The real estate market in Austin

And so checking out the real estate market in Austin has begun. We have done at least a "drive-by" on about 50 houses so far. Of course there is a fair amount of sticker shock as we had expected but there are oodles of properties on the market so one might hope that this will eventually result in a softening of prices. Our house on Canterbury Hill was on 1/3 acre and sold for about $240/sq ft. which at least gives us a point of reference. You can see it at:

http://www.phyllisbrowning.com/content/PropertyDetail.aspx?TABLE=mdbCondos&PB=Y&ID=9565

In Austin, the houses we have looked at range from about 230 – 380/sq ft, depending on location and lot size. We also checked out a few condos that ranged from about $200 - $300/sq ft. Lot sizes are typically small (about 0.2 acres or less) tho’ further out they are more likely to be 1/3 – ½ acre.

Given the topography with its multiple canyons, views represent a selling point. Either the Hill Country ....



or the city ......

!!!!

Of course, as always, we like the “older” (20s/30s) houses ......



but the reality is that most are in neighbourhoods that are way out of our price range.

Even the older “cottages” in desirable areas ......



come pretty pricey, especially if the renovation is high quality .....

.

We have also seen a few new-retro houses that we like .......



and some seem to be built to relatively high standards.

As you get further out, the available square footage goes up as does the lot size. Limestone exteriors seem popular tho’ this one clearly needs repainting in a colour that compliments the stone rather than tries to match it ......

.

We have looked at a few condos. Most are in the 1700-2300 sq ft range. This one was right in town, off Barton Springs Road .....



but the issue usually is one of floor plan …. just not enough rooms for two retirees who spend much of the day in the house.

We have pretty much decided that the best balance of price/house seems to be in MLS areas 1B, 4, 6, 7, & the southern part of 8.



That’s Highland Hills-Balcones Park in the NW, Rosedale-Allandale to the north, Travis Heights/Barton Heights/Barton Hills to the south and Rollingwood to the southwest.

That’s still a lot to choose from and there is the rest of the USA to consider yet.