Austin is one of the top residential and commercial real estate markets in the United States.
According to a KXAN report published on August 1, 2014, Austin is now No. 1 in the country for fast home sales, with 40 percent of homes selling within seven days and an average of only 10 days.
There are over 100 people moving to the Austin area each day, which is fueling new residential and commercial construction throughout the Austin area.
According to the September 2014 MLS report, Austin area single family home prices set a record for the month of September. At the same time, Austin area single family home sales rebounded from the last two months of home sales declines, increasing 10 percent from September 2013 to 2,524 home sales in September 2014. The median price for Austin area single family homes increased 8% over last year to $240,000 and the average price rose 7% to $308,514 in September 2014.
New commercial construction is taking place throughout the Austin area and includes new apartments, retail, office, medical, industrial, and special use properties, such as restaurants, C-Stores, and hotels.
The following statistics are as of November 2014:
The average multi-family (apartment) asking price for Austin is $139,454 per unit, which compares to the State of Texas average of $48,894 per unit.
The average office asking price for Austin is $155.40 per square foot, which compares to the State of Texas average of $114.67 per square foot.
The average retail asking price for Austin is $331.88 per square foot, which compares to the State of Texas average of $133.57 per square foot.
Word on the Street About Austin
- Cap rates have trended down significantly during the past 24 months in Austin
- Mortgage rates are still low, both for residential and commercial
- Mini-perms of 5 – 7 years are available from local banks
- Population is still increasing
- Employers and employees love Austin
- The climate is mild
- There are plenty of social and recreational activities
- Good singles and family lifestyles
- Traffic congestion is bad
- Investors are looking for off-market deals
- There are a lot of new apartments coming on-line
- Easier to develop outside the city limits of Austin, rather than inside the city limits of Austin, but there is still demand for infill housing
- Long-term demand should remain excellent, watch for short-term oversupply of specific product types in certain submarkets
