SellAustinTexas

Parenting magazine recently named Austin the #2 city for families right behind Washington, D.C.  The magazine compiled data based on quality of schools, affordability of homes, strong job market, parkland space and cultural activities.  The article noted our city’s 27,000 acres of parkland(!), abundance of pools to keep us cool, Town Lake, great schools and many pediatricians.  It also mentions the many year round festivals in Austin and, most importantly, the many innovative companies who make Austin a progressive city.  Other cities include Honolulu, Omaha, Seattle and Boston.

The past year has brought a lot of adjustments to the Austin market.  Here’s a year-end rundown on stats (compiled as of 11-30-2010):

Total dollar volume of single family properties sold: $4,180,259,992 – down 1% from 2009

Average price for single family homes: $194,000 – up 3% from 2009

Single family homes sold: 16,477 – down 6% from 2009

Average days on market: 76 – down 4% from 2009

Looking at the numbers, we saw the average price rise and the average days on market go down – both signs of improvement in the market.  However, the total volume went down in both number of dollars and number of homes.   These up and down stats point to a 2010 Austin real estate market going through a period of adjustment.  It will be interesting to see how 2011 turns out.

Here’s some recent good news in terms of the economy.  According to the Brookings Institution, Austin was one of only 15 major metropolitan areas to experience job growth in all 4 quarters of 2010. Forbes ranked Austin as the 10th most affordable city in the US. It notes our strong high tech job economy.

Portfolio recently named Austin, Texas the #1 city for young adults. Through their 10 part analysis, Austin took top honors with factors including employment growth, per capita income and income growth, education and cost of living.

According to Portfolio, ”two qualities help Austin to stand out among the nation’s largest metros:

— Two thirds of the nation’s major markets have fewer jobs now than five years ago, but Austin added 99,200 jobs during that span. Its annual employment-growth rate of 2.8 percent is the fastest in America.

— Austin has the strongest concentration of young people among the 67 metros. Twenty-eight percent of its residents are between the ages of 18 and 34.”

The southwest region as a whole is a thriving one for young adults, home to five of their top 10 cities. Portfolio also published an interactive map of their results, so you can see how your city stacks up. 

Austin continues to stand out for employment and income numbers, but also quality of life. If you would like an emailed or mailed information packet on the work and activities Austin has to offer, contact us today.

Yesterday, Forbes released their feature on US Cities on the Rise: vibrant cities welcoming the most newcomers. They’re not the big cities you’d think they are – in fact, New York is at the bottom of the list. It turns out Americans are most attracted to “job growth centers,” and college towns.

Three of the cities on the list are home to major universities, including Austin, Texas. Many young professionals, and everyone in thes areas, are very welcoming to newcomers. “If there are lots of newcomers, it’s easier to make friends; there’s a sense of vibrancy there,” says a senior fellow of the Brookings Institution, about these areas. “Places that don’t have a lot of new migrants tend to be older and more stagnant. They’re also more close-knit.”

Another draw to these cities are the universities themselves: universities are top employers and offer a steady flow of jobs. The population is educated, and it helps cities like Austin thrive. Says a senior fellow at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard, “these places retain people after they’ve graduated, and attract like-minded people.”

Austin sits at #4 on the list of US Cities on the Rise, with a population just over a million people and just over 6% of them having relocated to the area in 2008.

The monthly Texas Economy Review, from the Real Estate Center (at Texas A&M University) uses employment data, by area and industry, to rank growth and economy health throughout 26 metro areas in the State of Texas.

The data places Austin-Round Rock as 5th for employment growth, and ahead the state average. The report also places Austin-Round Rock as 9th lowest unemployment rate, almost a full percent below the state average.

The reason for some of these numbers may be behind what industries are hiring: the government sector, for one, added 40,600 jobs in the past year. With the capitol being in Austin, the State of Texas was already Austin’s biggest employer (followed by the 5th largest employer, the US Government; the 6th largest employer, the City of Austin; and the 13th largest, Travis County).

59,000 jobs were added in health care and social assistance. Four of Austin’s top 25 employers are healthcare networks or hospitals, including Seton, the largest non-profit healthcare network in Texas. Also gaining 3,000 jobs in the past year is the arts/entertainment, recreation, accommodation and food service industry.

While Texas has experienced a negative job growth of 2.6%, it has fared better than the rest of the nation’s loss of 4.2% of non-farm jobs. Austin, with a negative job growth of 0.2%, is one of the first and largest areas to show strong signs of recovery, and continues to be a great area to live in.