Late spring and summer are known as the most active seasons for real estate deals. And Austin, as well as the rest of the nation, are poised for a potentially record-breaking season.
Home sales in the nation and in Austin have climbed in the past two months, according to the latest data. But there are causes for concern. For one, there’s a shortage of affordable homes across the nation. That’s causing many first-time buyers to hesitate or quickly sign a contract to avoid paying higher prices as trends show prices are likely to continue to rise.
Meanwhile, we’ve turned up a few interesting real estate developments, including a Houston mansion that’s being reduced in price by $13 million and the sale of the most expensive home ever sold in Los Angeles.
Learn about that and more in our March real estate news roundup.
Austin’s Fringes Are Hot
Austin is one of the hottest real estate markets in the country. But it’s really the city’s fringes showing the fastest growth. A new analysis by the Austin Business Journal showed Hutto, Jarrell and Georgetown have the fastest growing neighborhoods. The areas have plenty of open space for large-scale housing developments, which has fueled rapid growth.
North Austin’s Boom
The Domain development in North Austin, and the areas around it, are quickly becoming something of a second downtown. Whole Foods, HomeAway, Amazon and Indeed have all either added new offices or will soon move to newly built buildings in the area. And an area called Robinson Ranch is poised to potentially big even bigger than the Domain some day, the Austin Business Journal reported.
A $13M Discount on This Mansion
It’s not uncommon to see the price of a huge estate go down by a million dollars. But a massive mansion in the Houston area is catching some new attention after reducing its asking price by $13 million. The Houston Business Journal reported that the 27,000-square-foot mansion had been listed at $43 million and is now available for a thrifty $30 million. It’s in one of Houston’s wealthiest neighborhoods and has eight bedrooms. It had been owned by Marie and Wilbur Bosarge Jr., the co-founder of Quantlab Financial.
U.S. Home Sales Trend Upward
Home sales have heated up this spring. Existing home sales climbed by 1.1 percent in March, which is the latest data available. The National Association of Realtors reported that it was the second month in a row of increasing sales, although sales were down slightly year-over-year. The latest report highlighted a shortage of affordable homes across the nation.
The Most Expensive Home in L.A.
Los Angeles is known for expensive homes with ocean views. Now the most expensive one ever to hit the market is being sold. Peter Morton, co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, is selling his Malibu spread for $110 million. The buyer is national gas billionaire Michael S. Smith, Mansion Global reported.