Austin Real Estate Guy Blog

The Lake Travis ISD is adding a 6th elementary school.  Ground just broke for the new 103,000 square foot school in the subdivision of West Cypress Hills.  West Cypress is about 10 minutes west of Bee Cave off Highway 71.  The school will be able to accommodate 850 students.

The school is needed because a demographic study indicated that the Lake Travis ISD is adding around 400 new students per year.  The growth is being fueled largely by families moving into new homes in communities like Rocky Creek, Ladera, Sweetwater, Serene Hills and Rough Hollow.  There is a lot of new home building in these communities.  Families are moving to the area for the lifestyle and the quality of the schools.

Looking at an attendance boundary map it appears that a lot of households feeding into Bee Cave Elementary School will send kids to the new school.  It will be interesting to see a new attendance map.

• 2,503 sq. ft., 3 bath, 4 bdrm 2 story - MLS $350,000

Lakeway, Travis County  -  Great Lakeway home backing to the Yaupon Golf Course. Open floor plan downstairs with the kitchen looking into the informal dining area and the living room. Kitchen features granite counters, white cabinets, stainless steel appliances and a huge pantry. The home has a large back yard that appears to be able to accommodate a pool. The huge room upstairs can be a game room or a large bedroom.

Property information

This is not my listing, but I listed and sold it back in 2004.  I am helping a colleague promote her listing. 

 

 

 

 

Or should I say – here we grow again?  Austin developers are proposing a $500 million development at the corner of East Cesar Chavez and Red River.  The project would add 3 new high-rise buildings to Austin’s downtown skyline.  One could become Austin’s tallest building with as many as 65 stories.  This tower would house a hotel and condominiums.

Another proposed buildings would be 35-45 stories and it would contain apartments.  The third building would be between 17 and 20 stories and it would contain offices and retail space.  The developers hope to begin construction next year.

Being next to Waller Creek, the developers would like to turn that section of the creek into something similar to the Riverwalk in San Antonio.  There has been talk of transforming Waller Creek in downtown Austin and this might get that done.

The photo is of the Austonian, the tallest building in Austin now.  It rises 56 stories.

I checked the Austin MLS this morning to look at statistics for April and was amused and a little baffled at what I saw.  It showed the most expensive home sold in Austin in April sold for over $8.7 billion.  I don’t know about anyone else, but that is a little pricey.  It showed the least expensive home sold went for less than $200.  That was $0.10 per square foot.  Of course these figures cannot be correct.  Someone must have goofed when entering sold data.  I hope corrections will be made, but this made me chuckle a bit.

I took these photos at my dad's house after getting them established for a year.  Some these are of flowering native Texas plants and these are the ones you want around your Austin home if you do not want to have to water much. They will perform better during hot summer months with supplemental water, but they do not require much. Other photos are of Texas wildflowers.

 

The famous Bluebonnet, the state flower of Texas, close to the end of its bloom cycle.

 

This is a Cherry Sage, a form of Salvia, and the hummingbirds absolutely love it.  Actually the love just abut all of these!  This is to the left of the front door of the house.

This is a Mealy Blue Sage and is just down the hill from the home's foundation.  The wildflowers behind the Sage are Mexican Blankets - more on them in a moment.

 

This is some form of Salvia that has a multi-colored bloom.  This is just outside the front door. 

This is an Indigo Spires.  It is on the small side now, but will grow to stand over 3 feet high.  This is in a bed in front of the house.

These are Mexican Blankets.  They come out when the Bluebonnets are going to seed and  stick around for about 3 weeks.  They also spread like crazy.  When they are about ready to go to seed the Mexican Hats will bloom.

Not sure what this cluster of red wildflowers are, but I like them.

Native Texas Verbena.  These can blanked an entire field.

This is a young Coral Honeysuckle.  I divided a much larger plant and put this one in this bedding area covered in cedar mulch.

The drooping spiked blooms belong to a Salvia Leucantha.  Growing up through it and behind it are Larkspur.  You can see the star-shaped bloom in the background.  Like the Mealy Blue Sage and Indigo Spires, this will grow to around 4 feet and will be covered with these long blooming stems when they mature.

OK, this is not a flowering plant, but I have a point to make - and it will tie up this post nicely.  I like to call these our James Hardin trees - some of you will get that.  My younger brother and I cut and mulched over 100 cedar trees from this 4 acre property that I affectionately call the Helotes Hilltop House.  Helotes is the small suburb of San Antonio dad is in.  With the cedar removed the oaks had access to just about all of the rain that fell.  They also got sunlight all the way down their trunks.  The result?  Growth all up and down the trunk and along all branches.

Another nice thing about clearing the cedar is that it allowed other plants to grow that had been starved for sunlight for many years.  We have Texas Persimmon trees, Carolina Buckthorn, Mistflower and of course all the wildflowers.  We also got close to 20 cubic yards of cedar mulch and that has been used extensively in bedding areas and around Shumard and Red Oaks that I planted.

All for now, any comments? 

It looks like Austin and central Texas will have another dry summer and with that in mind it is time to think about conserving water.  Our water supply comes from lakes in the Colorado River basin and local aquifers.   Lakes Travis and Buchanan are at close to 40% of capacity and are going down daily.  With steady population growth the demand for water continues to increase.  With available supply decreasing, we all need to find ways to cut back on water consumption.  So what should we do?

1.  Take short showers, not baths.  Filling a bathtub uses a lot more water than a shower.  A short shower uses less water than a long one.  Also, reduce the rate of flow when you shower.

2.  Do laundry only when you have full loads.  This should be self explanatory.

3.  Similar to #2, run the dishwasher only when you have full loads.

4.  Do not let the water run when brushing your teeth.

5.  Men, when shaving keep water in the sink to rinse the razor rather than running the water.

6.  Use a sprayer when washing your car rather than letting a hose run.  You can control water usage by spraying when wetting and rinsing your car.

7.  After mowing your lawn, use a broom or blower rather than the hose to clear your driveway and sidewalk.

8.  Hand water your plants rather than using a sprinkler.  This cuts down on evaporation and concentrates water where the plants really need it.

9.  Water your lawn in the early morning hours before the sun comes up.  It will already be wet with dew and the rate of evaporation will be low.  Also avoid watering when it is windy to ensure that the water remains where you want it.  Make sure you deep soak the lawn.  This encourages deeper root growth and causes the grass to require less water.

10. Make sure you have adequate mulch around your plants.  This will reduce evaporation after watering and will require less watering.

11. Use native plants in your landscape.  They generally require less water than many plants imported from elsewhere.

12.  If you have a lawn, plant a grass that requires the least amount of water.  Also, keep it mowed at the height recommended by a nursery.

13. Check for leaks in toilets, faucets and pipes for leaks.  A good way to do this is to read the water meter every 2 hours when not running any water.  If it moves, you have leaks.

14. Install low-flow shower heads, faucets and toilets.

15. Insulate all visible pipes.  This way you will not have to run as much water to get it hot or cold enough.

16.  OK, the post title was for 15 ways to conserve water, but this is a bonus for people who have room for this. If you have a tile or metal roof, install a rainfall capturing system.  I know I said we are likely to have a dry summer, but if you can capture and store 2,500 or more gallons of water when it does rain, that can go a long way towards your water use for landscaping or car washing.

There are currently just 12 homes for sale in Circle C Ranch.  The most affordable is a 2,288 square foot priced at $299,000, or just under $131 per square foot.  The most expensive Circle C home for sale is listed for $684,484, or almost $153 per square foot.  

During the last 30 days Circle C had 13 homes sell.  The average sold price was a bit over $376,000, which was almost $126 per square foot.  Homes averaged just 26 days on the market before selling.  In addition, there are 27 homes under contract at this time in Circle C.

During the same time period in 2012 Circle C had 16 home sales.  The average sold price was $314,500, or $127.38 per square foot.  The average days on market before selling was just 25 days.

For the same 30 days in 2011 there were 14 Circle C homes sold.  They averaged$289,600, which was $116.16 per square foot.  These homes averaged 25 days on the market.  

As you can see, Circle C has been a hot market for a while.  Prices have risen pretty dramatically and for the past several years homes in this southwest Austin neighborhood have sold very quickly.

That means that anyone serious about buying a Circle C home needs to be prepared to make an offer the day they find the right home.

Interest in Circle C homes?  Call me at 512-293-2422.

US News has released its list of Top High Schools in Country and in Texas recently.   Something I found extremely interesting was that the top 500 included a huge number of what looked to be magnet, charter and specialty schools.  In general, public schools did not do as well.  That is what makes the Austin schools on the list impressive – the ones listed below are public high schools.

Coming in at #144 in the nation and #22 in Texas nationally was Westwood.  Westlake placed at #153 nationally and #26 in the state.  Placing #381 nationally and #47 in Texas was Cedar Park.  Dripping Springs ranked #529 in the country and #58 in Texas.  Following Dripping Springs was Bowie at #583in the nation and #64 in Texas.  Lake Travis followed a #607 nationally and #66 in Texas.  Four other Austin area high schools were in the top 100 in Texas.  They were McCallum, Anderson and Leander.

I don't know what happened with Lake Travis High School.  It used to outrank almost all other public high schools in Austin. I do know that one thing that has always helped Westwood rank so highly.  It has an International Baccalaureate program

School quality is very important to people and anyone moving to Austin with kids should research area schools to help them decide where to make a home purchase.  Just because a high school rates well does not necessarily mean that the middle and elementary schools feeding the high school also excel.  So Austin home buyers – do your own homework on schools.

Over the last so many years a lot of Austin home buyers, especially the younger crowd, started thinking they did not need a Buyer’s Agent.  Many would go to Zillow or the county appraisal district for their research.  What they did not realize is that information there about the market value for a house is not accurate.   In addition, information on Zillow can be terribly outdated.  Home buyers in Texas - do not use Zillow.

First, please understand that Texas is a non-disclosure state.  Sellers do not need to tell the county or anyone else how much their house sold for.  This is only accessible to members of the Austin Board of REALTORS (ABoR).  As a member, I can see how much a house sold for and how many days it took to sell.  Using this data I can search for properties that are comparable to one a buyer wants to make an offer and come up with a good offer price.

I have had people call me and ask me to show them a house they found on Zillow, but when I accessed the local MLS, the place was already sold.  For accurate information people should use my Austin home search feature, Realtor.com or Austinhomesearch.com.  These all get their data from the local Board so it is accurate and real-time.  Keep in mind you will not find sold data here.

People trying to avoid a Buyer’s Agent often think they have all their homework done and that they can get a seller to reduce the price of a house by the amount a Buyer’s Agent would have been paid.  So one of these buyers may put together data from Zillow and the county and go directly to the Listing Agent to make an offer.  The problem with this is what they want to offer may be way off the mark and they may just end up insulting the seller.

So Austin home buyers, please use a good Buyer’s Agent, not Zillow or Trulia.

Summer is approaching and the Austin area is looking pretty dry.  In 2011 over 31,000 fires consumed more than 4 million acres and destroyed 2,947 homes and 2,804 other structures in Texas according to sources at Texas A&M University.  For anyone living in a heavily treed environment certain precautions should be taken in case we experience another high-fire season.

Nobody seems to like cutting trees down, but tree removal should be considered if trees are within 30-50 feet of a home or another structure.   Cedar trees should be the first to go.  With their very high oil content, cedars should be the first trees to go.  When cedar trees succumb to drought conditions and die they become highly flammable.  Home owners may want to keep oaks, but should consider having them pruned.  Before pruning oaks, people should check with an Austin arborist about the right time of year as oak wilt can be a very real threat.

Austin area home owners should also consider having a well manicured lawn with not many bushes close to the house.  Bushes can be fodder for fire.  A healthy lawn can help prevent a fire from traveling across a property.  For homes with sprinkler systems, residents should be prepared to turn them on if a wildfire approaches.

Before cutting any trees residents within city limits should check with the city about tree removal as some require permits or restrict tree removal.

I have gotten a lot of calls from people moving to Austin wanting to rent for 6 to 12 months before buying a home.  Most do not know the area and want to get to know it before selecting part of the Austin area in which to purchase a home.  A few years ago I thought this was a good idea, but my thoughts in our current conditions have changed.

A few years ago the Austin real estate market was a bit slow.  Prices were stagnant and homes were taking a while to sell.  In today’s market homes are selling very quickly in many parts of Austin and prices are rising much more quickly than usual.  If people move to Austin and rent for a year, home prices could be up 10 to 15% or more and that may just price them out of an area they like.

So what to do?  If you are a moving to Austin my recommendation is to visit the area 2-3 times for at least 3 days during each visit.  Drive the area, get to know traffic patterns, neighborhoods, where major shopping is.  Of course you can do a lot of research on the internet before ever visiting Austin.

When I have people visit Austin for the first time I like to meet with them for around 30 to 45 minutes.  I go over the area on a map and then ask a lot of questions.  I want to know their price range, whether they are pre-approved for a mortgage, what they want in terms of neighborhood amenities, how important schools are, where they will commute to each day, whether or not they travel a lot (distance to the airport) and other things.  

When I have answers I can direct them to various parts of Austin and then turn them loose.  I do not like playing tour guide and showing homes on their first visit unless they have already narrowed things down online.  I would rather have buyers drive the area and get to know it.  I encourage them to call me with questions as they explore the area.  Once they have had a visit or two they usually know where they want to be.

After a couple of visits to Austin, home buyers should have a good idea of where they want to end up.  When they are ready to buy, we’ll be able to act quickly.

Moving to Austin?  Call me at 512-293-2422.