I was thinking about the Austin real estate market because I am asked every day if our market will "burst" soon. While other bubbles are bursting, Texas real estate has hit a high-note. Austin and Round Rock are almost always listed as great places to live, which is why we have a huge influx of boomer retirees, investors, and relocating families.
- Austin and Dallas have spawned a new rise in mixed-use retail projects, high-rise condos, and new residential communities. Both cities are getting more metropolitan as new commercial projects and residential subdivisions borrow their architectural details from California and New York. The transit corridor between Dallas and Austin seems to grow together.
- Houston and San Antonio have become meccas to rental property investors. The sprawl of these two big cities continues. Smaller outer cities such as Katy (Houston), Canyon Lake, and New Braunfelds are growing.
- Corpus Christi and coastal areas have rebounded after the hurricanes.
Real estate professionals have recognized that our market is doing great because of our job growth, relatively low cost compared to the other coasts, and upswing in other economic factors. The question on many minds is when will these good times end? Has Austin and Texas become too hot?
My answer is that no, the market is not "too" hot just yet. Although some are afraid that we're building too many new homes and condos, the bubble (if there will be one) will not burst for at least a few more years Economists say that Texas is a reliable place to buy a home because most areas have seen steady, slow appreciation. Although our appreciation was typically only 3-4% in Austin, this helped slow any burst of a bubble. We may be closer to 5% appreciation overall, but that's still not the huge leaps we saw in California and Phoenix.
With an estimated 1 Million people who will move to the city by 2016 or so, we should still have a solid economy, which is the foundation for a stable real estate market. If anything, most Austin residents should be concerned about their property taxes increasing each year as a result of higher appraisals. When I see a sign of a slowing market, my blog readers the first to know.
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