Garreth Wilcock Central East Austin Real Estate

East Austin: Austin's Colony: Have you ever imagined owning your own slice of country living, while still only being 20 minutes from Downtown Austin?

At Austin’s Colony, you need can get a bit of both. This small but expanding neighborhood features houses at affordable prices in lush, rural settings. What makes this neighborhood so great is that it’s still a hop, skip and a jump to many major highways and Austin’s urban areas, as well as Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

Located less than 20 minutes east of the hustle and bustle of the city, the neighborhood of Austin’s Colony is a secluded neighborhood, perfect for those looking to live in a rural environment abundant with parks, rivers and equestrian trails without sacrificing any amenities.

This neighborhood is very secluded, perfect for quiet living; in one direction you will find the beautiful Colorado River Park, perfect for picnics and swimming. (Thanks to the river bank backing up to the neighborhood, you will be able to enjoy the water in peace without noisy through-traffic.)

Just up the road in the other direction you will find easy access to all the amenities you could need on Farm-to-Market Road 969, including schools, grocery stores and restaurants for all tastes.

So what’s the latest news around Austin’s Colony is, you might ask? Currently, a brand new, state-of-the art middle school is being constructed and will be open in the Fall of 2010. Also, an updated neighborhood center is currently in the planning stages, according to the Austin’s Colony Home Owners Association

Garreth Wilcock is an East Austin Realtor. Search Austin Homes at his website, or contact on 512 215 4785 for more details on Austin's Colony.

The pace of new development has slowed at the old airport redevelopment in Austin. What is in store for the master planned Mueller development - when will there be a town center, grocery store, condos, or even the next development of new homes?

Today, Catellus lead on the Mueller project Greg Weaver came to address the Mueller Neighborhood Association. There are some excellent meeting minutes on the Mueller Community site which give an overview of what he said during the first part of the meeting.

Mueller homes sales in a nutshell

• The condos are coming - the plans are approved and the builder is working on financing
• The next phases of development are going to be incremental and may include Mueller Houses (multi-family homes that look like large single family homes)
• The affordable program is going to move forward in the next phase
• The town center is 3+ years out
• Plans for the grocery store are still cooking
• Expect announcements in the next 60 days about the coming developments

Other related articles:

• When will Mueller get a town center? (with video)
• When will we get a grocery store? (with video)
• How is the Mueller Resale market? (with video)

Garreth Wilcock is a Realtor® living at the old airport, helping buyers and sellers at Mueller. Call 512 215 4785 for more info.

There are two Mueller Austin Affordable Homes available right now, much to the surprise of everyone who is clammering to get into one. These two Longhorn plans from David Weekley will sell in the next few days due to pent up demand. If you'd like to be poised and ready to take advantage of the next ones, get in touch so that we can prepare for the next announcement.

Check out this short video where I talk about silver linings and clouds while standing in the rain at Lake Park, looking at the former affordable model home next to the $1.4m 2009 Parade of Homes masterpieces.

If you haven't heard of the affordable program, it's a shared equity appreciation model of home ownership. In a nutshell it means that you can live in Austin's fastest selling green neighborhood for as little as $155,000 in a new 3 star green home.

The program is income qualified - you need to earn less than 80% of the Austin median family income to apply.

Read more about Mueller Austin Homes...

My little Central and East Austin Real Estate Blog has been seeing some activity lately! I just found out from a colleague that the folks at Realtor.com published that mine is the second most popular featured blog on their platform. I'm humbled and amazed.

I just googled Austin Real Estate Blog and noticed I'm on the first page too which is nice. I'd like to thank everyone on ActiveRain for their tips and advice which have inspired me to write about real estate for the last few years, and for their encouragement.

In particular I'd like to thank Mariana Wagner for all her blog coaching, Northwest Austin's Brian Martin for all of his ideas and motivation, and my family for being so supportive. All this within a week of meeting my blog heroes Mariana Wagner and Jason Crouch!

Thanks everyone!

Garreth Wilcock is an Austin EcoBroker. You can search Austin homes for sale at his website.

Can you bike in and around Mueller Austin? Here's a quick cycle tour of Mueller so that you can see what it's like from a cyclist's point of view. Disclaimer - I'm not advocating cycling one-handed, and watch out for those stealth Prius cars sneaking up behind you!

Garreth Wilcock is a bike-friendly Realtor living and working in Mueller. He helps sell homes at Mueller and buyers find homes at Mueller.