Austin Real Estate Blog

Fortune magazine has released its list of the top 100 places to work in the country and two Austin companies - Whole Foods Market Inc. and National Instruments - were included in the list.

Companies were selected to be included on the list according to pay, benefits, job security and a variety of other factors. In the end, a total of 13 Texas companies were included on the list, which was more than any state other than California. California has a total of 16 companies included on the list, but Whole Foods Market Inc managed to grab the 18th position while National Instruments came in at number 87 making it the 11th consecutive year the company has been included on the list. Other Texas employers to be included on the list were:

•    Camden Property Trust -…

Austin's Sail and Ski Center recently announced that it has been selected to host the AquaPalooza Signature Event in 2010. Advertised as "The World's Largest Boat Party," the AquaPalooza event showcased 15,600 boats last year and saw 84,000 visitors. This year, organizers expect the event to be even bigger than last year.

Held during the last two weekends in July, the free AquaPalooza event was created by Sea Bass Boats and is open to both boaters as well as non-boaters. This is the first time the event will be held on Lake Travis, however, as the lake levels had been to low in the past to host the event.

"Unfortunately the rains didn't come and the lake levels continued to drop off, so we were not able to host the event," said Laura Mitchell, who is a

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Several new laws affecting homeowners went into effect on January 1 of this year. Although there are numerous new laws that Texas residents should learn more about, those that specifically affect homeowners include new laws that are meant to lower property taxes as well as those that are meant to improve the home appraisal process.

Several new pieces of legislation related to property taxes were passed by lawmakers last year. One of these includes legislation that will limit what is known as a "comparable sale" as well as creating a new arbitration process. Additional legislation establishes new requirements for requesting to increase the amount of a property appraisal after successfully completing an appeal.

According to an Austin Biz Journals report, Texas…

Austin is planning to make a bid on becoming one of the sites for the ultra-fast broadband network that is being considered by Google Inc and that will significantly increase the speed of Internet access throughout the city.

Earlier this month, Google announce plans to build one or more high-speed networks in an effort to demonstrate the advantages of having fast Internet access. Through the proposed project, the system would be 50 to 100 times faster than the fastest commercial broadband services typically available in the United States. By offering this super fast service, the company hopes to jumpstart the development of next-generation online services while also demonstrating how to build and operate such a network.

Many within the Austin community think…

According to the Austin Board of Realtors, home sales in central Texas increased by 5% in January when compared to home sales from just one year ago. In fact, the median sale price of homes rose by 1% to $179,250.

Seeing an increase in the median price of homes is certainly good news, as it is a positive sign that the economy in Austin is working toward rebounding as real estate prices start to move in an upward direction. Or course, the increase in prices is also an indicator that those who were looking to take advantage of the fall in prices may have lost out on the opportunity to purchase properties at their lowest price. Still, it is not too late to pick up a piece of Austin real estate at a much lower price than it would have been just a couple years…

Snow is a rare event for Central Texas, but the Austin area recently had some of the best snow we have seen in years.  This last Tuesday the snow started to fall in the morning and by the end of the day some areas had up to two inches of snow on the ground.  The northwest side of Austin saw the most accumulation.  Here are some pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the country works toward digging its way out of the recession, all eyes have been focused on the housing market. After all, the fall out of the housing market was the biggest contributor to our current economic situation and, therefore, stabilizing the market is the key to enjoying a full economic recovery. Unfortunately, many markets are still continuing to struggle throughout the country, but others are starting to show signs of stabilization. In fact, according to the Austin Board of Realtors and the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin, Austin's home market has neared stabilization and may even enjoy a slight rebound this year.

There are many reasons to think that Austin's home marker it near stabilization, but one of the biggest indicators…

According to McGraw-Hill Construction, construction activity is expected to pick up some momentum in 2010, with the city of Austin enjoying the greatest growth. In fact, the 2010 Texas Construction Outlook predicts that construction starts will increase in value by 16 percent this year, with a total statewide value of $52.5 billion. Austin will nearly double the statewide prediction, with the report forecasts indicating that the city's construction starts will increase in value by 30%.

Austin isn't the only city that will surpass the statewide predictions, but some other major Texas cities are predicted to fall short of the state average. Some of the other predictions include:

•    Houston - predicted to grow by 17%
•    Dallas - predicted to grow by 16%
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According to the Texas Workforce Commission, unemployment levels within the Austin and Round Rock area fell by 6.9% in November. While this is still up from the 4.9% rate that the area was experiencing just one year ago, it does represent a decline in unemployment when compared to the previous month.

Previous data indicated that the unemployment rate in the Austin and Round Rock area was 7.2% in October. Compared to the state average of 7.9%, the Austin and Round Rock area is doing quite well with its 6.9% rate. This pattern remains true to the rates from the previous month, with the statewide unemployment rates being at 8.1% in October compared to the 7.2% rate of the Austin and Round Rock area. Similarly, the state had a 5.4% unemployment rate one month

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As you prepare your home for sell, you need to be certain to check each room carefully in order to make sure it looks its absolute best.  By following these simple tips, you can make sure each room looks its best for your potential buyer.

Bedrooms

When preparing your home for a showing, you want to make sure each bedroom looks its absolute best.  If you have a room that could be a bedroom but is being used for a more personal use, such as a music studio or a sewing room, it is generally better to change it back to a bedroom if at all possible.  This way, the potential buyer can more easily “see” himself or herself living in the home.

Some other steps you should take in order to make sure the bedrooms look great include:

•    Repair any cracks that the room may…