condo units

With the addition of new, high-end inventory at the W and Austonian, the market saw increased breadth with more sales in mid and high-price bands.

...With very few new condo units on the horizon, inventory is rapidly decreasing as more units are selling quickly at prices close to the asking price.

... If interest rates stay low and lending standards continue to return to more normal levels, 2012 should be a strong year for condo resale and condo values.

After developing and selling out 360 -- one of the most successful downtown projects -- Novare Group announced in 2008 that they would build two new towers on Block 51 & 52.

The prime downtown blocks, one the site of the downtown post office and the other on an adjacent block to the West of the post office, were to contain 900 condo units in two 37 and 40 floor towers which were to be completed by 2012.

There are four downtown buildings -- Spring, the Four Seasons Residences, the Austonian, and the

We've updated the AustinTowers | urbanspace Downtown Austin Condo Market Index for January and February, 2010.

With the new results loaded, we are pleased to announce that year-over-year sales volumes have increased for the eighth month in a row.

That, however, is where the good news ends.

Over the last ten years, the Austin metropolitan area population has grown by 500,000 people.

Over the last three years, 100,000 more people have moved to Austin than have left the city. In 2008 alone, the Austin population increased by more than 60,000 people.

We've updated the AustinTowers | urbanspace Downtown Austin Condo Market Index for July, 2009 and, for the first time this year, MLS sales were higher than the previous year numbers.

Since long before the 36-Story W Hotel and Residences began to rise earlier this year, the developers have faced the unpleasant task of replacing Corus Bank as their prime lender.

We've crunched the numbers and updated the AustinTowers | urbanspace Downtown Austin Condo Market Index fro June, 2009 and the results are amazingly unremarkable.

According to the developers, plans for Block 21 -- the large second street development featuring the W Hotel & Residences -- have been revised to include 35,000 feet of office space.

Assuming that the size of the project remains the same, office space will account for about 3.5% of the planned one million square foot multi-use project.

This is the first new office space to be added downtown in a few years

The project update also included the following new facts:

- The W Hotel & Condo plans remain unchanged.

Tonight, as the lucky future owners of 430 condo units at the 360 celebrate, the building has come alive with a 44-story vertical line culminating in a lit tower that is now the tallest structure in downtown Austin.

With a waiting list of 215 units, a list equal to 50% of the actual units in the building, the 360 has been an amazing success.

Novare, the developer, hit the perfect combination of early timing, a great location, and an affordably-priced units.