I saw an interesting update on the Austin real estate market this morning that was put together by a local research firm.  Some of the highlights for you numbers people:

1.7 million square feet of space absorbed and rents up almost 6%.  A lot of that was in the Domain and in Southpark Meadows.

City apartment occupancy was at almost 97%.  Rents were up slightly to an average of $0.94 per square foot.  Keep in mind that this average includes anything from subsidized rents (Section 8) to high end downtown apartments.  Absorption for the first half of 2007 was over 4600 units, which is the strongest number in several years.

Absorption of office space has slowed to just over 86% in June, largely due to a lot of new space.

The vacancy rate for industrial space dropped to 11%.  Warehouse space has a vacancy rate of 9%.  There is still quite a bit of industrial space under construction.

From another report, residential home prices appreciated 11% in early 2007.

Mark Dotzour, economist for the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M expects Central Texas to outperform both the nation and the state with a 3.5% job growth rate.   He stated that he expects home prices to continue healthy appreciation over the next 12 months due to job growth and a tight supply.

If you're interested in the full report, contact me.