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 Source: NAI REOC Austin After displaying a tremendous rebound in 2012, the Austin industrial market is off to a measured start in 2013, according to the survey of more than 37 million square feet of industrial lease space. To recap, the total annual amount of industrial space absorbed topped two million square feet last year but roughly 345,000 square feet of that amount was attributed to short-term leases.
The lifespan of some of those short-term commitments expired in the first three months of this year which returned vacant space to the market and worked to slow the pace of growth. As a result, the local industrial market experienced 141,372 square feet of negative absorption in the first quarter which increased the citywide vacancy rate slightly to 13.2% compared to 12.9% last quarter. Vacancy, however, is down significantly compared to 17.4% recorded in the same quarter last year. …Read Entire Post
 Governor Rick Perry recently cited a report released by the Brookings Institution – the latest to highlight the Lone Star State’s strong jobs climate. The report found that Texas leads the nation in job creation with Austin, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Dallas and McAllen creating more jobs now than before the recession. According to the report, Austin saw the highest percentage increase in jobs of any city in the nation. …Read Entire Post
 Austin is one of the best markets in the U.S. for finding an affordable home, according to ZipRealty Inc., a high-tech residential brokerage company. Austin took the seventh position of a top 10 list for finding a housing bargain. …Read Entire Post
 The City of Austin could go through some more growing pains as more people come to call Central Texas home, according to city and housing officials. According to demographic information from the City of Austin, the city’s total area population is expected to increase from 824,205 in 2012 to about 1.09 million in 2030 and to about 1.28 million by 2045. Three areas that could be affected by this increase are housing, water and wastewater service, and the city’s parks. …Read Entire Post
The Austin office market enjoyed a strong fourth-quarter performance punctuated by improved occupancy and increased rental rates. Newly commenced leases and expansions generated 416,080 square feet of positive net absorption in the final quarter of the year which raised the year-end total net gain to 936,358 square feet – one of the strongest annual performances in the past decade. The Austin office market closed the year with a citywide vacancy rate of 15.0%. …Read Entire Post
 Central Texas’ housing recovery will gain even more steam this year, with builders projected to start construction on 9,000 to 10,000 homes. That’s the prediction local housing expert Eldon Rude delivered Tuesday to about 700 industry professionals at the fifth annual housing forecast hosted by the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin and the Austin Board of Realtors. If Rude’s forecast holds, the starts level would be a 10 percent to 20 percent increase over the 7,981 houses that builders started construction on in 2012.
Click to read entire article: Expert: Local housing recovery to rev up in 2013 (Austin American-Statesman, 1-8-13)
 Austin’s housing market is looking bright for the coming year according to Trulia.com, a real estate industry tracking website. Ranked by job growth rate, home price stability, foreclosure rate and vacancy rate, Austin placed 5th healthiest in the nation. In fact, four Texas cities were recognized among the top 10. Click to read full article (Trulia.com, 12-21-12).
- Houston, TX
- San Francisco, CA
- Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, MD
- San Antonio, TX
- Austin, TX
- Seattle, WA
- Omaha, NE-IA
- Peabody, MA
- Fort Worth, TX
- Louisville, KY-IN
New housing starts were strong in Austin during the third quarter, according to a report recently released by Metrostudy. Some 2,369 houses were started in the third quarter, an increase of 37 percent from the third quarter of 2011. There were 1,945 new home closings in the third quarter, an increase of 14 percent from a year ago. Declining inventory is expected to drive up prices.
Click to read full article: Austin housing starts up, inventory down (Austin Business Journal, 11-6-12)
 At the end of the third quarter, the Austin apartment market posted an occupancy rate of 95.75% and average rent of $1.10 per square foot. However, the Austin Investor Interests‘ reports warns that despite the stellar numbers, an element of caution was triggered by a subtle departure from the historical norms. While the third quarter usually brings about an occupancy increase averaging 1.7%, this quarter saw only a .59% rise, on the heels of several quarters of minimal increases. This is concerning to a market that is poised to receive over 8,000 new units during the next twelve months, with an additional 8,800+ expected to start during that same time frame.
The latest Metrostudy report showed that the Austin area new home market, including Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell counties, surged 37% in third quarter. Builders started construction on 2,376 new houses in the three months that ended in September compared with 1,729 in third quarter 2011. That is the highest quarterly level since the second quarter of 2008, when 2,502 starts were recorded. The latest quarterly total brings the area’s annual housing starts rate to 7,193 starts — a 21% increase from the 12-month pace at the end of September 2011.
In related news, the local area’s existing home market continued its upswing in September, with sales of existing homes up nearly 10% and the median price rising 5%, to $198,250, according to Austin Board of Realtors (ABOR). …Read Entire Post
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