Although the Austin metro area is fairing well than most of the country in terms of foreclosures, the city of Austin as well as the State of Texas have decided not to sit back and simply “ride out” the wave of foreclosures that have taken place throughout the state. As such, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs recently applied for a grant from the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program and won a $387,000 grant.
The grant monies will be used to help bring more stability to Texas families, including those in the city of Austin, who are struggling to make their mortgage payments. It is also intended to bring assistance to neighborhoods as well as to help stabilize government finances. As such, the Texas Department of Housing…
According to Forbes, the city of Austin is the 8th best place for business as well as for career. Among the reasons for the city's high placement on the list is the fact that the projected annual job growth rate for the city is currently at 2.3%, making it the fifth fastest growing city in terms of job growth. The city also ranked highly on the list due to its subprime mortgage exposure, which is relatively low when compared to other markets.
"The city of Austin is extremely business-friendly," said Glenn Cooper, who is the head of real estate at Charles Schwab Corp, in an interview with Austin Biz Journals. "They have bent over backwards to accommodate us."
Charles Schwab Corp recently expanded its presence in the city after purchasing the 401(k)…
According to a survey conducted by John Burns Real Estate Consulting, the number of new home sales, expectations, and traffic increased in January. This is consistent with statistics for the rest of the nation, which showed that current and expected sales have increased throughout the country. In fact, when compared to January statistics, the average net sales rose from 1.0 to 1.4.
On the national level, starts per community averaged just one unit last month. 40% of those who participated in the survey, however, reported that they saw zero starts last month. On the other hand, 14% reported that they would be starting three or more units in February. This figure is up from the 9% who reported that they would be starting three to four units the…
According to Residential Strategies, Inc., new home starts continued to plunge within the Austin area during the first quarter of 2009. In all, the number of new home starts was only 1,215 during the first quarter this year, representing a 47% decrease when compared to the same quarter last year. This also drops the annual start rate to just 7,938, which is a far cry from the 17,128 annual starts seen in Austin during its third quarter peak in 2006. Closings in the first quarter were also down when compared to the first quarter of last year, with the total number falling to 2,145 units and representing a 31% decline.
"While many may see the lower start rate as a negative situation in Austin, it should be pointed out that builders entered 2009 with…
While many housing markets throughout the country are experiencing a great deal of instability and projected housing process are looking grim for the next few years, a report released by PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. indicates that Austin is at a low risk for experiencing home price correction over the next two years.
In order to create its First Quarter 2009 Economic and Real Estate Trends Report, PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. analyzed a variety of different statistics, including employment rates, home price appreciation, excess housing supply, affordability, foreclosure activity and interest rates.
The report placed Austin in the number 17 position of the 50 largest, most stable cities. All four of the other major cities in Texas also made the list, with…
Despite the fact that the global real estate marketplace has been struggling over the past several months, the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE) reports that Austin is still considered an attractive investment among foreign investors.
According to the new report, Austin tied for the 11th place spot among foreign investors interested in investment opportunities within the United States. This is actually up from the 2008 survey, at which time Austin ranked in the number 16 spot.
Austin was part of a 7-way tie this year, placing ranking in the 11th place position along with Phoenix, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Orlando, San Jose (California) and San Diego. Washington D.C. came in the number one position, with New York coming in second,…
Considering the current economic troubles the world is currently facing, much of the state of Texas is faring remarkably well in terms of job growth. In fact, according to figures that were recently released by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, 6,200 private-sector jobs were added in Austin during the period between November 2007 and November 2008. When compared to the rest of the country, this was the 10th biggest gain in any metro area.
Austin isn’t the only Texas area to demonstrate resiliency during these troubled times. In fact, Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth had the largest gains in the country with Houston adding 42,400 jobs during the period between November 2007 and November 2008. Dallas-Fort Worth also added an additional 35,100…
When compared to other housing markets across the country, Austin has managed to remain one of healthiest. Nonetheless, the troubled economy and the struggling housing market have certainly taken a toll on the Austin real estate market as well. In fact, the Austin Board of Realtors reports that home sales in the Austin area fell a whopping 40% in November of 2008 when compared to the November sales for 2007.
Not only have home sales hit a downward spiral in the Austin market, a study recently conducted by research firm Metrostudy found that new home starts have also been falling and will continue to fall. In 2007, the Austin market enjoyed seeing 12,400 new home starts. In 2008, this number fell to just 8,000 home starts. If current trends hold…
During these tough economic times, the entire country is experiencing the financial pinch. Sadly, thousands of people have lost their homes to foreclosure due to their inability to pay their home mortgage loans. Although these financial difficulties have struck the Austin area as well, RealtyTrac Inc. of Irvine, California reports that Austin performed better than other cities in 2008 when it comes to the number of foreclosures.
According to RealtyTrac Inc., just under 1% of homes were foreclosed upon in the Austin-Round Rock area. This accounts for 5,737 properties and places the Austin-Round Rock area in the number 80 position of the top 100 U.S. metro areas. At the national level, home foreclosures rose a staggering 81%, which equates to…
The State of Texas Sees a Higher Net Gain of Incoming Relocations Than Any Other State
According to a report recently released by Allied Van Lines, the state of Texas remains the number one state for residential relocations. This isn't the first time the state has received this honor, however, as it was also ranked number one during the previous four years.
In the report, which is officially named the 41st Annual Magnet States Report, tracks migration patterns throughout the United States. The company found that 3,988 people moved out of Texas with the help of Allied Van Lines, while 5,891 people moved into the state. As such, the state had a total net gain of 1,903 new residents.
Although this number is down from the previous year, which saw a…
