condo buyers

We're hearing reports of soaring rents in high-end downtown Austin rental buildings like the Monarch, Ashton, and AMLI.

In one case, a tenant's recent renewal resulted in a 30% increase in the market rate and the elimination of concessions.

In total, this meant a rent increase of more than 50%.

For a while, 2007 seemed like the year of the downtown Austin condo project. Since last August, however, the market has changed.

While most of the projects coming on the market in 2008 are sold out and many of the others are proceeding smoothly, at least three early stage projects for 2009 and beyond seem to have stalled.

As a result of slow progress, we have moved three projects into the pending stage until we receive clear confirmation that they are proceeding -- or if not -- that they have been postponed or cancelled.

The delayed projects are:

In July, more than 100 Austin condo buyers reserved units in projects such as the Austonian, the Four Seasons, and the W Hotel & Residences.

All three of these projects have one thing in common: they are currently empty lots. Actually, in the case of the Four Seasons Residences, the building site is currently a very busy hotel parking lot.

AustinTowers is very excited to launch a comprehensive Downtown Austin Condo FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) as a new permanent section of the site.

The FAQ will provide a comprehensive overview of the emerging downtown Austin high-rise condo market by answering the most common questions facing condo buyers.

One problem with analyzing the downtown austin condo market is the lack of good sales data on many of the projects currently on the market.

When realtors sell traditional single family homes or resell condo units, they are listed on MLS and the actual sales price is recorded in MLS and available to any participating real estate agent.

Unfortunately for buyers and sellers, many of the new downtown high-rise projects are being marketed by in-house sales teams without the assistance of realtors.