http://www.joecline.com/blog About the Austin Real Estate Market Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:34:54 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Austin may be the go to city for green building and innovations in alternative energy and energy saving construction, but it is not so great when it comes to saving on gasoline. A new study from Men's Health magazine ranks Austinites 43rd out of a hundred major US cities when ... http://www.joecline.com/blog/2008/08/28/austin-not-so-good-at-driving-green/ The Austin City Council has named Brewster McCracken to the new Mayor Pro Tem position at a special meeting on Wednesday, June 25, 2008. Mr. McCracken replaces Betty Dunkerley who had served as Mayor Pro Tem from June 20, 2005 to June 15, 2008. Mr. McCracken was nominated by council ... http://www.joecline.com/blog/2008/08/26/new-mayor-pro-tem-elected/ The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) board has decided to cease collecting cash tolls on US Highway 183A by the end of 2008. According to CTRMA, most of those drivers who use 183A on a regular basis pay using the TxTag system, which collects information about tolls electronically. CTRMA ... http://www.joecline.com/blog/2008/08/24/a-toll-road-no-longer/ Finished before it was even started, the Magnolia condo project was forced into foreclosure in July 2008. The Magnolia was to have been a five-story condominium building close to the downtown area, consisting of 139 units priced at between $220,000 and $600,000. Amenities were to include private balconies or courtyards, an ... http://www.joecline.com/blog/2008/08/22/magnolia-condo-project-succumbs-to-foreclosure/ For the second year in a row, Houston, Texas, ranks second among major US cities for the average cost of obtaining a mortgage. Houston is topped only by New York City, while Buffalo, NY, comes in third, according to a survey done by Bankrate, Inc.. Based on a hypothetical $200,000 ... http://www.joecline.com/blog/2008/08/20/texas-takes-second-place-for-average-closing-costs/ The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) will be changing the process for green building certification in January 2009. Certification through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program has become extremely popular since its inception in the year 2000, with over 1,500 building having received certification and 11,000 ... http://www.joecline.com/blog/2008/08/18/leed-certification-process-to-change/ According to Allstate Insurance Company, drivers in Austin are 35 percent more likely to have a vehicular accident when compared to the nation as a whole. The report looks at insurance claims in the country's 200 largest cities and concludes at Austin drivers are, for whatever reason, quite possibly the ... http://www.joecline.com/blog/2008/08/16/austin-drivers-are-accident-prone/ The real estate market for professional office space continues to look grim as office vacancy in Austin rose to 16.5 percent during the second quarter of 2008. This is up slightly from the 16 percent vacancy rate reported for the first quarter. Oxford Commercial, a tenant representative brokerage firm based in ... http://www.joecline.com/blog/2008/08/14/as-office-vacancy-rises-rents-may-drop/ Well, maybe not right away.  Results from a recent survey released by Salary.com suggest that Austin is a great city to build your personal wealth. Ranked number thirteen on a list of 69 major US cities, Austin is near the top for its decent salary level, relatively low cost of ... http://www.joecline.com/blog/2008/08/10/move-to-austin-get-rich/ In addition to arguments over raises and health benefits - disagreements school boards throughout the country deal with every year - the Austin school board must tackle a third issue in deciding its budget this year: property taxes. Currently, the district operates at the highest property tax rate it can, 1.04 ... http://www.joecline.com/blog/2008/08/08/schools-vote-on-property-taxes/