Hard money is ugly right now. We may have to foreclose. But that months away. If the virus comes back massively in the fall RE everywhere is in deep trouble.
Talking to me? I am clueless. Amazing how you can come to this conclusion. I only read about what journalists say people have said and done.
If you want to be a cheerleader for Austin RE, advocate reopening. Let Texas be the test case like Sweden. Roll the dice and see what happens. Plenty of hot weather should kill the virus according to Trump. Don’t forget to leave the AC off.
1 Like
N/NW Austin and suburb is still doing great 
Not sure about Austin city though.
So far, Covid-19 is affecting Travis County and Round rock city of Williamson county more than elsewhere. I don’t have any rentals in Round Rock.
So far the hot days are not that many. Always alternating between hot and cold.
View of an Austin realtor,
Real estate in Austin remains strong. Listings have dropped but the remaining demand still exceeds the reduced existing supply as of this posting. I’m personally purchasing another house in Wimberley, closing April 30, and I did NOT get a “steal”. I have a client writing an offer today. I have Realtor friends staying very busy and reporting multiple offers. This is the case generally for homes under $600K. Higher end has slowed a lot more.
If lending dries up or becomes harder to obtain, which has already started, that could change things. Once we get the “all clear”, whether a month or two from now, pent up demand will be unleashed and a surge of new listings and contracts will follow.
Demand is relative. If listings decrease by 50% but ready/willing buyers only decrease 40%, then relative demand increases. That’s why we’re seeing as many, if not more, multiple offers in April. Weird to a casual observer I’m sure.
View of Austinites,
I think Austin will still be safe from the full effects as many people who seem to be moving to Austin seem to be paying cash (selling more expensive homes in much more expensive metros and using that cash to move here, that or they have other funding available). Not to mention overall the tech industry as well as government operations are probably not going to be hampered as much by Covid-19 as certain other industries so job supply will probably still be available for the market Austin attracts.
Historically, Austin has been resilient to major downturns. That doesn’t mean the occasional deal won’t pop up. But I suspect minor impacts in central Austin, moderate in the surrounding areas. A big chunk of the local working population is made up of government workers and education institution employees; both who always get paid regardless of what happens in the private industry. Next up, what remains of our economy is made up of Tech and hospitality. Tech workers are unlikely to have massive lay offs and can (have been) work from home. They also probably make up a large part of the central Austin homeowners. Then, I think about the geography. Austin can’t really sprawl like the other major cities, which means limited supply in sought after areas.
1 Like
Typical house price trend for 78613, 78759 and 78727.
So far remains strong 
Austin is not affected by oil industry. Austin is not Dallas or Houston.
Isn’t the evil turtle in the senate talking about letting states go bankrupt? If most of the businesses shut down who are paying sales and business taxes, and therefore government employees salaries?
Oil companies pay lots of taxes too. Unrealistic to think a bust in oil will have zero impact on government revenue.
Austin has only one unicorn: a startup that helps oil companies hire their temps. I don’t expect it to be doing too well lately.
Texas economy is ass backward and is anchored to the past not the future. It better pays Elon Musk to put his factory there.
McConnell is suggesting that the states like CA, CT, NJ,NY,IL who do not know how to manage their finance, should take the Bankruptcy route so that their debt can be restructured. He and some other republican senators do not want money from red states through FED to go to bail out blue states. Bankruptcy is not as drastic as it sounds. All it means is that the states declaring bankruptcy will stop paying debt and legally, the debt holders will be barred from taking any legal action like foreclosing etc. Now what states do to the employees and pensioner is up to states. There is a history of countries and states going bankrupt. The last one I remember is Greece that went through this process in 2015.
The thinking is same as it was for doing away with SALT deduction. Many states feel that NE and CA through SALT were sucking money from other states.
Added Later; CA and NE states should open fast so that they earn some money and not become a financial drag on the rest of country where people are starting to go to work.
Oh the irony. I thought businesses don’t pay taxes, because they are so good at avoiding them. Business owners are rich people who use loopholes to avoid paying taxes. Now we find out who really pays for all the stuff the government “provides”.
Even in Austin? I thought Texans were too tough and proud to wear masks? From your future girlfriend. Be careful. She is Brazilian. A handful as Texans say.
Here in Austin the precautions are still in place. Had to wait outside the grocery store for 20 minutes before allowed to get in. Then was handled something to clean my cart and told to keep the mask on inside at all times. Inside very few people and didn’t bump on anyone. Got my stuff done. Left. All very orderly.
Your chart says appreciation has pretty much stopped since Jan 2018. Inflection point in 2018. What is it? Some future trend you don’t know about?
I see you can’t interpret chart 
Edit: messing with you. Is a new construction. Zillow somehow able to make estimate while it is a piece of land till completed construction
Austin real estate tech startup Homeward raises $105M for hiring spree
Austin is already 90 degrees everyday.
1 Like
Possible terrafactory site. It mentioned Hutto is the best choice, the 2nd one is Taylor. Both are in NE region of greater Austin, and along highway 79.
Ask Abbott. Guess he is eager to develop the sparsely populated exurbs.
1 Like
How much is Texas paying Elon the Conman?