Dee Copeland, Principal Broker

Baby Boomers will buy one out of every five new homes sold in 2008. What the 55-and-older segment is really looking for is vacant land. 

For instance, the Texas Hill Country is a prime location for Boomers to look for land from a 1- acre parcel in Marble Falls to a 300+ acre ranch in one of Burnet County's ranch communities.

A recent boom in real estate development in Burnet County has resulted from this influx of future retirees.  Baby boomer investors coming to the Texas Hill Country are picky, but seem willing to pay top dollar for a piece of land in a great location next to outstanding amenities like fishing, boating and golfing.

Today's Spotlight is Eagle Mountain Reserve. Features include:

• An Exclusive Master-Planned Community
• 118-acre community located on the northeastern foothills of Lake Buchanan
• Spectacular Hilltop Homesites with Million Dollar Views
• Ideal Hill Country Living with Resort-Style Amenities

WHY BABY BOOMERS ARE SCOOPING UP TEXAS REAL ESTATE

Continue reading "Community Spotlight: Baby Boomers Cash in on Eagle Mountain Reserve "

Ok. So I am officially excited. I've been sniffing the pollen of the new mixed-use real estate developments, condo towers, and the new urbanist communities coming in Greater Austin 2008 through 2010.

Central Austin development took a step forward last week, with two huge projects breaking ground.

The Four Seasons Residences luxury condo tower in Downtown Austin broke ground last week, as did the first phase of the highly-anticipated Crestview Station in North Central Austin.

Both are scheduled for completion in 2010.

COOL! CRESTVIEW STATION NORTH CENTRAL AUSTIN FINALLY BREAKS GROUND

"Crestview Station will be one of Austin's biggest transit-oriented developments...to the tune of $100 million. It will be on the Capital Metro commuter rail line currently scheduled to start service this year, and is expected to bring housing and retail and office space to the neighborhood". ~Austin American Statesman 1/30/08. 

The 73-acre, mixed-use project between North Lamar Boulevard and Morrow Street will be the first big transit-oriented development on the new commuter rail line. Midtown Commons at Crestview, will be first residences. Too bad they're only rental apartments.

FOUR SEASONS RESIDENCES, DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ON THE WAY

Continue reading "Austin Real Estate To Bloom Bigtime in 2010"

Here is what was said for the January 2008 market summary.

1. Texas isn't doing bad compared to other states, but many national builders are in trouble due to their activity in Florida, Arizona and California.

2. Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio real estate markets are overbuilt in the affordable home price ranges. Builders are doing auctions and fire sales to get rid of their sub-$150k inventory.

3. Austin continues to buck trends and will continue to do well in 2008. The downside is that national builders in Austin will still suffer because their parent companies are in trouble.

4. National builders located in Austin have already pulled back on inventory, which may cause a shortage in 2009.

WHY NEWMARK HOMES AND OTHER AUSTIN BUILDERS MAY BE IN TROUBLE

Continue reading "Builder Spotlight: Newmark Home's Parent Company Files Bankruptcy"

New Urbanism - just what is this? It's a way of planning cities and new developments so they have more of that traditional neighborhood feel.

Walking and biking is big in New Urban development. Instead of the old suburban car culture, where we all drive everywhere, even down the block, a "new urban" neighborhood is one where you're tempted to leave the car in the driveway since you can easily walk to shops, restaurants, and schools.

This sounds better and better, the higher the gas prices set in!

But anyway, what's this got to do with the Texas Coast? Quite a bit, it turns out. Developer Tofigh Sherazi is currently underway with plans for Beachtown Galveston, a 260 acre community meant to reflect Galveston's past.

Continue reading "'New Urbanism' a New Wave on Texas Coast"

by DeeinAustin^TM

Austin real estate was poised for a Super Bowl-style win in 2007, but the year proved to be humbling after the mortgage market fumble last summer.

SEE THE  8-YEAR AUSTIN REAL ESTATE MARKET PLAY-BY-PLAY (From 1999 to 2007)

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• Austin homes sales during the first few quarters in 2007 were selling in under 30-60 days. Buyer confidence was high.
• The Texas mortgage market tanked in June. The result: many buyers and investors who wanted loans simply could not get them.
• Loans for new construction, land, stated-income, sub-prime borrowers and low-down payments were at a stand-still for a few months Fall '07.

Continue reading "Annual Market Update: Austin Real Estate Winners and Losers 2007"