Austin Texas Real Estate Blog

The State of Texas is prepared to spend big money to lure social networking site Facebook to the Austin area. The $1.4 million incentive package is intended to make Austin even more attractive to Facebook, which has its main corporate headquarters in Palo Alto, California and has recently announced plans to open a national office outside the California area. The new office is expected to provide around 200 well-paying jobs in the sales, customer service and risk management fields, making it a valuable asset for the city Facebook selects. The incentive package offered by Texas will be funded by the Texas Enterprise Fund and is dependent on the city of Austin agreeing to ante up approximately $200,000 worth of local incentives; the proposed incentive plan will go before a public hearing on March 11, 2010.

Austin has long been considered one of the high-tech centers in the region, and the addition of a national Facebook office would add to the city’s well-deserved reputation. Chief Operating Officer of Facebook Sheryl Sandberg indicated that Austin was under serious consideration as a potential site for the office, stating “Austin, with its deep talent pool, would allow us to hire the high-caliber employees we need to properly serve the people, advertisers and developers that rely on our service.” Facebook currently has over 400 million active users, so its presence in Austin would be a high-profile addition to the city’s already vibrant high-tech industry scene.

This is not the first time a major online company has chosen Austin as a site for expansion; Google opened an office in Austin in 2008, but closed it along with several other offices worldwide soon after due to financial cutbacks throughout the company. While only twenty jobs were lost due to the closing, the Austin community felt the blow to its reputation as a high-tech hub. If Austin is able to snag the Facebook office, the effects will be felt not only economically but also psychologically throughout the region.

Facebook’s interest in opening an Austin office follows on the heels of recent announcements by LegalZoom and Pioneer Surgical Technology to open offices in Austin; LegalZoom’s new expansion is expected to bring around 600 jobs to Austin in the next few years, while Pioneer Surgical’s new office will employ around 30 people when it opens in the second quarter of this year. These acquisitions are expected to boost the local economy still further in the latter part of 2010.

St. David’s HealthCare recently announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire the Heart Hospital of Austin, Texas from MedCath Corporation, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. St. David’s, one of the largest employers in Austin, has long been considered a leader in the healthcare field throughout the region. This acquisition is expected to allow the St. David’s HealthCare team to provide an even higher quality of care and increase efficiency throughout the system.

St. David’s currently has twenty-four sites throughout Austin and the surrounding area, making it one of the largest healthcare organizations in Texas. It was the fifth largest employer in Austin before this acquisition, and is expected to move up in rank when the transfer becomes complete sometime later this year. The two companies are awaiting final regulatory commission approval for the acquisition.

St. David’s HealthCare has achieved high marks for employee satisfaction, ranking number one in the 2007, 2008, and 2009 Austin Business Journal’s list of “Best Places to Work” in Austin. It encompasses six of the metropolitan area’s major hospitals and has been awarded the Texas Award for Performance Excellence for its outstanding patient care and quality medical services. The addition of Heart Hospital will allow St. David’s to further solidify its position as the leading healthcare provider in the Austin area; the Heart Hospital of Austin was recently named by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as the best place in the country to be treated for a heart attack.

For Austin residents, this acquisition is expected to further cement Austin’s position as the leading healthcare industry center in the state of Texas and to provide additional employment opportunities in the area. Austin’s already high quality of life is also expected to improve as a result of the St. David’s HealthCare expansion and acquisition. Since the Heart Hospital of Austin will now be under local administration and ownership, the Austin economy is expected to see benefits from the acquisition as well; the streamlining of services and procedures will further improve the quality of patient care in the area and should serve as an additional attraction for businesses looking to relocate to the Austin area.

Employers finding the lure of the Central Texas hill country are moving to Austin in droves!

Austin officials recently announced a proposed $500,000 package of incentives for the Hanger Orthopedic Group to facilitate its planned relocation to Austin. The proposal is expected to provide $50,000 per year for ten years providing that Hanger meets certain stipulations. Hanger is an industry leader in medical equipment, prostheses, and orthotics and is relocating to Austin from Bethesda, Maryland. While current employees of the Hanger headquarters in Maryland will be given the opportunity to relocate, the company is expected to provide as many as 100 jobs for the local employment market.

Austin has participated in such agreements with other companies, most notably the 62.9 million dollar tax incentive package offered to Samsung Austin Semiconductor for the construction of a second plant that is expected to provide 500 jobs to Austin residents upon completion. Other significant incentive packages were provided to the television show “Friday Night Lights” and $37 million over 20 years to The Domain multi-use commercial and residential development in North Austin, slated to create 1,100 jobs. The latest set of incentives continues Austin’s tradition of proactive recruitment of jobs for its economy.

Hanger chose Austin as the site for its new headquarters in part because it already had a major subsidiary located here; Innovative Neurotronics manufactures the WalkAide system, a neuromuscular stimulating device that provides additional mobility to spinal cord patients and those living with multiple sclerosis. Austin also provides significant benefits to high-tech employers like Hanger, with a highly-educated workforce and respected institutions of higher education nearby. Company officials also cited the high quality of life available in the Austin area as a factor in their decision; Austin is widely regarded as one of the best places to live in the entire U.S. A large part of the decision, however, is due to Austin’s business-friendly policies, which are designed to attract and retain employers for the area. Austin’s central location will assist Hanger in communications with its subsidiaries throughout the country, and is expected to help the company improve its financial bottom line performance.

Austin has weathered the recent economic downturn better than most other cities in large part due to active recruitment of new employers and businesses to the area. Austin and Texas government officials have been aggressive and proactive in offering incentives for investment in the region, ensuring that the vibrant Austin economy continues to grow. The addition of the Hanger headquarters is expected to make Austin even more desirable as a location for new business, especially in the medical and pharmaceutical fields.

Austin uses single stream recycling.

Austin has earned a reputation as one of the most environmentally conscious cities in the nation, but this reputation has not come without cost. Austin’s current single-stream recycling program, which was instituted in October 2008, has cost the city over $2 million since it began. Single-stream recycling allows consumers to commingle all recyclable materials, including paper, glass, aluminum, and plastic, in one container. It is considered more convenient than recycling methods that require that individuals separate out the different types of recyclables into different bins.

The City of Austin has a contract with Greenstar to separate and accept the recyclable materials. The cost of the contract, however, has far exceeded initial estimates due to a sharp increase in recycling on the part of Austin’s residents. The ease of single-stream recycling is credited in part for this increase; another factor is the heightened awareness of environmental issues on the part of Austin residents. Regardless of the causes, Austin city residents have more than doubled their recycling volume since the implementation of single-stream recycling, and the figures continue to rise each month, creating an unexpected expense for the city and requiring a reevaluation of the recycling contract with Greenstar. The contract is currently under review by the city council to determine if it will be extended beyond its scheduled expiration in 2010 or if the cost of recycling materials can be reduced to a more affordable level by negotiating with the company for a longer-term contract.

Greenstar, based in San Antonio, has offered a number of alternatives that could bring prices down significantly. Austin city officials, however, have suggested a plan that would allow Austin to construct its own single-stream recycling facility and avoid the expense of outsourcing this activity to an outside vendor. Most independent analysts believe that the greatest savings over the long run would be achieved by this plan, which would require only a short-term extension of the Greenstar contract and allow the city of Austin to realize approximately $400,000 in savings over the duration of the extended contract term.

A decision on extending the contract is expected soon; city council members are considering three options, including one that will reduce Greenstar’s processing fees by approximately $20 per ton in return for an extension through 2013. If a new single-stream recycling facility is the chosen option, the resulting construction project is expected to provide employment for a number of commercial builders and environmental consultants who will be hired for the project. By constructing a single-stream recycling plant, Austin can continue to demonstrate its commitment to environmental responsibility and green-friendly living while saving taxpayer money into the bargain.

With the down-turn of the economy and the highest unemployment figures in decades, many people are becoming more aggressive in finding new employment. Others people are retraining for a new way of life. Some discerning people are taking a new approach, investing in their futures. We highlighted some facts to consider.

In a real estate climate of plummeting housing prices and the rising number of foreclosures, individuals with a good line of credit, a little bit of cash, a discerning eye, and nerves of steel, can start a new life and their own business.

Now is the time to invest, and Austin is the place to invest in.

Opening any business in a normal economy is a very risky business in itself, and the odds of surviving in business within the first five years are precarious at best. But consider the current climate where you have the most valued “tools” and the prices of your product can shake out “diamonds in the ruff” are at rock bottom prices. This would probably make the chances of surviving your first five years a little better. Also consider that most people entering the Real Estate market now have only one way to go, up! There is also the possibility of finding and purchasing the home of your dreams, over and over again. These are the positives of this Real Estate climate.

However, plunging head first into Real Estate, or any business, is not advisable. Even if you have all of the most valued tools available to you, it is always a good idea to work with a trustworthy, knowledgeable realtor, banker, and home inspectors. Contacting and depending on your qualified real estate agent will enable you to find the best prices and the best houses for your investment.

Austin tops the lists again!

Brookings Institute in Washington, DC conducts their ‘MetroMonitor’ survey every quarter. They released their comparison research for the last quarter of 2008 to the first quarter of 2009. The top 5 cities are all in the South West Region. Naturally, Austin has ranked among the top 5, which also include San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas in Texas and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The Metro Monitor survey reviews several aspects of a city to narrow the field. They choices include unemployment vs employment opportunities, average wages in the metropolitan area, and housing costs. After receiving Forbes recognition it was obvious that Austin would rank high on all of those criteria.

Austin’s results on the Brookings MetroMonitor were as follows:

Unemployment: remained steady

Job Opportunities: down .05%

Average Wages: Up 1.4%

Housing Costs: Increased 2.4 %

The state of Texas has many cities with positive opportunities, but Austin ranks at the top. Once again, it is obvious to see why Austin is doing so well while so many others are not. This is the place to raise a family, own a busienss, and develop your real estate investment network.

Forbes once again has to recognize the brilliance that is Austin, Texas. After performing a survey of the most affordable place to live, and the most pleasant on your wallet, Austin took first place. This survey evaluated 4 questions across 50 major metropolitan cities and local vicinities. This makes official what Austenites already knew, you get more value for your dollar in Texas than any other part of the country.

According to Forbes the top 4 criteria include: housing opportunities (homes available for rent or sale), unemployment, average salary, cost of living. Of all of them, Austin rated in the top 25. In the area of unemployment Austin came in as number 1. For housing opportunities they rated as 24, the lowest of the 4 options for Austin. Regarding cost of living, of the 50 cities reviewed, Austin landed at 3 with average salary coming in at 20. This creates a wonderful picture of the grandeur of ‘the weird city’ of Austin, Texas.

As often as Forbes does their surveys, Austin continues to surprise them by topping the lists. From green recognition to best bang for your buck, this is the place to live. Moving to Austin is easier than ever, with the right Realtor. When are ready to move, contact the team here to find your place to live in this wonderful city we call Austin.

Of the major metropolitan areas across the United States of America with a potential labor force above 750 thousand, only 1 has gained jobs since 2008. That incredible achievement was reached in Austin, Texas. The National Bureau of Labor released the results comparing Apr. 2008 and Apr. 2009, and for the 3rd month in a row, Austin bested all others in job gains. The current unemployment rate for Austin, Texas is 5.8 percent down 3.6% from the national average of 9.4 percent. Only the 38 top metropolitan labor force cities were involved in this survey.

The significant job increases for 2009 have been in the industries related to Restaurants, Retail, and Hospitality. These services are provided direct to the public and even through a recession they are seeing modest growth opportunities. Direct impact on Austin’s job market, goods producing industries and technology based industries are down across the region. The jobs in the direct to consumer industries mentioned above, compensate significantly for those jobs lost.

The lowest unemployment rates in Texas are Austin with 5.8 percent and San Antonio with 5.4 percent. After that the next closest job healthy cities are Huston at 6.3 percent and Dallas-Fort Worth with 6.6 percent. Both are still below the national average, as are many smaller metro area’s who are reported at 8 percent and above unemployment. This proves the value that the Austin Metropolitan area offers to their residents and new home owners.

The city of Austin has been a true diamond in the rough throughout this recession. While many comparable cities have struggled with enormous foreclosure and unemployment rates, Austin has steadily maintained home values and prices. The city actually managed to create jobs while nationwide hundreds of thousands of employees were being laid off. Recently, NewGeography.com placed Austin at #1 on its list of big cities with the best employment potential. In 2008, there was a job growth in Austin of 1%, which may not seem like very much, but was much higher than many large cities in the nation.

The job market will directly affect the real estate market. While Austin has not seen the type of bubble burst that other cities have, there has been a significant slowdown over the past several years. Since Texas as a whole did not fully fall in to the no money down, less than perfect credit lending practices that so many states did, there are far fewer homes here in foreclosure. Homes have sat longer on the market, but average home prices have remained fairly stable throughout the market decline. Add to that, downtown Austin is in high demand and the city is doing its best to provide easy access. Mixed use properties and transportation are high on the list of improvements the city intends to make. Businesses are still moving to Austin, and employment will remain high in the area.

Austin is expected to come out on top at the end of this recession. Everything points to a great recovery for the area. More people are moving to Austin to take advantage of the great economy and growth is expected to continue. Austin is not just pretty views; it’s a place where you can find a job and a home.

With an economy that is still creating jobs, it is no wonder why Austin has been doing so well throughout this recession. The city has had tremendous focus on business friendly developments over the last several years. Home prices continue to be reasonable, and the natural beauty only enhances the pull of the area. Austin has maintained a fairly stable economy and an almost nonexistent unemployment rate despite the national declines of late. A recent online consumer resource group report shows that more people are moving to Austin than leaving.

Relocation.com analyzed the migration into and out of Austin during the time from 2007 to 2009 and has reported that interstate moves to Austin were at 62%, while moves away were less than 40%. This influx is due to the job market and more stable real estate market of Austin and the surrounding areas. There has been astonishing job loss statistics since January, and many people have learned to find a job, it may be necessary to relocate. Austin offers everything that not only employees, but employers need as well. The population is expected to continue its growth. As more educated workers move into the area, more businesses will be inclined to move here as well.

Austin offers a little of everything for everyone. Many cities are being affected so strongly by the recession that it may take years for them to recover. While Austin is not going to be completely unscathed during these trying times, the city is certainly doing much better than others of comparable size.