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Austin not well known for luxury real estate - yet, but there definitely is a market for luxury real estate in the Austin area. By luxury, I am specifically talking about single-family homes that sell for over $1 million. When talking about Austin, the area is a 5 county area that includes the Austin metro area.
As of today, July 2, 2008 there are 608 homes over $1 million on the market in the Austin area with 78 of those being over $3 million and 6 over $10 million. One of these is actually a 895 acre ranch in Blanco County so I will discount that as an Austin luxury home listing. There are currently 30 luxury homes under contract. That gives the area roughly an 11 month supply of homes for sale for over $1 million.
Between January 1, 2008 and July 1, 2008, 113 luxury homes sold in the Austin area. Of these, 92 of the sold homes sold for less than $2 million. The most expensive luxury home sold during this time sold for $4,350,000.
For the same time period in 2007, 163 luxury homes sold. Of these, 136 sold for under $2 million. The average price of a home under $2 million was around $1,353,000, or $300.86 per square foot. That compares to figures of $1,353,500 and $318.68 for 2008. The first half of 2007 was healthy and the credit crunch had not hit. Home sales were stronger than 2008. However, we are not seeing what people thought we might see – declining prices. The number of luxury homes sold so far in 2008 is down, the prices are up.
Let´s look at the more expensive homes that have sold. For the same time period being discussed in 2007, there were 27 luxury homes sold in the Austin area for more than $2 million. I am leaving one out that sold for $12 million as it sat on over 350 acres. The average price for homes that sold over $2 million was $3,137,500, which was just over $453 per square foot. For the same period in 2008, 21 homes have sold for over $2 million. The average price for homes that sold over $2 million was $2,701,000, which was just over $430 per square foot. So it looks like the more expensive end of the luxury market has felt a bit of a pinch, but nothing overly dramatic. As a side note, the fun thing for me is that I sold the second highest priced home in the area in 2007.
So now you are wondering where these homes are. For the more expensive homes, look at the area bordered on the east by Mopac Expressway and going out to Lake Travis east of Briarcliff as the western edge. The northern and southern boundaries are FM 2222 and Southwest Parkway. This area includes West Lake Hills and the area that follows the Colorado River Valley. This area is the same for sales in 2007 and 2008 and almost half of these homes are located in the hills between Mopac and Loop 360. Others are scattered out toward and on Lake Travis.
For homes that sold between $1 million and $2 million, both time periods show the same pattern. They are generally located in the same area as the more expensive homes, with a few being in more outlying areas. The largest concentration of these luxury homes is between Mopac Expressway and Loop 360 and just west of Loop 360. The second most concentrated area was on or near Lake Travis.
There is a good reason that the expensive homes are located where they are. The area just to the west of downtown Austin is dramatically hilly. I drove to the top of one street less than three miles west of the capitol and it seemed that I was almost eye level with the top of the 32 story Frost Bank building in downtown Austin, which is over 500 feet tall. So reason number 1 is some very dramatic view of the city.
Lake Austin runs through the Colorado River Valley from Mansfield Dam, which holds Lake Travis back, to just west of the downtown Austin area. Looking down on the lake offers very dramatic views, with some areas being 300 feet higher than the lake. So reason number 2 is the view again. By the way, these reasons are not ranked in order of importance. Speaking of Lake Austin, how about a house on the lake? The least expensive home on Lake Austin right now is $1.25 million, but it is on more of a canal without a view of the actual lake. To get actual lake frontage, current listings start at $2.2 million and go up to $12.8 million.
Moving on to other areas, Lake Travis is just gorgeous. With limestone walls, the water is a dramatic blue to blue-green color. It is 63 miles long and 4 miles wide at its widest point. Lake Travis has become very expensive over time as it has gained in popularity and had fewer waterfront lots available.
There are other areas that are exclusive just for what they are. The large subdivision of Barton Creek has two very private, gated communities with huge, expensive homes. These are the areas of Mirador and Escala. Many of the homes in these areas never make it into the MLS because they are custom builds. Both areas offer either large lots with privacy, views of downtown or both.
Lake Travis, Mirador, Barton Creek, West Lake Hills – these are just some of the areas in which you will find some wonderful luxury homes in Austin, Texas. If you have never visited, you would be amazed!
Author Bio:
Sam Chapman is an Austin REALTOR® who has lived and worked in the Austin area since 1987. Sam works with Austin luxury home buyers as well a variety of other Austin real estate buyers and sellers and he enjoys volunteering in the community.
As of today, July 2, 2008 there are 608 homes over $1 million on the market in the Austin area with 78 of those being over $3 million and 6 over $10 million. One of these is actually a 895 acre ranch in Blanco County so I will discount that as an Austin luxury home listing. There are currently 30 luxury homes under contract. That gives the area roughly an 11 month supply of homes for sale for over $1 million.
Between January 1, 2008 and July 1, 2008, 113 luxury homes sold in the Austin area. Of these, 92 of the sold homes sold for less than $2 million. The most expensive luxury home sold during this time sold for $4,350,000.
For the same time period in 2007, 163 luxury homes sold. Of these, 136 sold for under $2 million. The average price of a home under $2 million was around $1,353,000, or $300.86 per square foot. That compares to figures of $1,353,500 and $318.68 for 2008. The first half of 2007 was healthy and the credit crunch had not hit. Home sales were stronger than 2008. However, we are not seeing what people thought we might see – declining prices. The number of luxury homes sold so far in 2008 is down, the prices are up.
Let´s look at the more expensive homes that have sold. For the same time period being discussed in 2007, there were 27 luxury homes sold in the Austin area for more than $2 million. I am leaving one out that sold for $12 million as it sat on over 350 acres. The average price for homes that sold over $2 million was $3,137,500, which was just over $453 per square foot. For the same period in 2008, 21 homes have sold for over $2 million. The average price for homes that sold over $2 million was $2,701,000, which was just over $430 per square foot. So it looks like the more expensive end of the luxury market has felt a bit of a pinch, but nothing overly dramatic. As a side note, the fun thing for me is that I sold the second highest priced home in the area in 2007.
So now you are wondering where these homes are. For the more expensive homes, look at the area bordered on the east by Mopac Expressway and going out to Lake Travis east of Briarcliff as the western edge. The northern and southern boundaries are FM 2222 and Southwest Parkway. This area includes West Lake Hills and the area that follows the Colorado River Valley. This area is the same for sales in 2007 and 2008 and almost half of these homes are located in the hills between Mopac and Loop 360. Others are scattered out toward and on Lake Travis.
For homes that sold between $1 million and $2 million, both time periods show the same pattern. They are generally located in the same area as the more expensive homes, with a few being in more outlying areas. The largest concentration of these luxury homes is between Mopac Expressway and Loop 360 and just west of Loop 360. The second most concentrated area was on or near Lake Travis.
There is a good reason that the expensive homes are located where they are. The area just to the west of downtown Austin is dramatically hilly. I drove to the top of one street less than three miles west of the capitol and it seemed that I was almost eye level with the top of the 32 story Frost Bank building in downtown Austin, which is over 500 feet tall. So reason number 1 is some very dramatic view of the city.
Lake Austin runs through the Colorado River Valley from Mansfield Dam, which holds Lake Travis back, to just west of the downtown Austin area. Looking down on the lake offers very dramatic views, with some areas being 300 feet higher than the lake. So reason number 2 is the view again. By the way, these reasons are not ranked in order of importance. Speaking of Lake Austin, how about a house on the lake? The least expensive home on Lake Austin right now is $1.25 million, but it is on more of a canal without a view of the actual lake. To get actual lake frontage, current listings start at $2.2 million and go up to $12.8 million.
Moving on to other areas, Lake Travis is just gorgeous. With limestone walls, the water is a dramatic blue to blue-green color. It is 63 miles long and 4 miles wide at its widest point. Lake Travis has become very expensive over time as it has gained in popularity and had fewer waterfront lots available.
There are other areas that are exclusive just for what they are. The large subdivision of Barton Creek has two very private, gated communities with huge, expensive homes. These are the areas of Mirador and Escala. Many of the homes in these areas never make it into the MLS because they are custom builds. Both areas offer either large lots with privacy, views of downtown or both.
Lake Travis, Mirador, Barton Creek, West Lake Hills – these are just some of the areas in which you will find some wonderful luxury homes in Austin, Texas. If you have never visited, you would be amazed!
Author Bio:
Sam Chapman is an Austin REALTOR® who has lived and worked in the Austin area since 1987. Sam works with Austin luxury home buyers as well a variety of other Austin real estate buyers and sellers and he enjoys volunteering in the community.
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