Dee Copeland’s Blog

Mueller Austin is quickly becoming an energetic community hub within Austin city limits. It’s been almost a year since the first residents moved into one of the diverse neighborhoods,  Located just three miles from downtown and two miles from the University of Texas.

Robert Mueller who first envisioned the redevelopment of Municipal Airport into a mixed-use urban village. The result is an award-winning sustainable community being developed by Catellus Development Group. 

Read Also: Mueller Austin among best green real estate in the U.S.

New homes and jobs

Mueller’s 711-acre site, when complete, will become home to approximately 10,000 people, 10,000 permanent employees, more than 1,100 affordable homes and approximately 140 acres of public open space, including:

• Nearly 4,600 single-family, condo or apartment homes (at least 25 percent reserved for families who qualify for affordable housing)
• More than 140 acres of parks and perimeter greenways
• A town center with cafes, shops, plazas and live/work spaces planned to include at least 30 percent locally-owned businesses
• 5 miles of new hike and bike paths
• Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas (open)
• The University of Texas Medical Research Campus
• Austin Film Studios (open)
• Connections to public transportation
• Regional retail (open)
• State-of-the-art rental apartments
• A broad variety of new home opportunities–both for rent and for sale
• Class A office space

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The buying season heated up in Central Texas in May according to the Austin Board of REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service (MLS) May 2008 sales report.  Single-family home sales in May are up slightly over April 2008 numbers, when 1,981, homes sold. Homes are spending fewer days on the market and overall, the real estate market continues to reflect conditions similar to those of 2005, before the unusual boom in 2006.

Take a look at May single family sales statistics compared to 2007:

No matter which city you live in, inventory is still high. Still, Texas is fairing better than the rest of the nation. Austin’s current home inventory is below.

AUSTIN REAL ESTATE MARKET FORECAST- Mid Year Update 2008

The Austin Home Builder Association (HBA) held their semi-annual market update last week. Their research shows that the market is slated to remain low through Third Quarter 2008, then pick up by Winter 2008 or early 2009. Mark Sprague with Vesta Strategies thought buyers and sellers should be relieved to see a “cleansing of the market”, which was overheated by real estate speculators.

Great areas to buy include the Southtown area in South Austin, but also other areas such as Round Rock, Pflugerville and Kyle due to coming Seton Hospital complexes and other large mixed-use developments.

Read Also: Austin real estate is a great buy for boomers and empty nesters.

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Who pays if we don’t create affordable housing for Austin real estate? 

This question was posed at the Austin Neighborhood Housing and Community Development’s Affordable Housing Forum, held last Friday (June 13). The third in the forum series on affordable housing issues for real estate in Austin featured Ken Bacon, VP for Housing and Community Development at Fannie Mae. (Fannie Mae recently reduced down-payment requirements nationwide).

Austin real estate consistently ranks among the fastest-growing metro areas in the nation. Demand continues to rise for housing. We recently wrote about the issue of affordable housing in Austin, citing  key issues facing developers and investors. One example of development problems in Central and East Austin includes the building of duplexes on infill lots.

Are the duplexed condos more affordable than regular Austin homes or are developers just going for double their money? 

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The Austin Board of REALTORS sent an alert last week to encourage agents to vote for Austin city council candidate Cid Galindo.

Galindo faces Laura Morrision in a runoff that ends on June 14th. The main point of contention is the recent Point of Sale Ordinance that is part of the Mayor Wynn’s Climate Protection Plan.

Read also: Austin Board of Realtors Opposition to the Point of Sale Ordinance

REALTORS support the Climate Protection plan, but oppose the specific provision that requires upgrades before an Austin home sale is completed. REALTORS think this will increase Austin real estate sales times, hampering home sales and causing grief to Austin home buyers and sellers.

Read also: Mayor Will Wynn’s Climate Protection Plan.

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You may remember reading a couple of months ago that the “Titanic-size” Villa Muse development project was in trouble and going under fast; a statement made by Villa Muse last week confirms the ship has sunk – at least in Austin.  After Austin City Council refused to release some 2,000 acres in East Travis County from its jurisdiction, it is now being reported that Bastrop, TX, despite its efforts to keep the dealings hush-hush, is courting the film-based developers. Villa Muse says it is also considering several other cities, all in Texas, with hopes to break ground before the end of the year.

Though the $2.5 billion mixed use commercial and residential project promised to bring up to 110,000 jobs and growth in the film industry, City Council looked long-term at the plans and ultimately ruled that 40 years of freedom from city regulations and environmental protection rules was not a risk worth taking for the city of Austin.

It remains unclear as to what will happen with the option Villa Muse holds on the original land east of Austin in Manor. Other cities with strong possibilities include Kyle, Cedar Park, Leander, and other outlying areas.

To learn more about Austin TX real estate, please call me at 512-697-9140 or visit CopelandGroupRealty.com.  You may also begin searching for homes here!

The goal of Plum Creek is to provide uncommon living for the common man. This 2,200 acre master-planned, new urbanist community is located 17 miles south of Austin in Kyle, Texas and incorporates all the amenities of schools, recreational parks, residential neighborhoods and commercial centers. Plum Creek is a pedestrian friendly community with winding streets, sidewalks and traditional architecture enhanced by neighbor friendly front porches. The goal is to get you closer to the other places in our lives including schools, parks, shops, and jobs.  Residential offerings are a mix of traditional cottages, elegant golf-course homes and duplex townhomes. Single family homes start in the low $100s $300,000 and townhomes in the $90s. Neighbors are the hardworking folk this country is know for…firefighters, teachers, medical personnel, and government or civic employees. Plum Creek is committed to providing ‘life-cycle’ housing, allowing its residents to mature with the community.

The average commute for a Plum Creek resident is 34 minutes, the new Kyle Parkway exit that leads to Plum Creek is only 10 minutes south of Slaughter Lane on IH-35.

• Plum Creek began in the 1900’s as a 2,600-acre, cattle and goat grazing, and cotton concern known as Mountain City Ranch owned by Richard and Laura Negley.
• In 1997, the Negley family, seeking the highest and best use for the property, formed the Beenchmark Development Company and developed the ranch into the mix-use traditional neighborhood we have today.
• Construction of both homes and the Plum Creek Golf course started in 1999. Plum Creek Homes was the first builder followed by Milburn Homes, Legacy Homes and Pulte Homes.

Plum Creek was an immediate success and in 2002 was the fastest selling community in the Austin metro area. Builders currently involved in Plum Creek are Legacy Homes, KB Home and Bowen Family Homes. A few hundred acres are set aside for mixed-use. Plum Creek Square is already home to Central Texas Medical Center, Day Spa, Dry Cleaners, Dance Studio, CTT, and State Farm Insurance.

Offering A Better Life

Living in Plum Creek means being able to walk from your home to the doctor’s office or the coffee shop, and where your children can walk safely to and from school.

You can practice your swing on Plum Creek’s challenging 18-hole golf course, reel-in ‘your catch of the day’ at the 30-acre fishing lake, or stroll along the scenic hike and bike trails that surround the lake and golf course area.

You can picnic at one of the community parks or cool off at the pool. The onsite amenities center is the perfect gathering spot for community-focused activities. There is a sports court — great for a little one-on-one action and a colorful playscape for little ones to enjoy. And parents can take advantage of the onsite childcare facility, which offers a wide range of educational programs from a curriculum for stimulating infants to tutoring for school-age children. 
 
In addition, Plum Creek is planning a future village center that will include the newly completed Performing Arts Center, charming restaurants, and shops. Elementary school children attend the new on-site Laura Burleson Negley elementary school and pre-schoolers can attend Rocking Horse Academy. Within the community is the Central Texas Medical Center. A 113-bed acute care medical center which provides over 30 specialties, including emergency services. If lifestyle is an important consideration when choosing your new home, visit Plum Creek and see why it continues to be one of the top-selling comminities in Central Texas.

Search all Plum Creek homes for sale or find out what your Plum Creek home is worth.

Austin Board of REALTORS® sent an email alert today to propose a change to Mayor Wynn’s Climate Protection Plan.  So far, it looks like REALTORS® agree with most aspects of the plan. Like most solutions, there’s a few areas of contention. Here’s what the email alert outlined:What’s this about?

In early 2007, Austin Mayor Will Wynn released the Climate Protection Plan with the goal of making Austin the “greenest” city in the country, [including] the “Proposed Point of Sale Ordinance”….The city’s proposal would require that homeowners upgrade their homes and obtain a “Certificate of Compliance” from the city before they’re able to sell it. We oppose this plan for several reasons:

• Affordability – This type of out-of-pocket expense will prevent many homeowners from having the option to sell their home, particularly if they need to sell due to a difficult financial situation. In addition, the cost will inevitably be passed on to homebuyers, making it even more difficult to afford a home in Austin. 

• Extended sales process – Arranging the additional inspections needed to obtain a Certificate of Compliance (not to mention actually making the upgrades to properties) would draw out the time required to sell homes substantially. Further, Austin doesn’t currently have enough home inspectors in our city to fill the anticipated demand, promising even further delays. 

• Mandates- Do we want to require a “license” for homeowners to sell? – As it’s proposed now, this ordinance would essentially require that homeowners apply to the city for a “license” to sell their home (i.e. Certificate of Compliance). Do we want to spend our city’s resources on this activity and add this complication to the real estate process? Austinites buy and sell more than 25,000 homes each year…

What’s the alternative?

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If you own or recently purchased a lot in Austin with the intent to build more than one unit or a duplex, throw your current plans away. A crucial City Planning Commission vote tomorrow could drop some Central Austin land values by at least 50%.

For background, the Austin City Planning Commission reviewed changes to city design standards through a task force. The Residential Development Standards Task Force first met December 2007 and briefed Austin City Council in February.

Most guidelines are well-received, but one in particular may negatively impact Austin duplexes and infill lots, especially in East and Central Austin.

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In today’s ‘green conscious’ society, not only is there a moral obligation not to destroy and discard, but to recycle and reuse.

The eco-friendly ‘unbuild’ has now become an option to the traditional ‘tear-down’ of Austin real estate. According to a Wall Street Journal article, an unbuilt house can be carefully disassembled, piece by piece, and the parts used for a new house and/or donated for reuse elsewhere. Whatever is donated can be deducted from income tax.

‘Unbuilding’ an Austin home may be the right thing to do for many reasons, but saving time and money is not top of the list. It will take longer to ‘unbuild’, but at least a couple of weeks and may end up being more expensive in the long run, even after any tax deductions. But, other benefits are the reuse of materials such as beautiful aged brick from fireplaces, stone foundations, custom woodwork, decorative tile or antique fixtures and working appliances.

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Here’s some background on popular Travis Heights, one of South Austin’s oldest neighborhoods. Making a drive through the area a pleasure to the eyes with its lush mature landscaping, charm and history.

Located south of the Colorado River and tucked between Interstate 35 and South Congress Avenue and in the 78704 zip code, Travis Heights is a desirable address among professionals who are looking for a quiet neighborhood close to downtown.

Development of Travis Heights started in the late 1880s. It was an ideal place for a “country mansion” away from downtown. At that time, the only way across to cross the Colorado River was by ferry, making the Travis Heights location extremely desirable. However, few mansions were ever built.

In the 1920s, real estate developer, Travis Heights, built smaller homes with carriage houses and detached garages, which today have been turned into much desired apartments. There is an ongoing battle between developers and residents who wish to preserver the integrity of the neighborhood. Many of the older homes have been torn down in recent years for ‘McMansions, which are usually bigger than the older 1920s homes.  

Reasons To Buy Travis Heights Real Estate Read the rest of this entry