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Austin Ranks Number One Nationwide in Economic Recovery

Austin Realtor — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:34:01 +0000

According to the Forbes Business Journal, Austin is tied for first place as the metropolitan area showing the most signs of economic recovery; Washington, D.C. was the other first-place contender. This is in line with 2009 estimates by Forbes that Austin was positioned for a swift rebound; financial analysts predicted at that time that Austin’s economy would grow by $5 billion before 2011. Austin’s speedy recovery was attributed to its strong government sector; as the capital of Texas, Austin benefits significantly from stable government employment in the area.

Austin tops in economic recovery

Aggressive moves to attract new companies by both the city of Austin and the state of Texas have also provided additional employment opportunities. The Austin area has attracted several new employers in recent years including the Hanger Orthopedic Group; Austin is currently in negotiations with Facebook to open an office, as well. Austin’s historically strong education, healthcare, and green technology sectors have ensured that unemployment rates in the metropolitan area remain lower than the state and national average. Recent figures indicate that Austin’s employment picture continues to improve. Job growth in Austin over the past two years approached one percent, the best in the nation; while this growth rate may seem small, it’s worth noting that over the same period the United States as a whole lost jobs and saw unemployment rates skyrocket. In fact, Austin’s employment picture is expected to improve even more over the next three years, with jobs in the area increasing by approximately eight percent overall. One major factor in the stability of the Austin economy is the housing market. While other regions experienced serious declines in property values and increases in foreclosures and unsold homes, homes in Texas retained almost all of their initial value and demand for these homes remained high throughout most of the industry crisis. Most analysts credit reasonable real estate pricing and lack of overbuilding for Austin’s relative stability and economic performance; because Texas real estate prices were never overinflated due to real estate speculation, the collapse of the housing bubble had little effect on the area. These recent figures and predictions spell good news for the Austin real estate and business community. Increased growth and employment is expected to bolster the commercial and residential real estate market and boost new construction, creating still more jobs and growth in the area. This synergy will maintain Austin’s position as one of the best cities in the nation in which to live and work.

Good News for Austin's Commercial Real Estate Market

Austin Realtor — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 00:09:31 +0000

Offices and other commercial space in Austin are bucking the national trend of falling rents and difficult financing.

A recent Grubb & Ellis Company forecast lists Austin, Texas as the number one city in the nation for commercial real estate investment. Long considered one of the top ten markets in the U.S. for retail, industrial, multi-housing, and office real estate ventures, Austin tops the list for office real estate, beating out cities like Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Houston, San Diego and Denver. Austin ranked seventh in the nation for retail investment opportunities; Los Angeles held onto the top spot in that category. Austin’s overall strong showing in the commercial market is the result of a number of synergistic factors that have allowed the area to weather recent downturns while remaining relatively unscathed. Grubb & Ellis credited a strong local economy including government and educational sectors for much of Austin’s strong showing. Federal, state and local government agencies provide over 150,000 jobs in the Austin area, offering a stable employment base that has shielded Austin against the unemployment woes that have plagued other areas in recent years. During 2009, a year when many other major metropolitan areas saw severe job losses and worsening recession, Austin escaped the brunt of the economic downturn with an overall job loss rate of 0.7 percent. Green technologies are bridging much of the employment gap. Solarbridge and Heliovolt have recently opened offices in the area, and Gemini Solar has begun construction on what will be the largest solar power plant in the country. The plant will be part of AustinEnergy’s overall plan to provide clean electrical energy to the region; located in eastern Travis County, it is expected to generate 30 megawatts of electrical power upon completion in 2010. These new expansions and construction projects will provide additional employment for Austin area residents, and are expected to stimulate growth in the local economy. Austin’s real estate industry got another boost in a report by Oxford Commercial Inc., which showed that commercial office space leasing stabilized in the fourth quarter of 2009 after three straight quarters of steep declines. Prices for office space have increased in some areas, notably in the downtown area where demand is typically highest. The improvement in leasing figures is believed by most analysts to mark the beginning of an economic rebound in the Austin area. While Austin has experienced fewer difficulties than other areas, it has still felt some of the effects of the nationwide economic woes; this news along with the high ranking by Grubb & Ellis is expected to cement Austin’s position as one of the most desirable commercial markets in the nation. Leander Commercial Listing by RE/MAX 1

Alternative Energy in Texas

J Cline — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:33:31 +0000

In keeping with the goal of becoming a green state, Texas has strived forward, establishing itself as a leader in green energy. Recently there have been several alternative energy resources that people are watching closely, among them is wind energy. To some the results are astonishing; however to Texans it is nothing new. When a person thinks about wind-generated electricity, he sees those huge windmills, the long blades whirling in the breeze. And the state that leads the way in wind-generated power is Texas. The increase of 436 megawatts in the 3rd quarter brings her total wind-power capacity to nearly 8800 Megawatts, or approximately 28% of the total U.S. wind-generated power. California, by Comparison, generates less than 3000 megawatts by wind. The Texas wind generation plants produce enough to power 2.5 million homes. Compare that to the total U.S. of 9 million. Texas is a true leader in this field. The production of wind turbines is down because of the recession, but Texas still pushes ahead. And it has nearly three times the turbine-power megawatts of Iowa. Taking the steps to move forward with clean energy it will not be long before the country turns to Texas once again to see what to do correctly. The American Wind Energy Association credits the stimulus bill for helping complete energy projects and for starting new ones.

Austin City Council Reaching Boiling Point over Water Treatment

J Cline — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 06:14:23 +0000

Water treatment plant (activated sludge tank)

The Austin city council has a battle brewing over water, or, more accurately, over a water treatment plant. A city the size of Austin needs water treatment plants. They have 3, and the push is on for a fourth. However, the city council is divided. Some members don’t want it, and plan to push for a conservation measure which would consider infrastructure management and drought, demand, and regional supply. Although all of these issues should be considered, the benefit of the additional plant is also being considered. Current projections indicate the proposed fourth water treatment plant would cause water bills to rise 15%. The conservation measure mentioned above is likely to be introduced to the council on November 5, 2009. Each measure will later come before council for a vote. The current anticipated vote seems to be 4-3 in favor of the plant. If this proposal carries, those against the plan could opt to bring forward another resolution to direct the city’s manager to find ways to lessen the impact on lower-income families. As the efforts continue, both conservation and water treatment are on the table for discussion. Only time will show us if a solid, beneficial compromise will be reaches by both sides. Back up measures are being created in case a compromise is not reached.

I don't have time for a complicated MLS key…

Joe Cline — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:00:36 +0000

OK. so last week all of the Austin Board of Realtor members had to change in their dKeys for the new, the wonderful, the unnecessary ActiveKey. Why? I don’t know. I loved my dKey. It was simple, small, had a great battery life, and worked. Yes, it did have to be placed in a charger to synch with the server and allow you to access lock boxes, but since everyone had a cradle and became accustomed to using the cradle to charge/synch, routine set in very quickly. Come home from a day of work, plop your keys down, cradle your dKey, take off shoes, relax. No big deal. My first reaction to seeing the new and wonderful ActiveKey, was why the hell is it so big? Then I picked t up. Uh oh. It’s flimsy. Basically, we now have a Jitterbug ActiveKey. You know the Jitterbug. The phone for the elderly who can’t figure out new fangled feature rich cell phones. Check out the side by side..

Ok. Maybe I’m being too harsh. So I thought I’d give it a try. The battery lasts about a day and a half if not plugged in, so doing away with the cradle is pretty much moot now since you have to plug the thing in every day anyway. I went to show a house this morning and when I tried to turn on the key…. nothing. It had been plugged in all night. So I plugged it into the car charger and tried to turn it on. I was greeted with a descending tone, but no lights. Grr.. So I called the supra folks and I need to find a paperclip or needle (both of which I regularly carry on me) to reset the key. Dug through my glove box and found a piece of wire that would do. Reset and tried to turn it on. It came on, but with a low battery warning. Apparently, it didn’t charge, hold a charge, or the charger is broken. Basically, I’d rather have my dkey back.

I did find it funny that GE advertises that the key is design by agents. I’m not sure that’s a great selling feature, but whatever. Hey GE… what can you do to make this Activekey thing better? I’ve got a few suggestions.

higher capacity battery
reduce the size, technology gets smaller, not larger
back light the keypad for 30 seconds when a key is pressed, if it’s dark I can’t see the back light key to turn the back light on
remove the on/off key, GE meatball button, and the backlight key to reduce the size of the unit
how about a toggle switch for on/off if you need one, seems like any key pressed could turn the unit on and a timeout could turn it off
keys that press, click, or something to let you know that you clicked them
reset that doesn’t need a needle or paperclip to work, think hold keys 1,4,7 or something like that
how about a color? if a real estate professional designed this it would be more pleasing to the eye

Brookings Report ranks Austin

J Cline — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:52:34 +0000

Since 2008 there have been 5 major regional cities that have fared very well through this recession. Among the 5 Austin of course struck well. Brookings reviewed the gross metropolitan product output for San Antonio, Austin, Houston and Dallas in Texas, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is no surprise as these cities have grown in output since the recession. In Brookings’ most recent survey these cities experienced a decline in the first quart of 2009. Austin less than 1% decline of .06% between the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first of 2009. This study was conducted by the Brookings Institute in Washington, DC, as part of their MetroMonitor program. This institute conducts a variety of studies to narrow down where cities are faring through the recession. They review employment vs unemployment rates, wages and housing costs. Austin, as usual, fared well through the process. Austin’s average wage increased during the same period of time, as much as 1.4 percent. Housing costs are also increasing in the Austin Metro Area. There was a minor decrease in job opportunities over the reviewed time, .05%. This is only one of several studies to produce a clear picture of how well the Austin metropolitan area is increasing, improving and developing even through a recession that has brought most of the country down.

Austin increased jobs in 2008

J Cline — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 11:27:05 +0000

There are many major cities across the United States. With 2008’s turbulent job market, only one major metropolitan area had an increase in the job market. That city was home, Austin, Texas. According to the Bureau of Labor this is the third month that Austin has out preformed all of the United States cities involved in the survey. Each one of these are involved due to the size of their labor force; it is more than 750 thousand potentially employed adults. The results of this continued gain is seen in the unemployment rate of 5.8 percent when the national average is 9.4 percent. The big job increases for 2009 have been in the areas of Hospitality, Retail, and Restaurants. These services are provided direct to the public and even through a recession they are seeing modest growth opportunities. Direct impact on Austin’s job market, goods producing industries and technology based industries are down across the region. The jobs in the direct to consumer industries mentioned above, compensate significantly for those jobs lost. Within the Texas borders Austin’s 5.8% unemployment rate ranks at the top of the list. Dallas-Fort Worth stands with 6.6% and Huston at 6.3% unemployment rates for April. The only Texas City with a better unemployment rate was San Antonio at 5.4%. Many of the smaller metro areas reported more than 8% unemployment.

What Gives? To Audit or Not? Or When Will Us Average Joes Know?

Joe Cline — Fri, 29 May 2009 01:16:51 +0000

Ok. So I know that lawmakers need to feel important and thus create tons of rules, lingo, processes, etc so that no layman can figure out what the hell is going on without actually getting elected, but I was trying to figure this out today and thought maybe someone out there could enlighten me. I’ll run it in sort of a time-line style. 1) Austin passes Mandatory Energy Audit Ordinance Austin Ordinance 2) Texas Legislature inserts a statement into SB 546 making it illegal for a municipality to impose a criminal penalty (fine in the case of Austin’s Energy Rule) on the seller of a piece of real property (real estate) for failure to perform an energy audit. Bill Info 3) SB 546 passes both houses by 5/18/09 SB 546 Bill progress 4) The Texas Governor is next up on the SB 546 path to resolution Governor’s Action 5) The 81st Legislative session ends June 1, 2009 and the Governor has until June 21, 2009 to veto or approve the bill Important Dates So as I read it… Outcome 1: Governor approves SB 546 and the bill becomes law. I assume that this would then become law immediately, but not sure. Outcome 2: Governor vetoes SB 546. In this case, the bill goes back to the legislature and needs 2/3rds to override the veto. Outcome 3: Governor does nothing. Then on June 22nd, 2009 the bill becomes law. Of course that is if the bill could not become law immediately for some reason (read some of those crazy rules the government makes to keep itself feeling important and noted above) then it would become law 91 days after the session ended on September 1, 2009. Man, I’m confused. Can anyone add some lucidity to this whole deal for me? Joe

Recent Development in Austin's Energy Audit Ordinance

Joe Cline — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:23:01 +0000

An amendment attached to a solar bill that’s steaming through the Legislature could torpedo a City of Austin energy efficiency program. The Austin rule taking effect June 1 requires Austin homes receiving electricity from Austin Energy to have an energy audit before being sold. (Homes can be exempted for a number of reasons, such as if they’re less than 10 years old at time of sale or have received energy-efficiency improvements through Austin energy.) The goal of the plan is to make old building stock more efficient, by encouraging buyers and sellers to learn ways they can cut energy use by doing things like adding insulation. Violating the ordinance is a Class C misdemeanor, and violators can be fined up to $500.

Read the rest at Latest on Austin’s Energy Audit Ordinance My comment… If you want to get an energy audit, no one is stopping you. Go and upgrade your home as you see fit. Be ready when the buyer decides to give you exactly what you’d get for a home without the audit or upgrades, but do it because it’s right and you can afford it. If you want to keep your house at 60 degrees, go ahead, but be ready for the bill. Many people struggle to pay their mortgage and don’t make a ton of money when they sell so the audits can amount to a monthly payment to them. There is no way anyone should face criminal charges and fines for failure to comply with an unfair law anyway. If you want to list with a real estate agent who charges $500, do it. If you want full service, pay for it. That’s the beauty of choice and freedom. Why people think it’s ok to turn Austin from a group of laid back folks who want to coexist with others of differing viewpoints to psycho, militant, legislate everything ya do nut-balls, I’ll never know. But it isn’t cool. It isn’t Austin. At least not the Austin I love and enjoy calling home. Joe As an aside, I do feel sorry for all the people who rushed out to corner the mandatory energy audit market and are now potentially sitting on a goose egg. That’s kinda rough.

Meet: Brewster McCracken – running for Mayor

J Cline — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 06:57:13 +0000

Like many cities in the nation, Austin is facing some serious issues that need to be handled by a new Mayor beginning in May. There are several candidates to choose from this election, including two that currently sit on the Austin City Council. McCracken has been an intense supporter of Austin’s ever growing technology sector. He chairs the council’s Emerging Technologies Committee and the Land Use-Transportation Committee. A Corpus Christi native and graduate of Princeton and the University of Texas School of Law, McCracken has served as a prosecutor for Harris County in Texas. McCracken has also been a staunch supporter of all things green in Austin, helping to make Austin Energy the first utility nationwide to open its grid for clean energy companies to test their technologies. The major issues faced by Austinites during this election include the city’s budget, transportation and infrastructure, and the environment. McCracken’s way to a better economy entails the embrace of emerging technologies within clean energy, biotech, film and digital media. McCracken hopes to commit to puting solar power onto 100,000 homes in the next ten years, again by investing in emerging technologies. He plans to create an endowment to ensure that Austinites have every opportunity to learn green collar jobs and healthcare professions, citing “we want everyone to be included…including the less fortunate.” With so many issues facing the candidates, it is important to know where each one stands on the matters that are important to Austin. Remember, early voting begins April 27th, with Election Day on Saturday, May 9th. For more information about Brewster McCracken, visit his website www.brewstermccracken.com