Austin’s skyline continues to grow, its real estate market is still the envy of the nation and it’s also home to the state’s third most expensive zip code.
Meanwhile, one of the city’s most sought-after pieces of vacant real estate remains up for grabs.
That’s a lot of big real estate news in October. So let’s dig right in with some of this month’s most important developments from across the Austin area.
— Ever-growing downtown skyline adding three more condo towers: A new, 39-story condo tower could bring 154 new luxury units to downtown Austin at the corner of West Fifth Street and West Avenue, The Austin American-Statesman reported. It would be downtown’s fifth tallest building, and prices are expected to start in the $500,000s. Meanwhile, not far away, developers are working on the 30-story Seaholm Residences, which will add 280 condos to downtown. And, last month, the Statesman reported about developers who plan to build a 50-plus story condo building near the Seaholm Residences. That adds to an already strong market of downtown condos. Austin’s skyline is rapidly transforming.
— Housing starts are climbing, at least in some areas: A new study showed that new residential housing starts increased by 9 percent in the 12 months that ended in September, according to a story in the Austin American-Statesman. But some builders, especially those in higher price ranges, say they’ve noticed the market cooling off.
— Austin is the second-best real estate market in the United States: That’s the upshot from a new Urban Land Institute study the Austin Business Journal wrote about. It’s the number one place for homebuilding, number two for investment and number four for development, the ABJ reported. So who’s number one? Look east, it’s Houston. Read the full UIL report here.
— City of Austin gave up on its bid for a prime slice of land in north-central Austin: After a lot of excitement and research, the city decided to scrap its plan to put a bid in on a 75-acre tract of land at Bull Creek and 45th Street West, at the edge of Allandale. It’s mostly due to the creative funding the city considered and the state balked at, according to a story in the Austin Monitor. That opens things up to private developers, who have already expressed a lot of interest in the land.
— Austin has some high value zip codes, but nowhere near the most expensive in the nation: A new set of data released by Forbes shows an Austin zip code as the third most expensive real estate area in Texas, with a median home price of nearly $1.5 million. That’s over by Barton Creek and Westlake ( — see a more specific map here). But that’s still only the 183rd most expensive zip code in the United States.
— Nov. 4 is Election Day, and Austin’s ballot includes city council and mayor positions as well as state and federal offices. Learn about candidates, ballot propositions and polling places in the Austin American-Statesman voters’ guide.