Real estate market defies national slump

Updated: 10/9/2007

www.news8austin.com

Home sales are still brisk in Central Texas despite a slump in the national average.

Since News 8 went on the air eight years ago, the Austin metro area has seen new subdivisions take root in towns once considered no-man's land. Neighborhoods and developments are being carved out across the Hill County while inner-city Austin fights for affordable housing.

Downtown Austin's condominium scene took off quickly. A few high-end developments existed in the early 2000s, but mostly it was empty space after the tech bust.

Now the building means there's a multi-level tower under construction on almost every corner.

Mayor Will Wynn said he wants to increase downtown's population from 5,000 to 25,000 in 18 years. The city is trying to lure businesses to meet the needs of the urban population with high-end restaurants, boutiques and even grocery stores. Whole Foods' 800,000-square-foot store and headquarters at Sixth and Lamar opened in 2005.

"The number of restaurants, clubs, and now we're getting pure retail coming into downtown, is much higher," Kent Collins of the Downtown Austin Alliance said.

Partnerships between the city and real estate developers have drawn projects downtown that run from the mid-$200,000 to the millions. They're targeted to a population that can afford the high cost of high living.

Though the plea for affordable housing downtown hasn't gone unanswered. The redeveloped Mueller Airport at Interstate 35 and 51st Street was a vacant stretch of land in 2002. Now the first 350 of an estimated 4,600 homes are available. Twenty-five percent of those will be made affordable.

Suburban growth

The explosion isn't happening only in Austin; it's all over Central Texas. The past eight years have seen steady home growth in Travis, Hays and Williamson counties.

Cedar Park was recently named the 11th fastest-growing U.S. city. Its population grew 93 percent in six years.

Pflugerville came in at number 23. Their population is up 70 percent from six years ago.

Round Rock was 49. They recorded just under 48 percent growth during the same period.

Buda and Kyle in Hays County and Hutto and Leander in Williamson have all had their share of growing pains, especially now that the toll roads have made them more accessible for suburban commuters.

"You're going to see the effects going forward because there are already projects that are going further out. People can now get to work," Harry Savio of the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin said.

The cost of a new home has risen about four percent a year over the last eight years, according to the Austin Board of Realtors. That's a modest rise, in their opinion.

The median price of homes increased six percent to $192,200 from last year.