As Austin's skyline underwent a momentous change during the past decade, some Austinites wondered whether there would be enough people to fill all the new towers adding hundreds of residential units downtown.

Judging by the latest condominium sales figures, the towers are filling surprisingly well, given their high price points, experts say, and demand for downtown living is continuing.

From January through September, buyers purchased and moved into 251 units in the four newest downtown projects - the Four Seasons Residences, Spring, the Austonian and the W Residences - and the largest condo project just outside of downtown, Barton Place, according to Austin-based Capitol Market Research, which tracks the market. That compares with 198 closings at those projects during 2010, said Charles Heimsath, the Capitol Market Research's president.

While experts say the sales numbers are relatively healthy, the downtown market wasn't immune to the economic downturn. To date, 548 of the 992 units in those five complexes - 55 percent - have been sold.

From June through September, there were 51 condominium sales in the four downtown projects - excluding BartonPlace - totaling $55 million, for an average price of just more than $1 million each, Heimsath said.

"That's a pretty astounding figure," he said. "I expect that the market will continue to hold up relatively well, particularly in comparison to some of the higher-end projects around the city, and in more outlying areas of the region."

To put the 51 sales in context, there were 85 single-family homes sold in the entire Austin area for the same four-month period, Heimsath said. 

Heimsath said downtown has an advantage over other segments of the region's housing market because it appeals to a wide range of buyers - including young professionals, empty nesters, retirees and affluent local and out-of-town buyers purchasing second homes.

"Unlike a subdivision in Pflugerville where 90 percent of the buyers are young families, you're tapping into a number of different market segments," increasing the prospects for more sales , Heimsath said.

One of the projects, the Four Seasons Residences, recently made a switch in its sales team. The project, developed by Post Properties Inc. and Ardent Residential, brought on board one of Austin's top downtown condo sales agents as director of sales and marketing. Alan Holt is known for his success in selling condo units in the Five Fifty Five - the condos atop the Hilton Austin downtown - as well as units in the Plaza Lofts downtown, where he sold out the project during the trying tech bust in the early 2000s.

Holt replaces Dallas-based Al Coker and Associates, which had been marketing units in the Four Seasons project, where more than half of the 148 units have been sold.  "Al Coker and Associates did a great job for us with good results to date," said David Ward, executive vice president for Atlanta-based Post Properties. "However, it has always been Post's desire to execute this aspect of the condominium business in-house. When we found we were able to partner with someone of Alan's caliber and experience, it made our in-house marketing transition an easy decision."

Holt, a real estate agent for 19 years, said that "there's just so much more to downtown to draw buyers than there was even in 2005-2006. We're not in any type of euphoric market. ... We're in a pretty healthy, balanced market. You don't want it lopsided towards the seller or buyer, and I think that's what we have, and that's sustainable."

Though Austin has not been immune to the broader economic downturn, "we have a growing, dynamic economy and are getting a lot of things right," Holt said. "Whether it's companies or individuals, everybody it seems like wants to live in Austin," he said, noting that the Four Seasons project is seeing interest from prospective buyers from across the globe.

Ward said Post has been "very pleased" with sales and continued buyer interest, adding that prices to date have met original expectations.  "There is a limited supply of condominium units downtown to begin with, and given the sales velocity of downtown as a whole over the past year, we feel very good about our position," Ward said.

Among the four newest projects, 301 units remain to be sold, Heimsath said.

However, because of the time it takes to plan, finance and build a new condo tower, Larry Warshaw, a developer of the 42-story Spring high-rise, said, he doesn't expect there to be another chance to buy a unit in a newly completed tower for five more years.

"So the smart people are buying now because they recognize we have extremely limited inventory, which will likely create upward pricing pressure in the next few years," Warshaw said.   

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Austin snuck into the top five markets to watch next year, according to annual Emerging Trends in Real Estate report from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP company and the Urban Land Institute.

The Capital City was ranked No. 2 on the list following Washington D.C. San Francisco, New York City and Boston rounded out the top five.

Although Austin is one step removed from global pathways, it registers significant interest on investor radar screens and has all the ingredients needed to deal successfully with the nation's 21st century realities, the report said. It also gave Austin a one up on its Texas neighbors because unlike Dallas and Houston, the city also develops a 24-hour core, featuring pedestrian-friendly, in-town apartment neighborhoods with plenty of nightlife attractions.

Austin's size limits investor opportunity but the diversity of educational, medical, and government jobs, backed by high tech, insulates the market from boom/bust scenarios, according to the report.

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From www.austinist.com

Good news for those in the downtown area: a new location of La Boîte

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 www.laboitecafe.com

Lick Ice Creams

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Based in Austin, Texas, Lick Ice Creams is a small, locally owned business that makes seasonal, sustainable ice creams from the freshest local ingredients. Great ice cream must begin with the best milk and cream.

Their organic milk and cream come from grass-fed and much loved Jersey cows and are free of any antibiotics or hormones. The other ingredients come from across our great state and are always grown naturally and certified organic whenever possible. If it grows in Texas, there's a good chance it will end up in one of their ice creams! 
 

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Sunday - Thursday 11:30am to 10:00pm

Friday - Saturday 11:30am  to 11:30pm 

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