Moving To And Living In Austin

Texas Property Taxes

Since we have so many out of state clients relocating here, we often hear gasps of horror when they discover that our property taxes are often 3% or higher.  Check out this website to help clarify what our property taxes are for, how much you can expect to pay, and if you qualify for any reductions.

http://www.texas-property-taxes.com/

Austin Market Still Strong

Check out this article by the Austin American Statesman.  Apparently, Austin's home sales are flat right now, but analysts say we're still doing quite well.  http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/realestate/04/21/21homesales.html

Austin Neighbrhood Information: Rollingwood

Community Name: Rollingwood, located in Westlake, home of some of the best schools in Texas.

Community Description and Highlights:  Rollingwood is located just off of Bee Caves Road (aka 2244), and is only a few minutes south west from downtown.  Tucked away in the hills and trees, this neighborhood has it all.  Wide streets, rolling hills, a nice mix of newer and older homes, and lots of community involvement. I love that the homes over here are set on large lots, and there are tons of kids that live in the area.  Homes range from 700,000 up to over a million.  Average square foot of homes is above 2500.   This community is in Search Area 'W.'

Community Amenities:  Close to the entrance to Rollingwood is Rollingwood Pool, where you can become a member if you live in the area.  The pool is a nice size and has lots of social activities and swim lessons.  http://www.whac.org/

Just up Bee Caves Road, you have all the shopping, coffee shops, etc. that you need.  Randalls, a Texas grocery store, has a huge store here, as well as Starbucks, McDonald's etc.

One of my favorite shops in this area is Francesca's, which is a very fashionable ladies' clothing and accessories store that is also Texas owned.  http://www.francescascollections.com/index.jsp

You're also just minutes away from a very nice shopping mall and movie theaters, Barton Creek.  http://www.simon.com/mall/default.aspx?ID=223

I love Yoga Vida, which is also on Bee Caves Road.  The teach lots of Bikram and Vinyasa yoga.  http://www.yogavida.net/

Trianon Coffee Shop is just around the corner as well at the corner of Bee Caves and Walsh Tarlton.

Schools:  As mentioned, the school district in this area is one of the best in Texas: Eanes ISD.  In Rollingwood the kids go to Eanes Elementary  http://www.har.com/school/campus/campusDetail.asp?id=227909101,

Hill Country Middle  http://www.har.com/school/campus/campusDetail.asp?id=227909041, and Westlake High  http://www.har.com/school/campus/campusDetail.asp?id=227909001.   

Bugs and Critters in Texas

What We Have, and What To Do About Them....

If you're from out of state, you've probably heard that we have bugs in Texas.  It isn't as bad as you might think.   Check out this link to a website all about our bugs and what to do about them.  But, this site does make our bug situation seem a lot scarier than it really is.  I've lived in Texas my whole life, and bugs are just not that big of a deal to me.  You learn what to do with them, and you're fine.

http://citybugs.tamu.edu/fastsheets.asp

Nationally, the Housing Market Takes a Turn

Check out this article from the Austin American Statesman.  This good to hear!  http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/other/03/24/24econ.html

New Development on Lake Travis

Wow, you have to check out this new condo complex right on Lake Travis.  It won't be done for 15 months, but they're preselling now and it looks amazing!  The nice thing about this one is that, unlike most of the other new developments out there, you don't have to take a tram down to the water.  You're just right there on the water.   http://www.waterstonelaketravis.com/

Welcome to the Easiest Way to Find Your New Home and Neighborhood In and Around Austin....Here's How It Works:

1. Pick Up Your Free Guide to 2007 Austin Real Estate Prices. www.AustinHBCGuide.com

2.  Browse the Best Neighborhoods Austin Has To Offer.  www.AustinHBCNeighborhoods.com

3.  Begin Searching The MLS. www.AustinHBCSearch.com

Austin Neighborhoods: Allandale

Community Name: Allandale, located between Anderson Lane, Shoal Creek, 45th Street, and Burnet Road. 

Community Description and Highlights:  Allandale is known for its nice older homes, built in the 50's.  The area is full of large mature trees, beautifully kept lawns and gardens, and great sidewalks along Shoal Creek.  Take a look at the photo album to the right for views of Shoal Creek and typical homes for the area.  The Austin American Statesman just published a little story about Allandale:  http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/statesmanhomes/04/08/8neighborhood.On

One major advantage to living in this area is proximity to everything!  You're only a few minutes from Mopac, I35, and downtown.  And only twenty or so minutes from the lake without traffic.

Community Amenities: On Burnet Road, just minutes away, you can find great shopping at the local spunky thrift stores.  At 45th and Burnet there is the cute little eatery, the Upper Crust Bakery:  http://www.theuppercrustbakery.com/aboutus.cfm.  You can also dine at one of our favorites spots for the kids, Phil's Ice House in combination with Amy's Ice Creams.  This location has a great outdoor play area for the kids.  http://www.austin360.com/restaurants/content/food_drink/restaurants/stories/xl/2006/08/10side.html

On Anderson Lane, you can find a great toy store, Terra Toys  http://www.terratoys.com/, as well as all the conveniences, a CVS drugstore, a Sun Harvest grocery store, Alamo Drafthouse movie theater, Starbucks, etc.  One of our favorite restaurants, Suzy's Asian Cuisine, is also on Anderson.

Shoal Creek, now that we have had some significant rains, is flowing and gorgeous right now.  Certainly a great place for a jog or a stroll with the kids.  See the photos to the right.

Allandale, unfortunately, is also home to a big controversy right now.   The current Northcross Mall located on Anderson Lane has been bought by Wal-Mart, and the neighbors have lots to say about that.  You can check out more about the issues at www.RG4N.org.

Schools: Are good, not excellent, Pillow Elementary http://www.har.com/school/campus/campusDetail.asp?id=227901151,

Gullett Elementary http://www.har.com/school/campus/campusDetail.asp?id=227901117 ,

Lamar Middle http://www.har.com/school/campus/campusDetail.asp?id=227901045,

McCallum High http://www.har.com/school/campus/campusDetail.asp?id=227901005.

Click here to go to our Allandale Photo Album: http://austinhbc.typepad.com/photos/austin_neighborhoods_alla/

Cedar Park Reaches It's Prime

I was up in Cedar Park and Leander showing all day yesterday and have some news to report. It's really waking up! The latest big news is - Schlitterbahn is coming to Austin and will call Cedar Park it's home. If you don't know about the 'world's best water park' according to the Travel Channel - read the article here http://schlitterbahn.com/corp/media/2006/3-22-2006-number1.htm . Stack that on top of the Texas X Park, a 203 acre Extreme sports park, featuring a 60 acre lake for tow skiing and jumping, a motocross track, a bmx track, skateboark park for the kids and one for adults too if you are so inclined, camping, fishing, golf, and oval track racing to name a few. For the complete list (it's massive), check out www.TexasXPark.com . These additions are very exciting news to me, because from a real estate perspective Cedar Park and Leander are the best affordable real estate choices left. Why? great schools, trees, it's in the Hill Country, close to Lake Travis, it's on the west side, and in '08 there will be a new Train going straight into Downtown Austin! And  - it's prime for investment. For now, you can still buy a 5 year old 2,000 square foot home for less than $160k. But not for long - the inventory calculations I have done suggest that there will be very rapid appreciation this year. The supply is being purchased at a much faster rate than new inventory is coming on the market. I could get into a lot of stastical analysis at this point but what is important to know is the demand is very high and the supply is low. Feel free to email me with more questions ken@austinhbc.com or call me at 512-947-7797 to discuss.

Bee Cave Bistro

Last night we had a date with no kids!  So, we had the pleasure of going to a new, sumptuous, restaurant in Westlake.  Located on Bee Caves Road (aka 2244), close to Highway 71, Bee Cave Bistro turned out to be a great choice.  They have a funky atmosphere, attentive service, and excellent food.  Ken had blue cheese mashed potatoes with his homemade meatloaf, and I had a lovely apricot chutney chicken breast that was delicious.  We highly recommend you check this one out! http://beecavebistro.com/