Austin Real Estate

Friday, April 16, 2010, 10:18am CDT

Austin unemployment rate falls to 7.1%, adds 4,600 jobs

Austin Business Journal

The Central Texas unemployment rate fell for the second consecutive month in March, hitting about 7.1 percent from 7.3 percent in February, the Texas Workforce Commission reported today.
The Austin-San Marcos-Round Rock area also added about 4,600 posts from month to month, but the total 760,300 nonagricultural jobs were still down 500 positions year-over-year. The Central Texas unemployment rate was 6.6 percent in March 2009.
Leisure and hospitality added the most positions from February to March, growing by 2,100 jobs, followed by government, which grew by 1,400. Mining, Logging and construction and professional and business services were the only industries that took major hits from February to March, both shedding 600 positions.
About half of the region's industries were down year-over-year, though leisure and hospitality increased 6,000 positions. Government also experienced a bulk of the increase from March 2009 to last month, adding about 2,800 jobs, though education and health services sectors also added 2,700 positions. Business and professional services lost the most positions year-over-year, dropping about 3,800 jobs.
The state unemployment rate was stable at about 8.2 percent, still far below the national 9.7 percent rate.

For more on this article go to: http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/04/12/daily58.html?s=d...

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http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2010/02/22/foreman.building.up...

Austin Business Journal

The Austin-Round Rock area tied for first on a list of large metros where the recession is easing.

Central Texas tied Washington D.C. in the Forbes.com ranking that compiles job growth and real estate industry improvement, among other indicators. Washington has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation, 6.2 percent, and the city produced more goods and services than another other in 2008.

Austin has also maintained relatively lower jobless rates, though the number increased to 7.6 percent last month from 7 percent, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Statewide, the rate was unchanged at 8.2 percent from December to January, compared to 9.7 percent nationally.

Austin and Washington D.C. also benefit from their high government job generation, according to Forbes. The number of Central Texas jobs increased just shy of 1 percent between 2007 and 2009, more than any other city included in the research.

Dallas came in second on the ranking behind Austin. The number of jobs there are expected to increase more than 7 percent in the next three years. San Antonio and Houston also made the top 10 list.

Job growth projections were based on information from Moody's. The listing also considered median home sale price changes and Metropolitan Gross Domestic Product.

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http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/03/08/daily2.html?s=in...

Plus two bonus towns for you to consider

By Robert Powell, MarketWatch

BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Where do you want to live in retirement? Most folks age in place. But there are those who spend their golden years in dreamy locales. Where are those places?
Well, the 100 most popular retirement towns for 2010 are -- no surprise -- mostly located in the Sun Belt states, according to TopRetirements.com. In fact, 68 of the 100 top positions were occupied by warm-climate towns. Florida dominated the list, taking 23 of the spots, followed by North Carolina (11) and South Carolina (8). /conga/personal-finance/retirement_seo.html 60531
But there are 25 new towns on the list, according to John Brady, editor of the second edition of 100 Best Retirement Towns. Some of the 25 new cities on the list include Boulder, Colo., Eugene Ore., Santa Fe N.M., Chattanooga Tenn., Cheyenne Wyo., Portland, Maine, Smyrna Del., and Cape Coral, Fla.
According to Brady, the 100 most popular retirement towns list is compiled by calculating the 100 towns with the most online visits of the 450 cities reviewed at Topretirements.com. The list is essentially a popularity contest; it reflects the towns that site visitors are the most interested in for retirement.
"One thing is clear," Brady said of the trends he's noticed in this year's list. "The Sun Belt is so dominant because people are interested in retiring to where it's warm." In addition, he said this year's list is dominated by college towns. People are looking for place to retire where they have access to intellectually challenging activities.
That said, the towns with the most online visits include:

1. Asheville, N.C. Asheville is a long-time favorite, said Brady. Part of its ongoing appeal is its climate (it's mild year round); its location (it's in the Blue Ridge Mountains; there's water everywhere for fishing and boating, and its downtown is walkable and dynamic); its housing stock (there's a wide range of upscale housing opportunities for seniors). What's not so special is that Asheville gets crowded in the summer and overdevelopment is coming.
2. Sarasota, Fla. According to Brady, Sarasota is the cultural capital of Florida. Part of its appeal is that is has one of Florida's best downtowns, a downtown that includes an impressive array of cultural facilities such as the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. On the downside, there are a lot of tourists and traffic in winter, and summers are hot. Of note, the Ringling Brothers located the winter quarters of their circus in Sarasota.
3. Prescott, Ariz. An old mining town, Brady says retirees choose this location for its warm climate and interesting setting. The town, which borders the Prescott National Forest, features 525 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places and Whiskey Row. On the downside, there are a lot of tourists. At an elevation of 5,400 feet, the winters are colder here than the rest of Arizona. Plus, there are watering restrictions, according to TopRetirements.com.
4. Paris, Tenn. According to Brady, retirees come to Paris, which is roughly equidistant from Nashville and Memphis, because they like living near one of the largest manmade lakes in the world. "People go there to fish and relax," said Brady of Paris. (By way of background, the city also claims to have the world's largest fish fry.) Plus, Paris has a low cost of living compared with other retirement hot spots. The median sales price of a home here in 2009 was well below $100,000. On the downside, big city amenities are two hours away.
5. Austin, Texas. Austin is becoming a popular retirement community for a variety of reasons, according to TopRetirements.com. The University of Texas and its array of cultural and other activities is perhaps the biggest draw for Austin, its cosmopolitan and high-tech, quirky soul is another reason. Plus, it has a relatively low cost of living, said Brady. On the downside, the summers are hot and humid and the city might be too big and fast-paced for those seeking peace and quiet.
6. Green Valley, Ariz. According to Brady, Green Valley, which is 20 miles south of Tuscon, has one of the largest active adult communities in the world. The average age, by the way, is 72. Consider: It has nine golf courses; two recreation centers with over 126,000 square feet of facilities; countless swimming pools and spas; numerous tennis courts, fitness centers, and classes; and every type of crafts and clubs. "There are so many things going on there," he said. "There's something for everyone." On the downside, it's a bit remote. In fact, it's just 40 miles north of the border of Mexico. "... so close that there have been a few scenes with federales and desperados running through Green Valley," reports TopRetirements.com.
7. Winston-Salem, N.C. Why Winston-Salem is the seventh most visited place on the TopRetirements.com's Web site is a bit of a mystery to Brady. To be sure, there's culture (Reynolda Gardens and the Reynolda House Museum of American Art) and a downtown that features the Wachovia Center. And the cost of living is low ($120,000 is the average home price). But on the downside, Brady's Web site reports that development is proceeding very quickly, with attendant traffic. And some young professionals say there is not enough to do in the Twin Cities. Plus, crime is a concern in Winston-Salem.
8. Beaufort, S.C. Beaufort is a terrific place to love, not far from Hilton Head and Savannah, said Brady. What's special about this city? It's a charming old town in the Sea Island. It's won tons of awards, including "Best Small Southern Town," "Small Town Arts" and "Best Fishing Town." It has plenty of golf courses. The city has 304 acres designated as a National Historic Landmark. And the winters are mild. What's not so special, according to TopRetirements.com: It can be over run by tourists in season Not for people in the fast lane.
9. San Diego. To Brady, San Diego has the "most perfect weather in the country." Its scenery, climate (there's only 10 inches of rain on average per year), and lifestyle (the San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park, Gas Lamp District and Torrey Pines Golf Course) are second to none and appeal to active adults 55+, reports TopRetirements.com. On the downside, it's expensive and the traffic -- well, it is California.
10. Ft. Myers, Fla. Now that the housing market has crashed, Ft. Myers has become a less expensive place in which to retire. The median selling price at the end of 2009 was $98,000, reports Brady. What else is so special about Ft. Myers? Well, there's the beach, a charming old downtown area, the Thomas Edison and Henry Ford winter estates, world-class shopping. golf and fishing; and something for everybody. Plus, it's the spring training home for Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins. On the downside: Oppressively hot, humid summers; traffic; way too much development, now in a bust cycle; too many strip malls.
According to Brady, there are two other cities/towns that retirees might want to consider from the top 100 list. Those include Portland, Maine, which if you don't mind winters is an up and coming retirement spot, and Smyrna Del., which is a small, former farming town of about 8,000 in north central Delaware midway between Wilmington and the oceanside community of Lewes. The latter town has plenty of active adult communities, beaches and land, and an attractive tax structure.

Learn more about TopRetirement.com's list at this Web site:

http://www.topretirements.com/blog/great-towns/sunbelt-shines-on-the-100...

Robert Powell is the editor of Retirement Weekly. Learn more about Retirement Weekly at this Web site .
Robert Powell has been a journalist covering personal finance issues for more than 20 years, writing and editing for publications such as The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, and Mutual Fund Market News.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010
New Hill Country Galleria owner picks Weitzman for leasing
Austin Business Journal

Hill Country Galleria’s new ownership named The Weitzman Group exclusive leasing agent for the West Austin mixed-use development.

The Hill Country Galleria, which totals 632,438 square feet of retail space, is located at the intersection of Bee Cave Parkway, F.M. 620 and State Highway 71.

Lance Morris and Adam Zimel with Weitzman's commercial retail division will handle leasing for the Galleria, which is owned by REIT Management & Research. Chicago-based REIT purchased the mall at a bankruptcy auction in February.

Former owner Opus West put the property into bankruptcy last year.

The property owner did not disclose the vacancy rate, but Hill Country Galleria is anchored by Dillard’s department store, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Cinemark and Barnes & Noble Booksellers. The center also houses national retailers, including Banana Republic, Chico’s, Jos. A. Bank, Victoria’s Secret, Ann Taylor, American Eagle, Bath & Body Works, Iron Cactus, Mimi’s Café, Panera Bread, Which Wich and Pei Wei.

The Galleria's trade area contains more than 199,000 people within a 10-mile radius. The area’s average household income is approximately $120,000.

Weitzman represents the 585,000-square-foot The Shops at the Galleria across from the Hill Country Galleria.

For more info go to:

http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/02/22/daily27.html?s=i...

Austin Business Journal - by Sandra Zaragoza ABJ Staff

Friday, February 26, 2010

Among the questions remaining as downtown’s most anticipated new residential projects are nearly ready for their well-heeled occupants to move in: What retail will occupy the ground-floor of Austin’s ritzy new residential towers?

Last week, The Austonian offered the first to answer the question, albeit a partial answer. Austonian developers announced two independent restaurants by Austin-based La Corsha Restaurant Partners will open later this year, occupying about 5,800 square feet of the roughly 11,000 square feet of retail fronting Congress Avenue and Second Street. The Four Seasons, which also has about 11,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space fronting Cesar Chavez Street, is expected to make several tenant announcements of its own soon.

The developers of Block 21, which will be home to W Hotel and Residences and Austin City Limits in the Second Street District, said they have quietly begun marketing roughly 25,000 square feet of retail. Block 21 hopes to start announcing the project’s retail lineup this summer.

Whether these projects will be able to attract the A+ tenants they want in an unfavorable retail climate remains to be seen. Still, people involved in leasing these projects — The Austonian, Four Seasons and Block 21 — are upbeat about downtown retail, especially as more residents move in.

Mixed-use projects in Austin have delivered varying degrees of success in a soft retail market, real estate experts said.

But the downtown location, newness and name recognition give these projects a sharp edge, they said.

Besides being in the tony 78701 ZIP code, these projects will give retailers access to a growing downtown residential population, steady daytime traffic, and convention and tourism business.

Even in a down economy, property owners are being selective about the retail they choose for these projects.

For more go to:

http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/03/01/focus1.html?b=1267419600^2951511

Friday, February 12, 2010
Austin construction activity to climb 30%
Austin Business Journal

Texas' construction activity is expected to improve this year with Austin fairing the best, according to a McGraw-Hill Construction report Thursday.

The 2010 Texas Construction Outlook shows construction starts value increasing 16 percent this year to $52.5 billion statewide. Austin is expected to experience the largest growth, rising 30 percent in value, followed by Houston, growing 17 percent. Dallas is projected to increase 16 percent and El Paso should add 8 percent value this year. San Antonio is expected to see 6 percent growth.

The report said housing starts are expected to grow 31 percent to $21.8 billion, while commercial construction starts will slip 1 percent to $17.6 billion. Federal stimulus funding will boost public works and utilities construction, according to the report.

McGraw-Hill has compiled project and product information, plans and specifications and industry news and forecasts for more than a century. The publication is owned by The McGraw-Hill Cos. (NYSE: MHP) in New York.

For more info go to:

http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/02/08/daily52.html?s=i...

By Shermakaye Bass
SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Updated: 3:57 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010

Published: 10:20 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010

The Eanes Independent School District, a 31-square-mile area west of MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1), is Central Texas' own multineighborhood Mayberry. There's a small-town vibe to West Lake Hills, Rollingwood, Barton Creek and Cuernavaca. People know their neighbors, kids play ball in the parks and attend stellar schools together, sidewalks and lawns are nicely manicured. Even the affluent, close-in Westlake area has an idyllic, suburban quality.

"The people here are very nice. It's a very good mix of people," says resident Lesley Sarkesian, who lives on Far Gallant Drive in the Westlake area and has two teenagers. "There are kid people, people that are retired. ... It's just a very lovely community."

Because the Eanes school district covers of the large geographic area, homes can range in price from $250,000 to the multimillions. Eanes has had a little dip in sales in recent years.

According to the Austin Board of Realtors, in 2009, 402 homes priced for less than $10 million sold in the Eanes school district — the most expensive one selling for $4,037,500. In 2008, 404 homes priced for less than $10 million sold. That's 25 percent less than the 542 sold in 2007 and 34 percent less than the 608 homes sold in 2006.

That doesn't sound good, but compare those statistics to homes in the Austin Independent School District.

In 2009, about 4,900 homes listed for less than $10 million sold. That's 51 percent less than the 10,060 sold in 2008; 70 percent less than the 16,522 sold in 2007; and 64 percent less than the 13,671 sold in 2006.

The primary reason for the Eanes district's relative stability, according to residents and real estate agents: The schools. Eanes Independent School District is considered one of the top public school districts in the state. SchoolDigger.com — an online ranking site that covers 120,000 schools around the United States — rates Eanes Elementary 21st among Texas' 3,880 elementary schools and rates Eanes sixth among the state's 948 public school districts. The Austin school district is ranked 579; the Round Rock district, 240. The Texas Education Agency rated Eanes exemplary in 2008-2009, the highest rating. Austin was rated academically acceptable; Round Rock was recognized, the second-highest rating.

For more on this article go to:

http://www.statesman.com/business/real-estate/buyers-drawn-to-district-f...

Lake Travis View
By Devon Monk

Hill Country Galleria owners and noteholders are on the verge of executing a two-pronged plan of reorganization designed to secure either new ownership or foreclosure in the coming weeks.

The property has been operating under a Chapter 11 automatic stay since it filed for bankruptcy in of May 2009.
Several potential investors officially registered their request Jan. 8 to attend an auction of the property Jan. 15 that Austin lawyers Eric Taube and Mark Taylor will conduct, said Joel DeSpain, owner representative and asset manager. Potential bidders were required to place $6 million in escrow to validate their interest.
The minimum bid will be $60 million, and bids will be accepted in $500,000 increments. DeSpain declined to comment on the property’s estimated value.
If there is a qualified offer, it will be reviewed for approval by the bankruptcy court the following week to sell the property, which is at Texas 71 and RR 620 in Bee Cave. If their request goes through, the sale is scheduled for Jan. 29.
“We’ve exposed the property to dozens and dozens of people and have had a lot of them visit the property. There were many major league investment groups [among them],” DeSpain said, noting his surprise that marketing firm Holliday Fenoglio Fowler reported more than 200 requests for information packets.

For more info :

http://laketravisview.com/2010/01/12/hill-country-galleria-set-for-sale-...

Austin Business Journal

The spiraling home market has neared stabilization and could see a slight rebound in Austin this year, according to local real estate experts during a 2010 housing forecast Wednesday.

Speakers during the Austin Board of Realtors and the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin event pointed to the relatively better job market as one sign improvement is on the way.

The Texas Workforce Commission reported the area lost about 4,300 jobs in the 12 months ending November 2009, which is better when compared with cities like Houston and Dallas, which lost 88,900 and 50,700 jobs respectively.

The program was presented and moderated by Eldon Rude, who directed a residential real estate market study comparing Austin with 30 other U.S. metros. He said Austin builders cut new home production by about 19 percent last year, breaking ground on 6,490 new homes.

“Starts have stabilized in recent quarters, builders have closed more homes than they have started for the last three years. This strategy has resulted in far fewer inventory issues in the Austin new home market compared to the more challenged markets across the U.S.,” said Rude.

The study anticipates new home starts maintaining 2009 levels, primarily due to slow job growth through at least the first half of 2010.

Though home pricing and buying has improved, experts said the true test will come when interests rates begin to climb and the stimulus-fueled tax credits run out.

For more info on this article go to:

http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/01/11/daily42.html