particular house and another may think that it’s the most beautiful in the neighborhood. Many love all the old bungalows complete with all their aging, others find them small and in need of a fresh coat of paint and a update to accommodate the modern family.

I am one of the few outspoken Hyde Park residents for progress. A 700 square foot bungalow that has been recovered in asbestos and needs new electrical, plumbing, and many other repairs is not an asset to the neighborhood in my opinion. When these properties are going for $300,000+, who wants to spend that kind of hard-earned money to live in a cramped home with no closet space? If you want to protect your investment in Hyde Park, I believe in supporting managed progress. Well-kept historic homes should stay, but many, especially in northern Hyde Park, are essentially crumbling track-homes. I think the neighborhood deserves to be taken care of, and that includes removing houses that have not been maintained.

We have great systems in place through the design guidelines and the Historic Preservation committees and groups. We cannot object every time someone wants to add on some much-needed space to a cramped home. And hasn’t anyone noticed that new builds have slowed dramatically? That’s because land values have gotten so high that it doesn’t make any sense to build at today’s prices. New homes can easily get up to $1,000,000. And although I think that some blocks of Hyde Park support these prices, they are few, far between, and lined with historic mansions.

When you object to any and all change, it creates a great deal of conflict. I see that conflict every day in the Hyde Park N. A. Yahoo! group and in neighbors who know that I am a resource to ask on where to go and what to do next. I’ve seen neighbors attach 50-year-residents of Hyde Park for adding on to their homes while the aggressors went home to crumbling eyesores. It’s all a matter of opinions, and like my Kindergarten teacher once told me, you have to learn respect other people’s opinions and feelings. And anyone with a Psych 101 education can tell you that aggressively approaching someone will put them on the defensive and will not get the results you are looking for.

Also, I wanted to remind everyone that the Hyde Park Neighborhood Association is a ‘Neighborhood Association’ and not a ‘Home Owner’s Association’. The difference is, a Neighborhood Association is not mandatory and can not pass and mandatory rules. The HPNA has drafted and sucessfully pushed legislation in the interest of the neighborhood, but you need only the City’s approval for any plans on your Hyde Park property. The City will approve or deny based on all local laws and codes, including some which affect Hyde Park alone.

I encourage comments and I’m sure I’ve struck a few buttons.

Tags: austin, building, development, economy, real estate by Aria
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I was surprised when I found this resource showing where all of the know abandoned landfills are in Austin. The City of Austin has a map showing the locations of known landfills. Is there one close to you?

The complete map is available here.

Tags: austin, austin real estate, development, environment by Aria
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Top 30 Residential New Construction Cities (click to enlarge):

Austin/Round Rock hold the #12 spot for New Construction based on single and multi-family building permits.

4 of the top 30 markets show negative job growth and they all happen to sit on the southwest and southeast coasts (Los Angeles, Riverside/San Bernardino, Miami and Tampa) where the media began picking up news of economic trouble.  They saw a great deal of new construction but a -12% job growth.  Again, these are the areas that saw appreciation at 200-2000% per year compared to Austin’s steady and slow appreciation and strong, positive job growth..  That’s a volatile market compared to a steady market.  Of course, we are hurting on a minor scale because of the media attention to the housing sector, but this is another great example of how Austin isn’t suffering like the cities the media keeps covering.

The E-P ratio is the number of jobs divided by the number of permits.  A number less than 1.0 is generally a sign of an unhealthy market, Austin’s E-P ration is 1.2.

Here’s another look at Austin’s economic health.  I’ve been hearing and reading the media attacking builders nationwide for causing our economic downturn.  Although builders should seriously take a break on cities like Los Angeles and Miami, Austin’s builders seem to be properly managing inventory and new starts.  Los Angeles (and other east and west coast markets) saw a boom in the housing market much earlier than we did here in Austin.  To fill the gap, new builders sprang up and moved into the areas.  Now they need to find work in other sectors or cities.  Austin saw a boom in new builders and new construction only a year or two ago when we had our largest seller’s market this decade in 2006.  The job sector saw much less boom as well so it is much easier to stabilize as our market stabilizes as well.

Expect to see new construction continuing as Austin continues to see job and population growth, as well as the wealth of the population growing.

Tags: austin, austin real estate, development, economy by Aria
1 Comment »

Real Estate Investors are:

• Smart
• Creative
• Ambitious
• Goal-Oriented
• Practical
• Efficient
• Networked
• Logical

I love investors because like me, they make decisions based on logic and numbers, not emotion.  They are creative wealth-builders who won’t retire poor.  They are business-minded, practical people with a forward-thinking mentality.  Investors love other investors, and I love connecting them.  Some of the greatest projects I’ve worked on were Joint Venture investment projects.

Austin is a great place to invest in real estate.  Investing in Austin is easy; a no-brainer.  Where else can you find such consistent growth?  Where else can you find such a beautiful and unique city that can’t help but attract more and more businesses and people?

I tried the stock market in 1999 and today my stocks are worth the same as they were then.  I make my first real estate investment in Austin in 2002 and let’s just say it worked out well for me.  Real estate is something I grew up with, know, and understand.  I love investing in it myself and sharing opportunities I find with other smart people.

Tags: austin, austin real estate, development, economy, hot market, housing, investing by Aria
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April 1, 2008

Just announced this morning, Walmart has their sights set on yet another central Austin location. In addition to the Northcross location at Anderson Lane and Burnet Road, a new store at 42nd and Guadeloupe is set to open in the summer of 2009. Plans are currently underway to purchase 32 homes in the vicinity which will be demolished in order to make way for Hyde Park superstore. In order to keep neighbors happy, this Walmart will include a roof-top park and swimming pool as well as an in-store Starbucks.

Neighbors have mixed emotions about welcoming the mega-retailer into their quaint Hyde Park neighborhood. Chelsie Howard, a resident of the neighborhood, welcomes the store saying “Traffic is so horrible in Austin, having a Walmart in Hyde Park will enable residents to get out of their cars and walk, run, or bike to a store stocked with all of their needs.” The store is expected to boost Austin’s economy by 3.4% by 2012.

Walmart chose this location after other retailers, like the Walgreens at 45th and Guadelupe, reported booming business and even nation-wide sales records. This store will be the 5,784th in the nation and will stout the title of “Greenest Walmart in the U.S.” with energy saving features such as roof-topsolar panels powering fluorescent lighting. The store’s plans include selling excess solar power back to the city at 7.8 cents per kw hour as a way of “giving back” to Austin’s community.

(image from PRNewser)

To read the complete press release, click here.

——————

April 10th, 2008 - Update

This post is receiving so much traffic, I thought I’d make sure everyone notices the date of April 1st on the post.  There’s no need to email me in a panic, this is an APRIL FOOLS post!  It’s been fun, but don’t worry because there are no plans to put a Walmart in Hyde Park.  There are, however, plans for a Walmart at Burnet Road and Anderson land in the Northcross Mall shopping area.

For information on the Northcross Wallmart, check out the developer’s site and (of course) an Austinist post on the outrage caused by the plans.

Tags: austin, building, carbon footprint, development, downtown, economy, green, green energy, groceries by Aria
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