Ki Gray - Austin Real Estate

On the eastern edge of the Edward’s plateau lies one of Austin’s greatest treasures: the Barton Creek Greenbelt. After millions of years, the runoff of rainwater carved a canyon into the plateau, and created one of Austin’s treasures.

The most popular of Austin’s greenbelts, the Barton Creek greenbelt is just shy of 8 miles long, and covers 809 acres. The greenbelt runs from Zilker Park downtown, to the rocky entrance of Camp Craft Road, just off of the Capital of Texas Highway, with several entrance points in between. Austinites looking for outdoor activities head to the greenbelt every day of the year. There are many nice neighborhoods in the area. The Barton Hills neighborhood is close to the barton creek. And a little farther away the homes in Clarksville offer proximity to Barton Creek and the downtown area.

The creek running through the middle of the greenbelt has attracted people to its waters for several years. The Tonkawa and Apache tribes were drawn to the abundant fresh water, as were other Native Americans for thousands of years. William “Uncle Billy” Barton settled in the area in 1837, and what was known as Spring Creek came to be known as Barton Creek.

Today, many are still drawn to the waters of Barton Creek and its several popular swimming holes, most looking to escape the harsh Texas sun. Though the busiest of the swimming areas is Barton Springs pool in Zilker park, places such as Twin Falls and Sculpture Falls offer not only cool waters, but beautiful sheer cliffs and a more secluded setting as well. The pool at Gus Fruh park gathers crowds of families with young children and dogs because of its section of ankle-deep water, and a younger crowd that enjoys its long, deep section that makes for good swimming, and a rope swing for the more adventurous types. Closer to Zilker park lies Campbell’s hole, with its pebbly beach, and rumored to be visited by Robert E. Lee, and outlaws Bonnie and Clyde. During seasons of heavy rainfall, the current is strong and water level is high, which allows tubers to ride the creek through the city, a recreation usually only achieved out of town on much larger rivers.

The Barton Creek greenbelt also offers many trails throughout the area that differ in size from tight, rocky ledges to widths one could deem drivable. The trails wind through sycamore groves, along the creek bed, through limestone bluffs hiding many caves, and deep into forests of juniper and oak trees. Walkers, runners, and mountain bikers all share the same paths through an oasis that lies within walking distance of Mopac, while seeming very far removed. The serious runners ascend the Hill of Life, the steepest hill on the trail, known to make runners stronger, and its rocky surface preps them for off road races. The limestone cliffs of the greenbelt beckon rock climbers from around the city, with at least six different areas, such as Seismic Wall, New Wall and Great Wall, set up as climbing zones, with routes bolted into the side of the rock.

The greenbelt is known for having a very sensitive ecosystem, and drinking alcohol within its borders was outlawed in 1997 by the Parks and Recreation department since the park staff picked up 18 cubic yards of garbage a week, with 75 percent of the trash turning up as beer bottles and cans. Concerned citizens have done a good job at keeping city growth at bay by forming groups such as the Save our Springs Alliance to protect the quality of water coming off of development in the fragile Barton Springs watershed. Though the population of Austin is increasing dramatically, the Barton Creek Greenbelt has been relatively unharmed by the city’s rapid development, and welcomes all Austinites, new and old, to come play.

Ki is an Austin realtor. He helps buyers and sellers interested in Austin real estate. He website has a free search for buyers of the Austin MLS along with information on condos in downtown Austin.

The Austin real estate stats have been released for November. Although the market is still down from the summer and last year it has shown improvement over the last 3 months. The suburbs are moving slower than central Austin real estate market. And east Austin is moving slower than west Austin. It will be interesting to see what happens in 2008. Part of it will depend on what happens with the national economy.

Ki is a realtor and runs a site about Austin real estate which has information about Austin Condos and Austin Homes.

One of Austin's oldest and most loved neighborhoods in Austin is Hyde Park. Located in Central Austin just north of The University of Texas, Hyde Park is over 100 years old. Founded in 1891 by the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Land and Town Company, the neighborhood was designed and marketed as a lush and spacious suburb that included its own streetcar line and an artificial lake. Today, Hyde Park is one of the most densely populated areas in the city. Noted for it's beautiful tree lined streets and its unique and diverse population, the neighborhood is marked within the boundaries of 51st and 38th Streets to the north and sound, and Red River and Duval to the east and west. The neighborhood has its own monthly newsletter, The Pecan Press, which is delivered to approximately 2,000 Austin homes.

Before moving to Dallas in 1875, the Texas State Fair was held in the eastern section of Hyde Park. In fact, a portion of the former horse track is still reflected in the curved segment of 39th street, the location of The Shipe House which was built using wood from the former race track's grandstand. Another important historic home in Hyde Park is the small castle-style studio named Formosa. The former residence of sculptor Elisabet Ney, now houses a museum dedicated to her work. Hyde Park is full of historic homes and former residences of some of Austin's most influential residents.

The residents of Hyde Park are extremely fortunate in the number of fabulous restaurants and businesses that are part of the neighborhood. The Hyde Park Grille is famous for its French fries and is a wonderful place for a Sunday brunch. Across the street, Mother's has become a city wide favorite for its wide and varied selection of vegetarian specialties. Across East 43rd Street, Asti Trattoria serves up it's sleek and sophisticated cuisine. The Hyde Park Theatre has grown into one of the cities hottest theatre spots. Each January and February, the Theatre hosts Fronterafest the premiere fringe theatre festival in the Southwest.

Located in a city full of festivals, Hyde Park has two annual events that are uniquely its own. Every June, the Hyde Park Neighborhood Association holds its annual Historic Homes Tour. People come from across the state and nation to view the homes and hear the stories of the historic neighborhood. The second annual event is the Fire Station Festival which takes place every October. In the early seventies, the city decided to close Fire Station Number Nine in an effort to cut cost. The residents of the neighborhood banded together and saved the historic building. Every year, the neighborhood gathers together to celebrate this historic building and the brave men and women who call it home.

Because of its location close to the University and downtown, Hyde Park has become a favorite among graduate students and young professionals. In 2006, the median price for a house in Hyde Park was $309,902 and the median price per square foot was $204.

The Austin real estate has numerous submarket. Escapeso Reality can help you navigate and explore the market starting with their online search of the Austin MLS. You can also research the market using their Austin real estate blog.

As many Austinites relish living a healthy lifestyle, it's no surprise that Farmers' Markets are a hit in the city. The markets bring fresh foods from locally grown areas to those looking for an alternative to the goods found in the neighborhood grocery store.

Though many cities don’t have a farmers' market, Austin has had up to five at one time, with the Austin Farmers' Market being one of the most popular. Located both in the center of town, at 4th and Guadalupe, and also north-central in Triangle Park, the Austin Farmers' Market supports local farms, ranches, dairies and nurseries within a 150 mile radius. The central location is open every Saturday and the north location is open Wednesdays year round, rain or shine. The Austin Farmers' Market is a "Grower's Only" market, meaning vendors sell only items that they grow, and nothing that has been imported in any way.

The Austin Farmers' Market began, and is still run, as a project of the local non profit group called the Sustainable Food Center in 2003. With roots dating back to 1975, the Sustainable Food Center was created to "create a Food Secure community by improving access to local, healthy, and affordable food for children and adults in Central Texas." Not only do they donate produce to local area food banks, and teach gardening practices to the public, but by running the Austin Farmers' Market in the middle of town, they also make freshly grown produce accessible to low-income residents.

Now celebrating their 10th year, the Sunset Valley Farmers' Market is also held every Saturday, at Toney Burger Center in South Austin, and was recently voted as the "Best Farmers' Market" in the 2007 Austin Chronicle Readers’ Poll. 75% of the produced sold is grown organically or sustainably, and free of pesticides and fertilizers; participants boast some produce is picked just hours before it is purchased.

Alongside the fresh produce brought in from local vendors, the farmers' markets can entertain and educate, by putting on chef’s demos, providing children’s activities, and having local musicians perform. Also local artisans are invited to sell their wares, and many farmers bring prepared foods, such as jams, salsas, and empanadas, using their own ingredients.

Though many farms bring their goods in from Austin’s surrounding areas, Boggy Creek Farm is possibly the closest, in the heart of East Austin, just off Pleasant Valley Road. Now surrounded by subdivisions, schools, and commercial areas that were all once part of the farm, Boggy Creek Farm sits on 5 acres of hearty soil, and is one of the few truly urban farms in the nation. When they aren't selling their fresh produce at a farmers' market, they help stock Whole Foods grocery store, which sits 3 miles away.

In 2007, environmental magazine GreenLight, named the Austin Farmers' Market as one of their top ten farmers' markets in the country, out of over 4,000 markets. They based their findings on strict adherence to sustainable farming practices, distance from markets to farms, and the market's focus on food and farm-related community and educational projects, among other criteria. Though the farmers’ markets of Austin can be an enjoyable and delicious experience, they are also living up to a high national standard while bringing the urban and farming communities together, and helping out all involved.

The Austin real estate has numerous submarket. Escapeso Reality can help you navigate and explore the market starting with their online search of the Austin MLS. You can also research the market using their Austin real estate blog.

Austin has long been a home for friendly folk- friendly to each other, friendly to animals, and friendly to the environment. What used to be considered as only the concerns of hippies and the bohemian sect, environmentalism is now at the forefront of commercial and residential design, and "green" businesses are popping up nationwide. Austin, however, was the first city in the United States to establish a local green-building program, laying out environmentally friendly and sustainable guidelines for home builders and its interested citizens back in 1991.

Since the Austin real estate market is known nationwide as the leader of these green building methods, the National Association of Home Builders chose the city as its hub to launch an industry-wide effort to establish green-building guidelines in 2004. These guidelines now provide a practical nationally recognized framework for builders to follow to reduce a home’s environmental impact by making them more energy efficient, improving indoor environmental quality, and so on. Though Austin has already been using similar guidelines for over a decade, now the rest of the country is following suit.

The City of Austin and Austin Energy provide a great resource to owners of Austin homes, and new home builders, who are looking for ways to conserve energy, and build an environmentally friendly home. The city’s website offers a list of companies willing to do an energy analysis of a home that will determine possible options to help the house conserve more energy, with suggestions ranging from air conditioning repair to weather stripping doors. The city then will offer a 20 to 75% of that cost.

For those Austinites building a new house or commercial building, the city created the Austin Energy Green Building organization to promote the construction of high quality, more sustainable buildings, and has even zoned sections of the city’s real estate to require an Austin Energy Green Building rating. Four times a year, the organization also holds a one day "Green By Design" workshop open to the public. The workshop provides an overview of the green building process, and brings in design, building, engineering, landscaping, and Austin real estate professionals with many years of experience in homebuilding and remodeling, to help make sense of it all.

In March of this year, Austin was named as the city leading the country in "cleantech" by SustainLane, an online resource center that offers sustainability tips to state and local government. The term "cleantech" refers to venture capital-based startups based in green technology, with Austin as the front runner with seven such startups, ranging from internet-controlled irrigation to geothermal energy technologies. To keep Austin on the cutting edge of green technology, the Clean Energy Incubator program was set up to help young clean energy businesses succeed by commercializing their ideas. With citizens, government, and forward thinking businesses, Austin will likely be the city to follow in the environmental battle for years to come.

Ki is a real estate agent in Austin and can help buyers find a green friendly home in the Austin real estate market. If you are looking for more information on the Austin market his Austin real estate blog is a good place to start your research or you can search for homes on his Austin MLS search.