Austin Modern Living.com

Marty Toohey at the American Statesman wrote a good article about Imagine Austin’s new proposed 197 page comprehensive growth plan for Austin as it grows by more than 700,000 people over the next 30 years.  The plans calls for several urban clusters and more vertical and “shared-walls” developments, i.e. apartments, townhouses and duplexes.  Here is a link to the Statesman article on new Austin growth blueprint.

Hello all,

I just previewed an incredible South Austin modern home last weekend, offered for sale by Don Sembra of Moreland Properties, listed at $771,000.  Tucked away on a cozy street in the Zilker/Barton Heights neighborhood, it is just steps away form Zilker Park/Barton Springs and all of the shops, restaurants, and entertainment this area has to offer!  Designed by Christy Seal and built in 2008 by Craig Parker, this modern home offers clean horizontal lines and a warm contemporary feel.  With polished concrete and quarter-swan oak floors the rooms are light, open, and airy.  The high end fixtures and appliances, along with the incredible landscaping, give this house the finishing touches that would make it a great place for you to call home!  Please contact me if you would like to arrange a viewing of this awesome, 3 bedroom 2.5 bathroom, South Austin Modern Home.

Austin Mueller’s stock rises with the announcement that HEB will be building a green flagship grocery store in the Austin Mueller neighborhood. Here is a link to the Austin Mueller press release.

The fact that no one has bought 2002 Rue de St. Tropez, Austin TX sort of bothers me. And it’s not even one of my listings! It bothers me because it is such a hot modern Austin home. I mean it is smoking hot. It was on the cover Dwell Magazine a few years back…like on the COVER.

Erik, the design-builder, built an amazing home in the Eanes ISD area of Westlake. It has wide open entertaining areas, Scandinavian inspired color palette, tons of custom steel, custom industrial glass and a ton of modern zing.  This home is steel construction too, not timber, no pine 2×4′s…steel and metal bones.  It’s close in, private, gated, in the best school district in central Texas (Eanes ISD), has a Lake Austin waterfront park, pool and boat dock, has a roof top with views, and on and on.

Erik nailed this Austin modern home…it’s currently offered for just $253/sf…in any other modern architecture loving city, this modern home would have been snapped up…so what’s up Austin modern home lovers?! Is it too modern for Austin? Please restore my faith in Austin as a hip, up-and-coming modern architectural trend-setter!!! Here is a link to 2002 Rue de St. Tropez listing (again, not listed by us.)

$219/sf for central Austin modern home with 8 beds and 8.5 baths. This is a non-condo-ized-duplex…you could condo-ize it if you wanted to make it 2 single family townhouse style condo-ized duplexes. (I know that maybe seems complicated…thanks City Of Austin zoning!!) This is a really cool central Austin property, very close to UT, great owner occupant property or investment property for a 1031 Exchange.  This is not on the MLS…owner has solid rental income so in no hurry.  Here is a link to more on this Austin modern home for sale

Foreclosures in the Austin real estate market have not been as much a part of our sales as has been seen in other parts of the country. This is simply because we did not see the rapid increase in prices during the high points of the previous up market so that we did not have the amount of decline in our home prices as seen in many other parts of the  country.  However, we do have a significant number of foreclosure properties available in most price ranges in the Austin area.  These properties require an educated approach though, in order to determine whether they are a good value or not.  Most often these properties are now bank owned because the first lien note to the original buyer became higher that what the property should be priced at in this present market.  In other words the property was not worth what the buyer owed such that it was not possible to sell the property as in a more normal market condition, and that is most likely the reason it became a foreclosure.  The banks now most often offer these properties at or above the mortgage amount owed on the property by the original buyer in an effort to avoid taking a loss on their balance sheet, which means the price may or may not be a good value.  If the mortgage amount owed on the property is too high compared to the other sales of similar properties in the same area of town the foreclosure sale may not be a good value, unless there are some unique qualities of the home and/or home site that offset the comparison.  Another factor to take in to consideration is the physical condition of the home and property. If there are a significant number of repairs or remodeling items that are required then obviously a higher priced resale in better condition, or even a new home in the same or nearby area may actually be a better value to the buyer.  This is why a good real estate professional should always ask the right questions in order to understand what the potential buyer really wants to make happen in our present real estate market.  One important question of course, is whether the home is to be a potential investment property or is it to be the buyer’s next home to live in for some time to come?  My point here is that serious potential buyers should not limit themselves in looking only at foreclosures in their search for a good value in a home.  Obviously, they should be a part of the consideration when looking at homes in a certain area, but in some cases there are often many excellent homes on the resale market, and in some cases even new homes that are priced at such a level as to be a better value than many of the foreclosure properties. Ultimately it is all about what the potential buyer really, really wants, and an experienced real estate professional can help put that into perspective as regards our current Austin real estate market.

I will back up that statement up with some data next month when things slow down a little, but if what our office is doing is an indicator of the broader Austin real estate market, then Austin is seeing a HUGE SPIKE in sales volume and closings in July and August.   This sales spike is much larger than what is typically seasonally expected. Judging from the phones ringing and email inquiries coming in it doesn’t seem to be slowing up just yet.

Eanes ISD in Austin has always been The Texas School District that had every single school as exemplary schools.  Want the best ranked schools? Easy, just live in Eanes ISD.  Well, that just changed a little bit this week.  The new 2011 Texas Education Agency (TEA) school rankings are out and Eanes ISD is missing one of its trophies.  West Ridge Middle School is now ranked a second best “Recognized” down a notch from “Exemplary”.  

But don’t get too worked up, West Ridge Middle School is a superb middle school still, it just lost some points in testing this year.  My guess is that they will be back to Exemplary very soon!

Austin neighborhoods that attend West Ridge are mostly west of 360 Capital of Texas Highway.  You can see all the Austin school rankings and Eanes school rankings for TEA 2011 test results here.

Here is a link if you are interested in Eanes ISD real estate for sale or lease.  There is also an Eanes ISD map of school locations here.

Call or email me to learn more about these two beautiful Austin luxury homes!

1401 Shenandoah is a fresh interpretation of a classic linear MCM style.  It boasts a 1000 sf guest cottage and is located on a large corner lot, convenient to major commute roads, Lakeline Mall and more.  If you are looking for a deal, here it is…builder taking massive loss.

5401 Carbine Circle is a hill-country modern green retreat on 5 acres, nestled just outside the village of Bee Cave, convenient to downtown, the lake, the Hill Country Galleria and more.  Show me another 4000 sf house with no water bill, taxes this low and average electric bills at $175/month…now that’s a green home!

Tom Bates, Texas licensed REALTOR, Broker

Austin Modern Living

Austin modern homes for sale

There is certainly something different in the air this year in Austin real estate sales than in previous years.  I mean, like really different.  In years past, buyers and sellers would actually seem to work toward the common end goals: a contract, a non-terminated option period, a deal…and (I dare say) a closing!  This year though, sellers and buyers seem to have other goals in mind…and honestly, I’m not really sure what those goals are!

Certainly part of the issue is that a lot of buyers are shopping for deals and throwing out low ball offers at rapid fire.  And that’s fair, buyers, including myself, want good deals…and the only way to get good deals is to make offers.  The other part of the equation are the sellers.  Austin home sellers are in a tricky spot right now: How do you convince someone from out of state where home values are down 25% that certain Austin markets are actually a pseudo-seller’s market?  You don’t.  You let them figure it out themselves.

Look at the market.  In the south Austin real estate market in the 78704 zip code, the average YTD list price to sales price ratio is 96.32% and the average days to sell a house in 78704 is 72 days.  Sounds pretty similar to the data from the roaring salad days right?  Right.  Still, when you do the research and look at the Austin real estate sales data you will see that one sale where the buyer got 67.80% of list price…and that anomaly is what the buyer market sets their scopes on.

So, I guess this soap box article is really just to highlight that Austin buyers and sellers have severely different OPINIONS these days and that sellers should be prepared for continued low-ball offers and unrealistic expectations and that buyers should be prepared to hear those dreadful words “NO”.  It’s just where we are at right now, and don’t even get me started on the current lender appraisal situation.  Anyway, happy house hunting…and you buyers and sellers out there, why don’t you go out and get a cocktail together…loosen up, get to know one another a little better!