nokonah

We've updated the AustinTowers | urbanspace Downtown Austin Condo Market Index for April and May, 2011and the results are very, very good.

With 42 MLS sales during the two month period (and as many as 40 non-MLS sales in May alone), our twelve month tracking index showed it's highest average sales price ever: $368,929.

After a super strong February, downtown Austin condo sales fell 28% in March from the prior year period. Last month, we asked whether strong February sales was a trend or an anomaly.

With the data in, it seems that the market has not strengthened from last year. For the first quarter, 33 units were sold -- one more than during the same period in 2010.

We've added listings for 904 West, a new low-rise condo project on 9th Street and West Avenue.

The new development is close to the Nokonah and Whole Foods in a corner of downtown that has seen very little condo development.

In downtown Austin, there are two classes of new condo projects.

If you are thinking of buying a downtown condo unit that you will eventually sell, you need to think about liquidity.

Unfortunately, rapid growth in the number of downtown units has also meant fierce competition among sellers in some projects.

With so many sellers and ongoing competition from new units in projects like Spring, it can be difficult to sell.

We've updated the AustinTowers | urbanspace Downtown Austin Condo Market Index for October, 2009.

For the fourth month in a row, MLS sales were higher than the previous year's numbers. The most recent numbers suggest that the bottom of the downtown Austin condo market was likely hit this spring.

Over the last few months, sales, prices, and price-per-square-foot have all been on the rise.

In the year between the summer of 2008 and the summer of 2009, a typical month saw 8 downtown condo sales captured in the Austin MLS.

In four of those months, only 4 units sold. In the best month, 13 units sold.

A new low-rise condo project is set to rise on 9th Street and West Avenue. The $8 million development is close to the Nokonah in a corner of downtown that has seen very little condo development.

Over the last 8 weeks, the downtown condo market has taken a dramatic positive turn. After 20 tough months, buyers have begun snapping up units at a surprisingly strong pace.

We've updated the AustinTowers | urbanspace Downtown Condo Market Index for March and the news is not good.

While month-by-month results fluctuate wildly, March saw a drop of 71% in the number of units sold -- from 14 in March, 2008 to just 4 last month.

For the first quarter, sales dropped from 25 units in 2008 to 14 units in 2009.