West Hollywood Condo Report - AUGUST 2008 - Market Update

So, does that mean the condo market in LA, has gone down or remain the same? I have been gone from the LA area about 7 yrs now, so I'm kinda out of touch. All the talk about prices that are coming tumbling down in California, has this effected the Condo Market?

Looks like a nice increase in August!  Have you been noticing an increase in activity lately?

Yeah, our condos prices are skying rocketing here in Austin. With the constant building of Downtown and more building approved to be built, the average condo is going for over $400,000 for a 500 sq ft loft. So, I totally understand what is going on there. We are having so many people from California moving here. Every where you drive, you see out of state license plate especially from California. We are calling it the California evacuation.

No, it is hurting our local economy. Born and raised in Austin, I have seen many changes here. The city has been changing so much and losing it local flavor that everyone loved about Austin. Secondly, their are not enough jobs for everyone. People are quiting their jobs and moving here and expecting to find a job right away. It does not happen. The freeways are always crowded, just CA. The city can not keep up with the large amount of cars on the freeways that they are building so many new freeways.

No, don't get me wrong. It has help the Real Estate Market and the Austin Dollar, too. We are in a seller's market and rank in the top 5 cities to move to right now. The growth is happening so fast that the city is changing so much. We are all saying that we hope that our market does not happen the same way that Miami did (crash). The city is taking precaution and not allowing building to go up all at one time for this reason. We have 167 building approved to be built by next year. We have 60 on the ground right now. One building is trying to top the other with height. The skyline is changing so fast.  

There areas in Austin that was called hippy town and now they have been rename by the California people like SOCO short for South Congress (just to name one).