While we’re relatively comfortable in the campus market - high occupancy, stable prices, and quick turn each August are the name of the game - the Austin, TX apartment market has experienced some significant changes as the economy has shifted over the past two years. According to a recent article from the Austin Business Journal, many Austin “Class A” apartment owners (this is virtually all apartments in the campus area as well as countless others around Austin) are going to face operational and financial challenges during the first half of 2010. Read more to find out about the difficulties that they will face, learn more about the market for homes, condos, and apartments in Austin, and get a sense for how these changes in the rental market will affect the average renter.
More
The Austin, TX real estate market is weathering the storm. Despite a tumultuous economic climate, a major recession that’s been particular hard on the housing market, and high unemployment, Austin has weathered the storm, offering solid returns on real estate investments and a stable job market thanks to an educated workforce coming from the University of Texas. We’re fortunate to have had stable home prices, rising home sales, stable rent prices in central Austin neighborhoods (particularly West Campus, North Campus, and Hyde Park that cater to students), and increases in housing starts and new jobs despite the economy. We’ve even seen a strong downtown condo market develop and prosper over the last five years, and despite some naysayers claiming we’re going to have a downtown condo bust akin to Miami or Las Vegas, the evidence doesn’t justify their claims - our inventory is actually quite low compared to the large numbers of new people moving to central Austin, and we’ve seen strong sales despite changes in the lending arena and overall housing market issues. The bottom line: Austin has been and will continue to be an excellent place to invest, whether you are a UT student or not, and according to recent research by Coldwell Banker, Austin is among the easiest of the desirable college towns to afford.
More
