By DeeinAustin™
Here's a rule of thumb. You can often tell if you're in a buyer or seller's market based on how aggressively condo brokers or new home builders offer agent and buyer incentives.
In a good market, the number of condo
conversion and new construction projects increase while incentives decrease. Don't believe me? One condo broker recently offered a $2500 bonus to agents when they'd previously ignored buyer agent requests for showings.
Oh now they're being really nice, which could be a sign that they've upgraded their customer service skills...or the developer wasn't ready for the mortgage market shift.
SO HOW'S THE CONDO MARKET IN AUSTIN?
We receive this question pretty often because Austin seems
to have a lot of new condo projects in the works, especially downtown.
We typically blog about new projects here, so some readers wonder if there are way too many on the horizon.
We wanted to remind potential buyers that Greater Austin is predicted to have 1 million additional residents in the next decade. Ryan Robinson, the Austin city demographer, stated that Austin's population growth has been above 3-3.5% on average, which is phenomenal. In fact, Austin is the only city in the U.S to double its population every 20 years (per our demographer).
That said, I think we need more Central Austin living. Project developers and buyers can feel confident in the 78701, 78702, 78703, 78704 and 78705 zip codes, but only if they calculate the shifting mortgage market. I'm not convinced that high-end condo projects will work as well in other areas, but in any market, if you buy or build right, you should be fine.
Interested in Central Austin? Read more about What's happening in Downtown Austin. Also check out the Urban Austin wiki. Photo is of the 360 Condos by John Anderson for the Austin Chronicle March 2007.
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