Austin Real Estate News

According to an August report by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University (see http://recenter.tamu.edu/econ/), the Texas (and Austin) economy is doing pretty well as compared to the rest of the United States. The key data that support this include:

• Texas has had a third month of positive annual employment growth. From July 2009 – July 2010 the Texas employment growth rate was 1.3% as compared to close to 0% in the rest of the U.S.
• The private sector employment growth rate in Texas for the same time period was 1.2% compared to 0% in the rest of the U.S.
• For the same period, Austin-Round Rock was one of 19 Texas metro areas (up from 16 metro areas from June 2009-2010) to experience positive employment growth rate.

We love hearing that our state and our town are thriving in the midst of a difficult economy…but what does this mean for home buyers and sellers in the Austin area? Well, nationwide housing sales are down which is partly the result of the economic situation but also a result of the expired $8,000 tax credit. In Austin, home sales were down 25% in July (as reported in the Austin Board of Realtors July 2010 real estate statistics) – which is largely attributed to the expired tax credit. However, the good news is the median price of homes was up 15% from July 2009 and days on market decreased by 3% for the same month last year. Overall, the year has been good for Austin real estate with a year-to-date increase in sales of 5%, a median price up 2%, and days on market down 12%.

For buyers, the housing data for Austin means there are lots of homes from which to choose, and for sellers, the good news is property values are holding steady.

We hope you will let Reilly Realtors know if you are ready to buy or sell Austin real estate. Call us at 512.600.1800 – we would love to be of service!

We just added a neighborhood quicksearch for La Ventana, a beautiful hill country community in Driftwood, Texas (near the Salt Lick BBQ restaurant, about 30 minutes from Austin). Use the quicksearch at the top right of any page on our site to search for homes by neighborhood, or click here for La Ventana Homes for Sale.

Be sure to check out our beautiful 5 bedroom / 4 bathroom home listing in La Ventana. It’s a great custom limestone home on 2 acres on a cul-de-sac. The community amenities are worth seeing as well. La Ventana has horseback riding trails, a multi-level pool with waterfalls, a clubhouse, and more! If you are interested in this home please call us at 512.600.1800.
419 Nicholas Lane – Front:

419 Nicholas Lane – Living Room:

La Ventana Pool: