Tuesday, August 25, 2009
As of this week, new watering restrictions are in place, with fines starting at $400.
Automatic sprinkler systems can run only between midnight and 10 a.m. on the designated day. Hose-end sprinklers and soaker hoses can run only before 10 a.m. and/or after 7 p.m.
Single-family homes: Odd-numbered address: Saturday
Even-numbered address: Sunday
Commercial customers and multifamily homes: Odd-numbered address: Tuesday
Even-numbered address: Friday
For more information, go to www.ci.austin.tx.us/watercon.
By Shonda Novak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, August 21, 2009
Existing-home sales in Central Texas last month equaled those in July 2008, the first time in more than two years that sales were not lower than in the same month the previous year.
The Austin Board of Realtors reported Thursday that there were 2,069 sales last month, compared with 2,068 in July 2008.
It was the first time since May 2007 that sales had not dropped and the strongest signal yet that the Austin-area housing market has stabilized.
The percentage declines had been shrinking since the beginning of the year, as the market got a boost in part from mortgage rates that have hovered around 5 percent and an $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time buyers.
Jay Gohil, chairman of the Board of Realtors, said the fact that the median price has held up was "even better news" than the halt of the sales slide.
The median price last month was $191,500, down just 2 percent from a year earlier. For the year to date, the median was unchanged from last year, at $190,000.
July also was a better month for other large Texas cities. Sales were up 9 percent in San Antonio, the first increase in that city in a year. In Houston, the 4.4 percent decline was the smallest since late 2007.
Real estate consultant Charles Heimsath said he hesitates to say the local decline in single-family sales is over and that the region "will be climbing back into a stronger market."
"What I'd like to see is at least one or two additional months of no declines or slight increases - and then we could talk about seeing the bottom and beginning our slow ascent into recovery," Heimsath said.
There were 1,996 pending sales in July - transactions that were under way but had not closed - down 2 percent from a year earlier.
More than half of the sales in July were for homes priced below $200,000, a market that includes first-time buyers.
The tax credit is set to expire Dec. 1, but many experts predict that Congress will extend it. Associations representing builders, real estate agents and mortgage brokers have been lobbying for an extension, and some measures have been introduced in Congress.
David Reed, senior loan officer with Integrity Home Mortgage in Austin, echoed that prediction of an extension in his weekly online newsletter.
Great News from the Statesman!
By Shonda Novak | Tuesday, July 7, 2009, 04:02 PM
Work is under way on a new H-E-B Plus store in Southeast Austin that is set to open next spring, replacing the 25-year-old store at East Riverside Drive and South Pleasant Valley Road.
The current store will be demolished and the space will be used to more than double the parking for the new store. The existing store is among the chain's five busiest locations in Central Texas, said Jeff Thomas, senior vice president and general manager of H-E-B's Central Texas region.
The new store will have 104,000 square feet, much larger than the current store, which has about 60,000 square feet, Thomas said. H-E-B also has a store on East Seventh Street.
The new store will have a drive-through pharmacy and numerous new or expanded departments, among them baby apparel and accessories, toys, home decor, home improvement, frozen foods, speciality sections and an expanded line of organic produce, as well as a gas station.
H-E-B bought the Albertson's building across Pleasant Valley Road in 2007, and will use the former Albertson's parking lot as a staging area during construction so as not to disrupt parking at the existing store.
The new store is scheduled to open in March or April, the day after San Antonio-based H-E-B closes the existing store.
"It will be uninterrupted service," Thomas said.
The new store will have about 350 employees, an increase over the 215 people working at the current store, said Leslie Lockett, an H-E-B spokeswoman.
Thomas said the store will enable H-E-B to better serve its existing customers in that area, as well as new customers in a rapidly growing part of town.
"As the community grows, it will be an awesome facility for East Riverside and give our customers there exactly what they need," Thomas said.
In addition to a large student and immigrant population, the area is poised for more growth, with hundreds of new apartment and condominium units planned along East Riverside, which the city has targeted for redevelopment and has designated as key mass-transit route.
"As more people move in, we'll be well-positioned for that resurgence and that growth in the area," Thomas said.
Thomas declined to disclose the cost of the new store. The chain closely guards such information, along with its customer traffic counts, in the region's highly competitive grocery market. H-E-B is the market leader, holding more than a 60 percent share.
H-E-B has $14.5 billion in gross sales and more than 300 stores in Texas and Mexico.
Good News from the Statesman!
By Shonda Novak | Thursday, August 20, 2009, 11:22 AM
Existing home sales in Central Texas were flat last month, the first time in more than two years that they were not lower than the same month a year earlier.
The Austin Board of Realtors reported that there were 2,069 sales last month, and 2,068 in July 2008.
In a sign of a stabilizing market, the year-over-year percentage decline had been shrinking in recent months, after a string of double-digit percentage drops.
Pending sales were down 2 percent, while the number of listings was down 8 percent from a year ago. Homes are taking longer to sell, an average of 75 days, up 17 percent from a year ago.
July's median home price was $191,500, down 2 percent from July 2008.
"The sales volume momentum in Austin continues, now reaching 2008 levels," said Jay Gohil, chairman of the board. " That's good news, but I think it's even better news that we've achieved that increase while maintaining a steady median home price."
Local real estate expert Charles Heimsath has predicted the region's median would drift down this year, but not decline substantially.
So far this year, the median price fluctuated only slightly compared to 2008, Gohil said.
"Looking back further, prices have remained above 2007 levels, one of the most lucrative years of the last decade in Austin real estate," he said. "That long-term price stability, particularly in the face of market fluctuations, bodes well for Austin's future."
Through July, area home sales were down 18 percent from the same period of 2008.
The weather phenomenon has brought floods to the area in past years.
By Andrea Lorenz
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Monday, July 13, 2009
Relief from an almost two-year drought could arrive in Central Texas in the form of El Ni?o, meteorologists say - but probably not until November.
Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced last week that El Ni?o, the periodic warming of the Pacific Ocean, has arrived.
In the Austin area, El Ni?o usually means rain - and lots of it - in the winter months, which could mean much-needed relief from the drought, said Chris Morris , a meteorologist in the National Weather Service's New Braunfels office. El Ni?o isn't likely to bring rainfall to the area until November, Morris said, although chances of rain could increase in September.
For the rest of this week, and probably the rest of the summer, chances for rain will be extremely low, Morris said.
Although it's difficult to predict just how much rain El Ni?o will bring to Central Texas, it has previously caused major flooding. For example, from November 1991 to January 1992, Austin saw just under 20 inches of rain, nearly triple the 7-inch average for those months.
Since September 2007, Morris said, Central Texas has received a little over 34 inches of rain at Camp Mabry.
In San Antonio, the past 22 months have been the driest on record.
Because of the drought, there's about 77 percent less water entering the Highland Lakes from the Colorado River than average, and if trends continue, a record low amount will be reached , according to the Lower Colorado River Authority. About 1.1 million people get their water from Lakes Travis and Buchanan.
Although the area's water supply isn't in danger - the lakes were built to store water from rainier periods to help at times like these, according to the LCRA - recreation on the lakes has taken a hit.
The only open public boat ramp on Lake Travis, at Mansfield Dam, could be closed later this summer. The lake level must be at least 640 feet above sea level to keep it open, and the LCRA predicts Lake Travis will fall below 635 feet by Sept. 1.
Flow rates of area rivers are also below average, but that didn't stop tubers from floating the Guadalupe, Comal and San Marcos rivers Sunday.
The Lions Club Tube Rental saw a record number of customers on July 4, manager George Laktas said.
"We're staying busy; we've got water in the river," Laktas said.
The lowered levels on the Guadalupe River have driven more customers to the Comal River, said Katherine Hendrix of Texas Tubes in New Braunfels.
 |
|
|
Being a member of the Austin community since 1989, I have fulfilled my passion to serve the public in many ways. Recently I decided to go into business for myself and joined RE/MAX's winning team!
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
Powered by the ActiveRain Real Estate Network
© 2009 ActiveRain Corp. All Rights Reserved
