Ki Gray - Austin Real Estate

South Lamar has become more and more popular for pedestrians, bicyclists, shoppers, and other visitors, and a stroll down the boulevard can include every imaginable activity and meal or drink. New additions to the "SoLa" scene include the Black Sheep Pub and a couple of other new eateries and pubs, as well as old favorites like the Saxon Pub and the Broken Spoke, both of which are landmarks on the Austin music and dancing circuit and regularly offer well known local musical acts.

The Black Sheep Pub is located a few blocks north of Kerbey Lane Cafe and Sonic Drive-in, and there is an outdoor patio out front with tables and chairs. The menu is down home and reasonably priced, and until recently, patrons could get a complimentary beverage with their meal, since the restaurant had not gotten its liquor license. The burgers are big and inexpensive, and the fries are crispy and spicy, along with the tator tots, which have gotten tremendous word of mouth among the neighbors.

Across the street and a few blocks south, the Half Price Books remains a mainstay among local residents, and used books, music, reading glasses, gifts, and lots of other unique items are available, most literally at half price, as the name promises. Next door to Half Price Books is the Old Alligator Grill and The Rockin' Tomato, both popular among locals.

A half block east, on Manchaca at Lightsey, the small strip center has many interesting businesses, including an inexpensive family medical practice that accepts walk-ins called Access Co-Medical, an unusual convenience store called On the Run, and a family-friendly Laundromat with WiFi access and T.V., as well as a supply of reading material and courteous, helpful employees.There is also a spa and beauty shop called Olga's and a comic book and cards store, both with unique products.

A quick walk north and one arrives at Walgreen's, which is open twenty-four hours and has an amazing array of cosmetics, grocery items, clothing, medicine and toiletries, and almost everything else. The Sonic is just across the street, and one block south of Walgreen's is Austin's venerable Matt's El Rancho, which has been reincarnated numerous times over the years and is one of the most well-established restaurants in Austin. Matt's is famous for their shrimp enchiladas and coconut pralines, among other delights, and there is something for everyone, including a frosty margarita for the adults.

The neighborhoods east and west of Lamar are some of the only ones remaining in the Austin real estate market where one can find affordable housing, and there are many kitschy old fourplexes and duplexes, as well as interesting homes and small apartment complexes. It is a quick walk to these homes and apartments from the strip of restaurants and clubs, and anything can be found within a few blocks of these homes.

Until recently, an art show called Art Outside was held regularly at the Enchanted Forest, an outdoor venue with a creek running through it and every imaginable type of artwork, music and dance, and many of the artists and musicians make the SoLa area their home as well. The Forest is near the intersection of Lamar and Oltorf, and an organic foods lunch stand called Organic Seeds is currently operating near the Forest, with positive reviews from those who've had the pleasure of dining there. Seeds offers patrons a choice of healthy wraps, coffee, breakfast tacos and other favorites.

A block south of the intersection of Oltorf and Lamar is a local coffee bar and music spot, with beer, wine, and lunch specials called the "Irie Bean". It is another locally owned venue and has great coffee, wine, sandwiches, and occasional live music, so it's another hidden jewel in SoLa. Every sidewalk leads to something new and/or different, including Irie Bean.

South Lamar is one of the oldest yet fastest growing areas in Austin, and homes are reasonably priced,compared to many areas of Austin, so stroll down the boulevard and take a look, and you'll like what you see.Friendly neighbors always make you feel welcome, and there is always something to do.

Ki maintains a website on Austin Texas real estate. His site allows buyers to search for listings in the Austin MLS he also writes a blog with updated information on Austin real estate.

Clarksville, which is a historic neighborhood in central-west Austin, has a hidden jewel few people know about: the "Dog Park", as it has been known for years. Clarksville is a very eclectic community in the central Austin real estate market, in fact some would say eccentric, but very unique, and the residents love their pets.

Between 9th Street and 10th Street, and a few blocks east of West Lynn, there is a beautiful, green park, shaded by huge, old trees with green leafy canopies covering most of the park, and many of the locals regularly bring their children and dogs for a run through the park, or to chase Frisbees or sticks, or just play or relax.

The Dog Park also has a small pool with water just over waist high, and treehouses and other structures for kids as well as dogs to climb. Many a summer afternoon, moms with their young or teenage children make the trek from Clarksville to the Whole Foods Market, or even the Fresh Plus grocery store, with fresh fruit and bakery goods, and climb into the trees or lay a blanket down under the shade of the foliage and while away the day, watching other dogs and dog owners go through the ritual of the daily exercise and potty run.

The memory of a cold, crisp apple or pear, eaten with your child or pet, as one daydreams or even falls asleep, are the memories that keep families in the Clarksville area for generation after generation, since these activities seem to remind the locals of the past, when life was simpler and slower.

There is also a baseball field in the park, and other recreational equipment and facilities, including a basketball goal, and trails for hiking, or running with a partner or pet.

After a few hours of sunshine and exercise, the soda fountain at Nau's Pharmacy is the perfect place to have a frosty milkshake or home made cheeseburger, and it's a short walk from the park to Nau's, or even Cipollina's West Austin Bistro, which is an Italian Deli adjacent to Fresh Plus.

While walking to Whole Foods, which is a few blocks east at the corner of Lamar and West 6th Street, the sidewalk traverses various eclectic shops, including a liquor store and smoke shop with a wooden Indian standing guard at the door called Wiggy's, along with a card shop and gift shop, and eventually the sidewalk meanders all the way to 6th, where cold ice cream is waiting at Amy's, to cool off the kids, as well as adults and sometimes even dogs.

While in the area, a stop in at Waterloo Records and Video is sure to provide entertainment for the evening, and the entire walk between West Lynn and 6th is so well kept and brightly lit that the pedestrian feels they are in a movie set, with neon over every doorway, trees and plants on every corner, and friendly people all around.If you prefer reading to TV or movies, stop in at Book People and discover every kind of reading material as well as jewelry, snacks, and lots of other neat stuff.

So for a complete day or fun, start at the Clarksville Dog Park, take a brisk hike to Lamar for a snack or drink, and get a book, movie or some music for the evening. Later, you might consider a hearty meal or cold, refreshing libation at the many other restaurants and clubs in the area, and be sure to bring your dog, or your kids, or just go by yourself!!Donn's Depot usually has live music and little or no cover, and it's another longlasting Clarksville establishment, at 5th and West Lynn.

Ki moved to Austin to attend the University of Texas. After graduation, he stayed to work with Austin real estate. He maintains a website where buyers can search for Austin homes for sale. His site also provides a blog with news and statistics on Austin Texas real estate.

Hutto, Texas is a small community located seven miles east of Round Rock and northeast of Austin, Texas. The current population of Hutto is estimated at around 17k residents, and Hutto has been a very fast-growing city since the construction of State Highway 130, also called the Trans-Texas Corridor.

In the census of 2000, the population of Hutto was just over thousand people, but the recently built toll road has dramatically increased the population and the city is expected to continue expanding in the next few decades, as the highway nears completion.

Hutto was founded in the year 1876 when the International Great Northern Railroad passed through land owned by James Emory Hutto, for whom the city is named. Shortly thereafter, James Hutto sold fifty acres of local land to the New York Land Company for a town site. At the time, Hutto was a wealthy Williamson County landowner and cattleman, but a few years later, he relocated to Waco and entered the hardware business. At roughly the same time, numerous Swedish and German immigrants traveled to the area to begin new lives in the ranching and farming industries, which were becoming very successful in the Hutto area.

In 1915, a circus train stopped in at the Hutto train station and a hippopotamus escaped to nearby Cottonwood Creek, where it caused a commotion as local residents and railroad as well as circus employees tried to recapture the Hippo. The story caused a local legend to emerge, and eventually the Hippo became the mascot for the Hutto High School and its sports teams, as well as various other local businesses.

There are many activities in Hutto for the sports enthusiast as well as the gourmet diner, and some of the popular restaurants in Hutto include Mario's Mexican Restaurant and El Poblanito's, another Tex-Mex eatery. If the diner prefers a national chain, Chili's is sure to please, and there is a popular barbecue joint called Fat Thompson's as well.As for sports, the aptly named Hippo Stadium is home for the local Bulldogs, and there are many other sports-related facilities as well. The Hutto real estate market is also extremely affordable. It offers a much cheaper alternative than the nearby Pflugerville and Austin real estate markets.

Hutto also has a family-owned general store called Common Spirits which offers a variety of spirits and tobacco products, as well as basic amenities and grocery items at a reasonable price. The store is located on Front Street, and is a local favorite. As the city grows, there are more and more national brand stores and restaurants, but there is still plenty of local charm and family owned venues as well.

The new state toll road is expected to eventually spur the population growth to over 30k residents by 2010. The new toll road is the biggest transportation project currently underway in the entire United States, and the toll road connects the area to metropolitan Austin, and to other major thoroughfares leading to San Antonio and Houston, as well as nearby communities such as Pflugerville and Bastrop, as well as Bryan and college Station to the north.

One of the largest employers in the Hutto area is the T. Don Hutto Correctional Facility in nearby Taylor, Texas, which is just a few miles east of Hutto itself, and a family detention center that houses immigrants and their families. Hutto is also very well represented in the technology industry, with Agisca Technologies as well as Cypress Semiconductor, both of which are situated in or around Hutto.

Hutto is a very centrally located community, with access to many metropolitan areas, but a small town atmosphere and scenic rolling hillsides with parks, rivers and access to many local lakes and rivers.

Ki stayed in Austin after graduating from the University of Texas. He began working in Austin real estate. To aid buyers, he created a website escapesomewhere.com where they can search the Austin MLS. His site also provides information on neighboring communities like Pflugerville.

Austin area home sales are down from a year ago, but prices are holding steady. There are many factors making now a good time to buy: low interest rates, tax incentives for first time buyers and cooperative sellers. As consumers change their spending habits, houses are once again being seen as a long-term purchase of a home and not a quick investment. While the days of the house-buying frenzy are long gone, plenty of serious home buyers remain.

Like the rest of the country, Austin's real estate market is still lagging behind other areas of growth in the economy. While local economists predict Austin will gradually recover from this recession in 2010, housing isn't expected to rebound as quickly. Jim Gaines, a research economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University recently told the Austin-American Statesman that he sees the housing market ending this year with numbers comparable to those in 2002 and 2003. He predicts the Austin area median home price will end the year down somewhere between 1 and 5 percent. Currently the median home price is down one percent from a year ago.

Nationally, home sales have grown at a slow but steady rate since the beginning of the year. According to the Associated Press, sales of previously occupied homes rose by 2.4 percent from April to May, marking the third consecutive increase this year. Foreclosures across the country are bringing out the bargain shoppers and account for about a third of home sales nationally. This has also lowered the national median home price 16.8 percent from where it was a year ago.

Austin certainly has seen a rise in the number of foreclosures over the last eighteen months, but they don't seem to be affecting home values. Foreclosed properties have dragged home values down significantly in some parts of the country, exacerbating the housing crisis even more. However, Austin area foreclosures represent a relatively small fraction of the supply of homes on the market.

Just like the rest of the news on the economy these days, the housing market falls into the category of "not as bad as expected" rather than actual gains. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index measuring home values in 20 major cities is down 18.1 percent, a decline for the third straight month. However, the decline was not a record low and better than analyst expected, according to the Associated Press. In fact, eight of the metro areas in the index posted price gains, including Dallas with the largest increase at 1.7 percent. Overall the index is off nearly 33 percent from the peak in home prices in the spring of 2006.

So, is it a good time to buy a house? All indications are that home prices are fairly stable overall in the Austin area. In fact, analysts like Gaines believe it's much more likely that prices will creep up rather than take a sudden plunge. That may not be good news for the bargain hunters, but it does mean that buying a home right now is a sound investment.


Ki began working with Austin Texas real estate a decade ago. He created a searchable website where buyers can search for Austin homes for sale. In his free time, Ki enjoys the Austin music scene. He also writes on his blog which covers news and statistics on the Austin real estate market

The Federal Reserve has determined that household net worth--all the things of value a person has like houses and checking accounts--dropped nine percent in the last three months. This is the biggest quarterly decline in over fifty years. Things seem bad for the average American these days, but nine percent is nothing compared to the 25% drop in wealth of Dell Inc. CEO Michael Dell.

What's even more interesting is, despite losing billions of dollars last year, Dell actually moved up 15 spots in the list of the world's billionaires. Forbes' annual list of all the world's billionaires was shorter this year and added up to a quite a bit less money. According to an Austin-American Statesman article this week, compared to last year's list of 1,125 billionaires there were only 793 making the list this year. The worth of the world's billionaires was nearly half of what it was last year, dropping from $4.4 trillion to $2.4 trillion.

The average American struggling to make ends meet probably doesn't feel much sympathy for the "struggling" billionaire. However, losing $18 billion dollars can't feel that great to Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates. In Gate's case, this could mean millions less available for his many charitable contributions, not just a little less caviar in the pantry.

The household net worth of Americans has dropped for the sixth straight quarter after reaching a historical high of $64.36 billion in mid 2007. The household net worth is nationally 20 percent below that peak right now. Most Americans feel this drop acutely as paychecks and bank accounts are shrinking.

The unemployment rate is above 10 percent in states like California, South Carolina and Rhode Island. Michigan has the nation's highest jobless rate at 11.6 percent. Texas has been fortunate to have seen some job growth in the last year, keeping the state unemployment rate under seven percent. It is slightly lower for the Austin metro area. The national unemployment rate was 8.1 percent in February.

There was a little good news this week as Citigroup reported a modest profit, causing the stock market to rebound. Both JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup operated at a profit in January and February, a first since 2007. The stock market has remained steady on the hopefulness of the good news this week after weeks of record lows.

But it seems for the most part the news remains grim as companies continue to cut jobs. President Obama said this week that things are not as bad as people think. He is afraid that the nation is working under a "Chicken Little" mentality right now when they should be looking to future with more confidence. While there may be some disparity between the reality versus the perception of this recession, there is no arguing that the financial landscape is different for everyone these days. From the billionaire on down, the bank statement doesn't look as good as it has in years past.

Texas was one of the last states to start feeling the squeeze of this recession and our rugged landscape in many ways remains relatively unchanged. As home prices in the Austin real estate market have started to slide down and unemployment has started to creep up, the area continues to show its resilience. This week is a good example, as drought conditions get a little break with some rain and Austinites celebrate South By Southwest, the future may seem a little more hopeful. It's all relative.

Ki graduated from the University of Texas, and now works in the Austin real estate market. He maintains a website, which has a searchable database drawing from Austin MLS. His site has information on historical mortgage rates along with general information on the Austin real estate market and neighborhood statistics.