www.bizjournals.com/austin

Thursday, January 31, 2008 - 2:32 PM CST
Austin economy spanks the competition
Austin Business Journal

High-tech, a booming film industry and the University of Texas all helped propel Austin to the top of Forbes' 2008 list of America's Fastest Growing Metros.

The magazine ranked Austin No. 1 among the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas. The list sorted cities by their anticipated gross domestic product growth between 2007 and 2012. Austin's GMP, or the value of goods and services produced in the area, is expected to climb 32 percent over the five-year period.

Forbes credits the local boom to high-tech employers like Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) and IBM (NYSE: IBM) as well as the University of Texas, which is producing ample engineering talent.

Other cities that ranked high on the list include Atlanta, Seattle, Orlando, Houston and San Jose, Calif. The Forbes article points out that all of those cities share several key characteristics with Austin: They are tech hubs in close proximity to universities with growing population bases.

Forbes used GMP forecasts provided by Moody's Economy.com.

The regions of the country with the fastest growing metro areas overall are the Southeast and West. Forbes credits the lower costs of living and doing business in those areas for their higher anticipated performance.

Best and Worst Places to Buy a House

by Danielle Babb
Thursday, January 24, 2008provided by

Whether you're looking for an investment property or a place to live, here's a look at the cities you should seek out and avoid in 2008.

The housing crunch and the excessive inventory -- exceeding 10 months on resale homes -- continues to take its toll on housing prices. But over the long term, housing is still a good investment. In fact, it's more than an investment; it's a home. Plus, you're not really saving anything by renting, as the costs of renting and owning are about equal (well, owning may be a little more). The tax benefits of home ownership far outweigh renting, too. With good housing prices in many great areas, this may indeed be the time to buy.

So now that I've convinced you this is a good time to buy a home, the next question is, Where do you buy one? No matter where you look, you should check out some basic economic fundamentals before buying. Is job growth stable in the area? Is income keeping up with inflation? Is crime above the national average? Is there a higher-than-average rate of foreclosures? These issues and others play a factor when deciding where to buy a house.

As a real estate investor and analyst, it's my job to provide buyers with qualified information on where to buy -- and where to stay away from. Here are my thoughts for 2008 based on the indicators noted above.

The Top Places to Buy

Whether you're an investor like me or you're looking to purchase that next move up, here are my picks for the best areas to buy a home:

• Killeen, Round Rock, Austin, Texas: Killeen has the lowest average home price in any market in the nation while still maintaining quality. Round Rock and Austin have seen incredible job growth and very stable home prices despite the downturn nationwide. Jobs continue to grow here -- a factor for keeping inventory low and prices stable.

• Mission Viejo, California: Mission Viejo has the lowest crime statistics in the nation. With no murders in 2007 and a low rate of violent crime, this is a good place to raise a family. Prices are relatively stable, and the job market in the nearby cities of Irvine and San Diego means there is consistent demand from job seekers.

• Palm Beach, Florida: I'm taking a risk here because this area has been pummeled by foreclosures in 2007. But there are also a lot of boomers retiring, and Palm Beach is looking mighty attractive. If you don't like this high of a risk (which translates to great prices), check out Tampa or Clearwater in the same state.

• Las Vegas, Nevada: Yes, Las Vegas has been hit hard by incoming investors, who watched their home values disappear and then left those homes empty. Las Vegas comes in quite high on the national foreclosure list, almost always within the top three metro areas. But there's an upside -- a very strong job market. In 2007, Las Vegas experienced a 12 percent increase in population, partly driven by retirees looking for Sunbelt states to move to. Coupled with low prices, we could see inventories reduced here, which would also stabilize prices. Be careful what you buy, but I like it.

Places to Avoid

And now for the places you definitely want to avoid:

• Detroit, Michigan: The job market is in chaos. People are getting laid off left and right. National statistics seem to point to a significant problem with job loss and job income not keeping up with inflation. As a result, many nice neighborhoods are now abandoned due to people leaving their homes. Inventories exceed one year (under six months is what we want to see), and the foreclosure problem hit Detroit hard. With fewer jobs to support home purchases, I don't see Detroit turning around anytime soon.

• Miami, Florida: Palm Beach is different than Miami, which sits in its gorgeous aqua water with half-built and abandoned condos, a shrinking job market, a tough time getting insurance against hurricanes and a job problem. Yes, you can get a good deal, but do this only if you don't need the appreciation from the home in the next decade.

• Riverside/San Bernardino, California: Even those lucky homeowners that bought before the boom are feeling it now. Riverside and San Bernardino counties in Southern California consistently lead California in foreclosures and rank in the top three metro areas nationally. The prices have plummeted, and jobs in the area are scarce. People moved there due to lack of affordability in Orange and Los Angeles counties (where their jobs were), so it's a commuter's area. Now that prices in the two counties have dropped, people can live close to their jobs. Although I grew up in Riverside County, I could never recommend it to anyone looking to buy a home.

REAL ESTATE

Job growth keeps area real estate healthy, economists say

Strong performances expected in housing, retail and apartment sectors

By Shonda NovakAMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFFWednesday, August 08, 2007

Backed by healthy job growth, Central Texas' real estate market is expected to remain strong in 2008, a Texas economist predicts.

The strength should span the region's housing, retail and apartment sectors, though the office market might lose some steam, said Mark Dotzour, chief economist and director of research at the Texas A&M Real Estate Center. Dotzour made his comments Tuesday at the Real Estate Council of Austin's annual forecast event.

Dotzour said national job growth will be only about 1 percent but that Texas' rate probably will be double that. And he predicted that Central Texas will outperform both the nation and the state with 3.5 percent job growth.

"Austin is blowing the doors off the state of Texas," Dotzour told a crowd of more than 1,000 people.

On the housing front, Dotzour said, the Austin metro area should see healthy sales and price appreciation. He also forecast rising retail, apartment and office rents but said he expects the office occupancy rates to dip 3 percent.

Dotzour's forecast draws from a range of local real estate professionals, including Charles Heimsath, president of Austin-based Capitol Market Research.

Home sales were at near-record levels at mid-2007 with a low, four-month supply, Dotzour said, not far below the two-month inventory level seen in booming 1999. It's no surprise, he said, that Central Texas home prices appreciated 11 percent in early 2007 compared with a year earlier, according to federal housing data. That outpaced rates of 6.87 percent in Texas, 4.34 percent in Florida and 1.19 percent in California.

"I would expect at the current low levels of inventory, home prices are likely to continue to appreciate substantially in the next 12 months, possibly rising in the 8 to 10 percent range," Dotzour said in an interview.

Other highlights from two real estate forecasts released Tuesday.

Retail: Market was robust in first half of 2007, with 1.7 million square feet of space absorbed and rents up 5.8 percent since December. In the next 12 months, demand for 2.5 million square feet of new retail space is expected, with 3 million square feet becoming available. The occupancy rate will likely drop slightly, to 91.4 percent from about 92 percent, but rents are expected to rise $2 a square foot.

Apartments: Rents and occupancies increased through the first half of the year. Citywide, the June 2007 occupancy rate was 96.8 percent, up 2 percentage points from December. Rents averaged 94 cents per square foot in June, up 3 cents since December.

Offices: Results were disappointing in the first half of 2007. Though rents increased, occupancy dipped.

Looking ahead

Highlights from two real estate reports released Tuesday.

Retail: 1.7 million square feet of space absorbed in first half of 2007. Rents up 5.8 percent since December.

Homes: Prices appreciated 11 percent in early 2007 compared with a year earlier.

Apartments: Occupancy rate rose to 96.8 percent, up 2 percentage points from December. Rents averaged 94 cents per square foot, up 3 cents since December.

A unique situation in Texas

RAY SUAREZ: Mark Dotzour, how does Texas resemble what you just heard from Massachusetts and California? And how does it resemble the nationwide trends?

MARK DOTZOUR, Texas A&M University: Hello, Ray. It's good to visit with you. We down here in Texas we have a real, unique situation going on right now. We've got a combination of very strong job growth. It's basically double the national average. We've got home price appreciation that's going up at an increasing rate in many of our metropolitan areas.

And at the same time, we've got population growth. I noticed just last year we had 570,000 new people come into the state of Texas. And at the same time, the home builders have cut back on production, as well, like you've previously heard. And so we're in kind of an interesting position, where home builders are cutting back on their building, but inventory levels of homes for sale are quite low. And that's why we're seeing the good rates of price appreciation in many parts of Texas.

RAY SUAREZ: And let's finally stop in Michigan. Donald Grimes, how's the scene there?

DONALD GRIMES, University of Michigan: Well, you described the national housing market as grim. And if it's grim nationally, it's doubly grim in Michigan. The housing market in Michigan is in very, very bad shape and, unlike the rest of the states that you have talked to and mentioned, the problem in the housing market in Michigan stems from a very weak economy, a weak economy that has lost jobs in each of the last six years, and last year Michigan's population actually declined.

So the weak housing market results from a weak economy. It's not a cause of the weak economy. And in order for Michigan's housing market to recover, the local economy has to recover or at least stop falling.

Saturday, 16 June 2007

The average rental price in Austin is up 7.6% from May of last year to $1377. The Median rental rate is up 3% to $1175/mo. Days on Market is down 27% and number of homes leased is down 15%. In short, our Austin rental market for single family homes continues to chug along very well.

Brittany and I are back to answer any and all of your questions.

Please visit my Flickr account to see a few of the shots we took on our road trip

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7650791@N08/

Brittany and I are traveling.

Our First stop is the SOCALCIA Investor Conference in San Diego, Ca.  Make sure to stop by our booth if you are attending.

Older neighborhoods to see appraisal jumps

East Austin, Tarrytown, other areas to see most notable increases, according to appraisal district

By Marty Toohey
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, April 14, 2007

Homeowners across the county, particularly in some older Austin neighborhoods, can expect another increase in property values when appraisal notices start arriving in two weeks, according to the Travis Central Appraisal District.

The notices will reflect an increase of 9 percent in the median value of homes in Travis County, to $182,198, according to preliminary data from the appraisal district, which sets property values.

A year ago, the district was expecting sticker shock over the biggest average increase in recent memory. That was largely because expensive homes and large commercial properties skyrocketed in value, while homes toward the middle of the price spectrum typically rose less.

Last year at this time, appraisals showed the median home value — the point at which half are worth more, half worth less — had risen 7 percent. The increase in average value was much higher (16 percent) because high-end homes skewed the numbers.

This year, homes toward the middle of the price spectrum are seeing the most noticeable changes, according to the appraisal district.

Offices and other large commercial properties can also expect notices reflecting increases similar to last year's.

Although new data show fewer new homes being built in Central Texas in 2007, sales remain healthy. "The market in Austin hasn't slowed, like it has in other places," said Mark Price, director of appraisals for the district.

Continue reading "Austin Appreciates"

Austin Rankings:

#1 Best Cities for Singles …Forbes
#1 Worlds Sexiest, Inexpensive Cities …Playboy
#2 Best Relocating Families …World Wide Relocation
#2 Best Hiking Trail “Barton Creek Greenbelt” …www.americanhiking.org
#3 Best Housing Market to Invest …Meyers Group
#3 Best Place to Live …Forbes
#3 Best Place for Business & Careers …Forbes
#4 Best City for Moviemakers …Movie Maker Magazine
#5 Top Running City …www.runnersworld.com
#8 Top 50 Cleanest Cities …Reader’s Digest
13 Austin High Schools Ranked top list of 1000 …Newsweek’s