AUSTIN AREA

General Real Estate Investing
1

I have heard a lot recently about Austin and how it is booming right now for REI. My father and I are planning a trip over there in the next few months to look at some real estate and see if it is a wise investment. My question is what is the best investment in Austin. Single family homes, condos, commercial land, apartments, anything else??? Anyone with experience in the area please help. Also what are the prices like in this market??
-Mike

2

I looked and found some nice properties in Austin, but I also found 4,000-6,000 per year in taxes. Yikes.

3

Hey,
The whole San Antonio/ Austin area is really booming. I would look in areas outside the larger cities. New Braunfels still has reasonable prices and is growing. DeeinAustin who posts frequently can give you a better idea of what is going on and where to look. Tedjr also will give you good advice for outlying areas. TedJr is the king of posts here and is located in Austin as well.
Peace,
Richard

4

Howdy All:

I live in Austin and had about 50 homes in East Austin before my crash in 2000. A great year for my home getting built but bad for my REI career. Read my success story http://reiclub.com/success-stories.php?id=12

Today I am investing in Waco, Killeen, Temple and a commercial deal in Corpus. The East side is getting too hot for cheap rentals that will produce cash flow. If I could find some cash flow here in Austin I would buy it for sure as it is close to home. I have done a few rehabs here but they are moving slowly. Where OH where have all the good deals gone.

The deals must look great to California investors with their high prices but for me I am going to where the cash flow is a bit better. LOL

5

Austin is projected to continue to grow as long as the economy at least stays flat. How fast it grows depends on the area, but we’re not seeing the appreciation rates in AZ, FL, and CA. I have a portion of my website dedicated to East Austin, which is really booming. My listings usually sell in a few days for above list price. http://www.BuyEastAustin.com.

I know that sounds great, but I make sure my investors are really careful about getting too excited about the bidding process. You still need to follow basic investing principles and buy correctly now instead of later. http://www.AustinHomeNews.com has information about our market and the selling process, but each investor has their own strategies.

Here’s a short market update:

  1. We have a TON of beginning rehab investors who are overpaying for properties, but if you have cash and are willing to do structural work, you can beat them.

  2. We’re doing a fair amount of lot sales. Investors are doing really quick builds or moving old houses to the lots and flipping them for a fair profit.

  3. New home communities are on the rise. I just heard of a new one today that is being built in Cedar Park and they’re allowing limited investors. They just signed the deal yesterday, so there’s no slabs started.

  4. Banks are holding onto their REOs and just fixing them up to sell at market. HUDs are still on hold. There’s not as many good deals in that area since beginning investors are overpaying, but again, you can find a gem every now and then.

  5. Preforeclosures are still at high levels, so can be good deals as long as you do your research and catch the seller early. My preforeclosures in East Austin have sold within 2-14 days. Other areas take longer, but sellers are often willing to do financing/lease options, but you have to be careful because of new laws.

  6. I just went to a summit this weekend and am putting together a report about various new highways, the communter rail, and changes in Downtown Austin that I got from some inside sources. Central/East, and any areas around the commuter lines will be in demand.

  7. According to projections, Northwest Austin will also continue to grow, especially in the area of retail office space.