Colleen Kane, CNBC.com -November 10, 2011 Skinny homes are built for any number of reasons. It could be space constrictions, tax or code restrictions, the creative muse, or even for the vengeful-minded to grind an axe with a family member. What does it mean to say a house is skinny? You know you’re in one [...]
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The U.S. unemployment rate crept back up to 9% last week, but some cities are feeling the pain far worse than others. Roughly 112 metro areas in the U.S. are still dealing with 10% unemployment or greater. That’s down from 166 at the same time last year, but tell that to folks in El Centro, [...]
Read More...Austin #1 Best City For Jobs
Austin Community, Austin economy, Austin Jobs, Austin News, Real Estate
These may be far from the best of times, but they are no longer the worst. Last year’s annual “Best Cities for Jobs” list was by far the most dismal since we began compiling our rankings almost five years ago. Between 2009 and 2010, only 13 of 397 metropolitan areas experienced any growth at all. [...]
Read More...While housing, and homebuilding in particular, have taken a massive hit due to the Great Recession, many housing experts do not expect this trend to continue long term as more unemployed Americans get back to work, empty-nesters begin to downsize or build their dream homes, and ‘boomerang kids’ who were “doubling-up,” or living with their [...]
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1. Jobs. Housing follows jobs. Period. And while the job market is still slow or non-existent in many areas (nationally as well as regionally), we all know Austin continues to be the leading market in the nation for job growth. 2. Jobs. At the risk of being redundant, housing follows jobs. Consumer confidence is close [...]
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The rich are different from you and me: They’re buying real estate. After four straight years of declines, sales of million-dollar homes and condos rose last year in all 20 major metro areas, according to DataQuick Information Systems. On average, these cities saw an 18.6% jump in high-end home sales. San Jose, Calif., had the [...]
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Warren Buffett is looking for acquisitions as an outlet to deploy his $38 billion cash pile, the legendary investor said in his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway Inc shareholders on Saturday. Buffett gave an aggressive earnings forecast for Berkshire’s collection of businesses, said the company would engage in record capital spending and forecast a recovery [...]
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From: Austin American Statesman, 2/19/2011 Today’s homebuyers are recession-weary, looking toward retirement, and/or increasingly more energy-conscious. Because of that, homes built in the next few years are likely to focus more on efficiency and community than on square footage, industry experts say. Think compact, more energy-efficient and more affordable. Expect to see homes built on [...]
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Many people, often working under the assumption that all renovations increase the value of a property, spend thousands of dollars on expensive upgrades, changes and additions to their homes. What these people forget, though, is that the next owner may not like the renovations. In fact, most people who buy property make significant changes to [...]
Read More...Downtown Condo Sales Rose 50% in 2010
Austin Community, Austin News, Austin Real Estate News, Real Estate
Austin condo sales doubled last year, while prices were stable, according to recent Multiple Listing Service data released Monday. A report from AustinTowers.net, a downtown Austin real estate blog, compiled MLS data from 25 downtown residential towers. The group tracked 168 sales last year, or about 50 percent more than in 2009. The average selling [...]
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