$2 Billion Community Planned

For 29 September 2006

$2 BILLION COMMUNITY PLANNED NEAR MANOR

AUSTIN (statesman.com) – Fort Worth-based Taurus of Texas Holdings LP, a subsidiary of Boston-based Taurus Investment Holdings, has purchased 2,200 acres of wooded land south of Manor from an investment group that includes local developer Jim Carpenter. Plans are to develop a $2 billion master-planned, energy-efficient community with more than 8,000 homes ranging from the $150,000s to $500,000, townhomes, condominiums, and hundreds of thousands of square feet of retail and office space.

Whisper Valley Ranch is slated for development near the ten-lane Texas 130 toll road, which is scheduled to be completed in mid-2007. About 1,965 acres is on the east side of Texas 130; another 241 acres is to the west. The land also borders the recently improved Travis County Northeast Regional Park.

The first homes could be underway by mid-2007 and ready for residents by the end of the year or early 2008. Final buildout of the community is expected to take seven to ten years, according to Douglas Gilliland, president of Taurus of Texas. Community amenities will include 11 soccer fields, nine baseball fields and stocked fishing lakes, with nearly 600 acres left as open space or developed with walking and jogging trails.

Most of Whisper Valley Ranch's 300,000 to 400,000 square feet of shops and offices would be built west of Texas 130 in later phases. Major employers in the area include Dell Inc., Samsung Austin Semiconductor LP and Applied Materials Inc.

Hotel Coming to Downtown Historic Power Plant

AUSTIN (Austin Business Journal) – A 163-room boutique hotel will be part of a 22-story residential tower under construction near the old Seaholm Power Plant downtown. The tower also will have 62 condominiums.

The Seaholm Plaza Hotel is expected to open in 2009. An art deco look will complement the historic power plant building. Hotel amenities will include indoor and outdoor meeting and exhibit space, landscaped gardens, health spa and heated pool.

In 2005, the City of Austin selected local developers to redevelop the 7.8-acre site. Among the developers in Seaholm Power LLC is La Corsha Hospitality Group, which is directing construction of the hotel. Austin-based Centro Partners is developing the condo portion of the project.

Description: The Seaholm Power Plant, built between 1950 and 1958, faces Town Lake on West César Chávez Street. It is composed of five gas/oil generation units (100 megawatts total when it functioned) and no longer generates power. The building features a towering turbine room 110 by 235 feet, with clerestory windows above flanking aisles, and a 65-foot-high ceiling.

Two lower floors contain an additional 75,000 square feet. In all, the building has more than 110,000 square feet of useable floor area. An electric utility substation, transmission and distribution facilities, and a utility microwave communications center are located at Seaholm.

From:

• City of Austin - City Connection
• Real Estate Center Online News

August sales show continued strength

Sales of single-family homes in August were up 6 percent year-over-year, according to the Austin Board of Realtors report released Friday.

That translates to 2,805 homes sold last month, the second highest monthly figure this year.

The median sales price was up 8 percent to a record $182,500.

Buyers are snatching up homes at a faster clip, which bodes well for the market next year, says John Rosshirt, chairman of the Austin Board of Realtors.

"People will be cautious during the winter," Rosshirt said. "But all indicators show it will really kick off again in the spring."

The number of homes for sale fell 8 percent in August compared with a year earlier, while the average time that houses spent on the market fell from 67 to 60 days.

Nationally, the most recent figures show that the median sales price was $231,100 in July, as home sales dropped 5 percent year over year.

Supply and demand isn't the only thing pushing prices higher, said Eldon Rude, director of the Austin office of residential market research firm Metrostudy.

Rising construction costs for both materials and labor also are a factor, Rude said.

According to some local contractors, structural steel materials have risen 20 percent in the past year, metal roofing rose 15 percent, and drywall prices jumped 40 percent during that time.

"Builders are paying more for their lots and to build the houses. They've been getting more and more expensive," Rude said.

Year-to-date, sales and prices are also up.

For the first eight months of the year, 18,597 homes sold, up 12 percent compared with the same period last year, the board reported.

Both central city and suburban neighborhoods saw prices and sales climb.

A pocket of East Austin bounded by Interstate 35, FM 969 and U.S. 183 posted a 59 percent increase in sales, while the median price climbed 12 percent to $126,000.

The Dripping Springs area posted a 51 percent increase in sales and a 25 percent increase in median price, to $369,000.

The West Lake Hills area posted a 19 percent drop in sales, but the median price rose 34 percent to $750,000.

And farther out, sales dropped in the Liberty Hill area, but the median rose 77 percent to $247,000.

So far this year, about one-third of the sales were for homes in the $110,000 to $160,000 range.

On the higher end, demand remains vigorous.

Home sales in the $900,000 to $1 million range were up 70 percent. And for homes priced at $1 million and higher, sales were up nearly 60 percent.

And Californians continue to come in substantial numbers, as they cash out the equity in their homes in that pricey market to get more house for their money here, Rude and many brokers say.

From: Austin-American Statesman - click here- for full article
By Claudia Grisales, Shonda Novak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Amazing Home in the Village At Western Oaks

Address: 9003 Wampton Way

List Price: $229,900
Bed: 3
Bath: 2
Sq/Ft: 1,772
Yr Built: 1999
Lot Size: 50 x 120

Features: Open inviting floorplan. Kitchen looking in living & dining. Beautifully Maintained. Inviting home with custom paint and upgraded lighting. Beautiful shaded deck with built-in bench and custom lighting. Quiet street and neighborhood.



Amazing deck with Built-in bench is shaded by trees during the day. Excellent for entertaining.





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Call us at (512) 692-9477 or e-mail me at dan@teamprice.com if you or someone you know would is interested.

NEWS - The "McMansion Ordinance"

If you are getting ready to build or remodel your house in Austin, get ready for some big changes.

The city of Austin McMansion Ordinance goes into effect October 1 and means homes cannot be bigger than 2,300 square feet or take up more than 40 percent of the lot size, whichever is greater.

Your house will also have to fit in what is called the "buildable area" that is made up of a maximum height of 32 feet and varying setbacks. The interim McMansion ordinance has been in effect since March but did not include this rule.

The city of Austin held two information meetings on the permanent McMansion Ordinance Monday. The Residential Design and Compatibility Commission will review the ordinance in six months to see if any adjustments are necessary. Waivers will not be allowed after October 1, but applicants can go before the Commission to see if some modifications can be allowed.

For more detailed information about the new McMansion Ordinance, go to:

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/news/2006/mcmansion_hearings.htm
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/zoning/sf_regs.htm

Mortgages add a bonus for energy-efficiency

Home buyers can borrow more to
make improvements that would lower energy usage.

Homeowners who are tired of worrying about high utility bills, or who want to minimize their homes' effect on the environment, are turning to an often overlooked type of loan for relief.

There are a few flavors of Energy Efficient Mortgages. The one most widely available to mortgage applicants, industry executives said, is Fannie Mae's product, which is offered by many big lenders.

With Fannie Mae's Energy Efficient Mortgage, which is sometimes referred to as the "conventional EEM," homeowners can spend up to 15 percent of the appraised value of the home on improvements that would improve energy-efficiency, and thereby qualify for a loan that is 15 percent greater than they would have received under normal underwriting conditions.

The average Energy Efficient Mortgage loan recipient, he said, spends $10,000 on improvements and reduces his annual utility costs by 30 percent to 50 percent.

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage protects people building new homes by allowing them to lock in an interest rate on an Energy Efficient Mortgage for up to two years while the home is being completed. Those buyers also can lower the rate to reflect declines within 60 days of settlement.

• Currently, fewer than 1 percent of all loans are Energy Efficient Mortgages, according to industry executives. But environmentalists, among others, are hoping that the recent interest in such loans will continue, even if fuel prices drop.

Click - here - for the article

By Bob Tedeschi
NEW YORK TIMES
From: Statesman.com

Circle C may get upscale neighbor

$200 million, 10-year plan calls for housing, hotel with golf course.

Plans are moving forward to transform a 1,020-acre swath of environmentally sensitive land that straddles the Hays-Travis county line into an upscale housing development.

Developers plan to begin work by year's end on Avaña, a nearly $200 million project that eventually could include about 800 homes, a 250-room resort hotel complex with 140 condominium units and 24 single-family villas, plus an 18-hole golf course.

Builders Toll Brothers Inc., Newmark Homes LP, Rossi Homes Inc. and Mercedes Homes Inc. plan to build the homes, with prices ranging from the upper $300,000s to millions.

Lowe Enterprises Inc., based in Los Angeles and owner of the Driskill Hotel, was to develop the hotel and golf course, which account for about 200 acres of the total.


Click - here - for more information.

By M.B. Taboada, Shonda Novak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

JD Power 2006 New-Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Study

Congratulations Austin Builders!!!

JD Power and Associates rakes Austin #1 for Customer Satisfaction.

The 2006 New-Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Study measures customer satisfaction with new-home builders in 34 U.S. markets.

The study, now in its 10th year, is based on responses from 60,927 buyers of newly built single-family homes who provided feedback after living in their homes from four to 18 months, on average.

Ten factors drive overall satisfaction with home builders. They are (in order of importance): builder’s warranty/customer service; home readiness; builder’s sales staff; construction manager; quality of workmanship/materials; price/value; physical design elements; builder’s design center; recreational facilities; and location.

Austin is the top performing market the study. The average customer satisfaction index score in Austin is 124—12 points higher than the 34-market average of 112.

• David Weekley Homes ranks highest in home builder customer satisfaction in Austin.
• David Weekley improves 8 index points from 2005 and performs particularly well in the Austin market in four of the 10 factors: builder’s warranty/customer service; home readiness; builder’s sales staff and construction manager.

If you or someone you know is interested in a new home, please let us know. We always a phone call away 512.692.9477.

Mortgage rates fall for 9th time in 11 weeks

From: Bankrate.com
By Holden Lewis • Bankrate.com

"Mortgage rates are influenced by what the bond market thinks will happen to prices. If bond traders believe inflation will rise, mortgage rates rise, too. If bond traders believe inflation will level off or fall, the same thing often happens to mortgage rates. Yellen sits on the Fed's rate-setting Open Market Committee, which meets next week. Her opinion matters a lot, and bond yields fluttered downward in the hours after her speech. Long-term mortgage rates followed."

• One year ago, the mortgage index was 5.76 percent, and four weeks ago, it was 6.51 percent. The 30-year benchmark has fallen in nine of the past 11 weeks. It was 6.93 percent June 28 -- almost half a percentage point higher.

• The 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage fell 2 basis points to 6.12 percent. The 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage fell 5 basis points to 6.19 percent.

Credit Score Stats

A credit score is important in the lending process. Unfortunately, credit scores in our state are nothing to brag about. Here are some stats to consider.

• 648 - Average credit score in Texas
• 50 - Rank among U.S. states of Texas’s average credit score
• 711 - Average credit score in South Dakota, the highest ranked state in the U.S.
• $231 - How much less a person with a top credit score might pay per month on a $216,000 mortgage than a person with a poor credit score

Sources: Experian; scores based on Experian’s Plus Score, which ranges from 330 – 830; and MyFico savings example using a 30-year mortgage with prevailing national rates in August 2006.

From: TexasRealtors.com : - click here -

Trip to Hawaii

Gail and I went to Oahu, Hawaii from September 02nd to the 10th and we had a great time. It was great getting back to Hawaii. I lived there from January 1998 to March 2000 and Gail and I got married there February 1999. We stayed at the Marriott Ko Olina Resort on the west side of Oahu... the same place we got married...

We went to Honolulu on the 5th and after walking 11.5 miles from Waikiki to the top of Diamond Head we were absolutely exhausted. We ended up staying at the resort for the rest of the time... enjoying the beach, sunsets, etc...

Enjoy the pictures: http://www.teamprice.com/dan-gail/hawaii.htm

Dripping Springs Development

"A residential community encompassing three former ranches west of Dripping Springs has been proposed by a developer seeking to build about 900 houses on 676 acres.

Proposed by local developer James Kerby, Scenic Greens is the first project seeking approval under the city's conservation ordinance. Adopted last year, the ordinance seeks to maintain the area's rural character and small-town charm by requiring, among other things, that developers set aside at least 40 percent of the land for open space and preserve in perpetuity some unique land features such as hilltops and view corridors that would frequently be seen as the most desirable parts to develop.

"It's basically a reverse way of developing a property," Kerby said.

Kerby plans to preserve nearly 70 percent of the land, or 470 acres, for open space.
Slated for the northwest corner of U.S. 290 and McGregor Lane, Scenic Greens would be one of the larger developments built in the sparsely populated hills surrounding the City of Dripping Springs, but it would not be the largest.

The planned 1,500-acre Headwaters at Barton Creek, about two miles east of the intersection of RM 12 and U.S. 290, is slated to have 1,000 houses. The 1,600-acre Belterra on U.S. 290 could have 1,600 houses when fully built, and 1,012 houses are planned in the 740-acre Highpointe of Dripping Springs community off of Sawyer Ranch Road.

Houses in Scenic Greens will start in the low $300,000s and be clustered throughout the property, with many backing up to wooded areas owned by the homeowners association.

More than 470 acres, including hilltops and dense woodlands, will be set aside for open space; as required by the ordinance, all of the land is contiguous. "

Click Here for the complete story...


From: AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
By Kate Miller Morton

Post office downtow could become high-rise!!!

On Friday, August 04, 2006 the Statesman had an article saying that the "The U.S. Postal Service is seeking development proposals for its downtown site, opening up new possibilities for more residential development. " - click here - for full article.

It was very encouraging to see that there are "potential" plans for the downtown post office location. It is prime location and the current post office is in my opinion, a "wasteful use of space". I agree with Mayor Wynn when he says "No block in downtown Austin has been more underutilized than the one occupied by our current post office." and "In addition to poor design and a horrific pedestrian environment, the staggering underutilization of the land is sinful,"

Post Office Location Stats:

1. It (current Post Office) occupies 20,307 square feet on a downtown block of 77,488 square feet and sits on a block that is not in a so-called capital view corridor, meaning it has the potential to be developed to a much higher density and height than it is now.
2. The post office is housed in a two-story building located at 510 Guadalupe St., a block that is not under the Capitol View Corridor height restriction code, said Julie Fitch, the Economic Development Program director for the Downtown Austin Alliance.
3. The two-story post office building, completed in 1996 at a cost of $6.2 million,currently occupies the site. Only about a fourth of the block is occupied by the post office; the rest is used for parking.

A follow up Statesman article dated Saturday, August 26, 2006 and titled Post office receives 6 offers for space states "The U.S. Postal Service has received a half-dozen proposals for the prime block that houses its downtown Austin branch at Fifth and Guadalupe streets. " - click here - for full article.

Sam Bolen, spokesman for the USPS said that "Officials in various postal departments will evaluate the proposals." According to Mr. Bolen, a decision is expected by the end of September.

I look forward to seeing the decision and I praise Mayor Wynn's goal of revitalizing the downtown area. Mayor Wynn has a goal of "having 25,000 people living downtown by 2015".

Send me an e-mail to dan@teamprice.com if you want a map of all the planned and existing downtown projects.