Q. Why are there no addresses listed in your ads?
A. In order to receive credit for leasing the property, we have to show you the property. In order to give you the most choices, we work all open listings, not just ours.(we work with well over 90% of the complexes in town) In some cases, we can meet you at the property to make it easy on you. Or in some rare situations, register you ahead of time, so we would not have to be there, but we have to arrange this before you look at the property.
A. Can you send me a list?
Unfortunately there is no such thing as a true updated list of available rentals. There are hundreds of rental management and private owners in town, without an MLS type system. Which is why we exist - because it is .a overwhelming task to do it yourself. Therefore we have no correlated list available that we can send you. You can always check our website for an updated selection (but it only lists a small percentage of what available rentals we have) . Anyone who says they have a list, actually has a limited database of the apartments - the ones that will work with them on a smaller commission when they "send" you to apartments on that list, without checking availability - MOST OF WHICH DO NOT HAVE AVAILABILITY OF UNITS MEETING YOUR CRITERIA.
The main reason a list wouldn't help you is that it doesn't show what is available! Availability of units for a particular price, area, etc. literally change daily. Our job is to do the legwork for you, and find the best ones available using your criteria so you can pick from the top ones. Otherwise, you might as well use the yellow pages as a "list".
Free Credit Reports
At any time, consumers can receive a free credit report yearly from each of the three credit reporting agencies. The web site is : www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll free (877) 322-8228
Current News Articles
Austin Apartment Market Report
MARCH 2009
SUMMARY OCCUPANCY CHANGE AVERAGE QUOTED RENT / UNIT
MAR MAR MAR MAR
2008 2009 2008 2009 CHANGE
Austin 92.7% 87.5% - 5.2% $824 $824 0.0%
Dallas 91.0% 89.0% -2.1% $770 $776 0.8%
Fort Worth 88.6% 87.3% 1.4% $670 $673 0.5%
Houston 87.0% 87.6% 0.7% $715 $750 5.0%
San Antonio 90.0% 88.1% -2.1% $682 $693 1.5%
Corpus Christi 91.2% 91.5% 0.4% $699 $697 -0.4%
TEXAS AVERAGE 89.4% 88.1% -1.4% $734 $747 1.9%
NOTE: Austin: Since August of last year, this market has shown a decline each month in the Occupancy Rate.
The response has been an increase in concessions so that now over 50% of all properties are offering
some sort of rental concession, with the average Concession Package standing at 3.8 weeks free on
a 12-month lease. No indicators currently suggest a quick turnaround in this market.
________________________________________________________
AUSTIN APARTMENT MARKET
Local apartment market headed for a slowdown
January, 2009
The apartment market in Central Texas is turning in renters' favor, a new report said. And it looks like the trend will hold for the foreseeable future as a wave of new complexes comes online, further reducing occupancy rates, the report said.
The region's apartments were 91.4 percent occupied in the third quarter, down from 94.1 percent in the year-ago quarter and 91.6 percent in the second quarter of this year, according to Austin Investor Interests which tracks the market.
(Note: as of March 2009 occupancy was down to 87.5%) Although the drop from the previous quarter wasn't big, it came in what is typically the strongest time of the year, when students move into campus-area apartments. It was only the second time in 15 years that occupancy has declined in the third quarter, the report said.
The average rent was $824 a month, flat from the previous quarter. Two experts are forecasting rents to decline 3 to 5 percent during the next 12 months. One big factor is the high level of new construction. In the third quarter, 2,593 units were added, more than 4 times the number added in the third quarter of 2007.
And many more are coming in the 57 projects under construction, with more than 12,000 units left to complete. Half of those units are expected to open during the next two quarters, which have historically seen slow leasing activity,Lincoln is leasing the new Crescent apartment project at 127 E. Riverside Drive near Congress Avenue. Many of the 169 units are leased and are already being lived in
"Overall, we are not absorbing as many units as we should, given the continued, but lower, new job creation." Heimsath predicted that the region's apartment market will see nine to 12 months of slowly declining occupancy and that rents will decline 5 percent over the next 12 months. Willett said he thinks rents will decline 3 percent during the coming year, with that figure factoring in rent discounts.
Willett said that although the latest apartment numbers are "reasonably healthy," annual rent growth "has slowed dramatically from the 5 percent to 6 percent rate seen earlier, but it is still solidly in positive territory at 2.6 percent."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Austin apartment glut, rent cuts predicted- Others, however, say market -- especially for high-end, downtown units -- will stay healthy.
Too many apartments are being built across the Austin area, and that means some tenants can expect rent discounts & other concessions by year's end. According to apartment industry research firm M/PF Yield Star, which shows Austin's June, 2008 occupancy at 93.4 percent, off 1.5 points since March and 1.8 points from mid-2007.
(As of Feb, 2009, Austin's occupancy rate had fallen to 88.8%, a -4.5% decrease from the previous year)
Willett says occupancy is headed down and predicts rents will flatten then decline 3 percent this year. "The market remains in decent shape for the moment but with so much additional product now under construction, it's pretty easy to see the headlights of that train bearing down on you."
Austin is on track to add 12,810 apartment units through the end of 2009, according to M/PF. That's the third biggest block of new supply on the way anywhere in the country, trailing only the 19,217 units under construction in Dallas/ Fort Worth and the 18,848 units under way in the Houston area. Willett said the Austin area needs about 1/2 as many units as are now under construction based on current demand, which he says has been sluggish. He said there are over 1,000 fewer occupied apartments now than at the start of this year. He predicts it will take two years for Austin to burn off its excess supply "if you stop building right now."
Stuart predicts properties like Riata and the upscale apartments at the Domain in North Austin and in the downtown market are "going to do very well." Also, rising gas prices "bode very well for the downtown market and for properties that are clustered in around a lot of the jobs, like the Arboretum,"
But Willett still contends that the Austin metro area, which "ranked as the star apartment market performer in Texas over the past few years ... is losing its luster." He thinks the market will bottom out by the end of 2009 before occupancy begins ticking back up. At the new 29-story Monarch apartment tower on downtown's west side, 25 percent of the 305 units are occupied, and the building is 45 percent leased, representatives say.
AUSTIN HOUSING VALUES RISE
DALLAS (Dallas Morning News) – Only four U.S. housing markets experienced an increase in value during January, and three of those were in Texas, according to a survey released Monday.
First American CoreLogic reports that Austin–Round Rock saw a 3.9 percent increase in housing market value.
Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown reported a 3.6 percent increase and Dallas-Plano-Irving home values jumped 1.5 percent.
Throughout Texas, home prices were up by just under 2 percent.
By comparison, home prices nationwide fell 11.6 percent in January compared to a year ago.
Renting in Central Texas
Rents are for 2-bedroom, 2-bath units. Occupancy rates
are for all apartments.
Date Average rent Occupancy rate
June 2000 $913 98%
June 2001 $951 93%
June 2002 $868 90%
June 2003 $812 88%
June 2004 $784 89%
June 2005 $811 93%
June 2006 $861 95%
June 2007 $900 93%
June 2008 $905 92%
Feb 2009 $870 88%
March 2009 $824 87%
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SIMON PROPERTY MASTER OF ITS DOMAIN
AUSTIN More than a year after opening the $245 million first phase of its Domain mixed use project, Simon Property Group is preparing to break ground on phase two.
Work will begin in June of this year on the additional 631,000 sq.ft of retail, 75,000 sf of office, 411 residential units and a 340-key Westin hotel. The 27-acre Domain II will be anchored by a 200,000-sf, three-story Dillard's; 80,000-sf, two-story Dick's Sporting Goods; and an eight-screen Village Road Show Gold Class Cinema.The project is slated to be completed in November 2009.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
300 luxury apartments coming to THE VILLAGIO
The Marcel Group has begun construction this spring on an $85 million mixed-use project on 29 acres in the city's northwest region.
The Villagio will consist of 117,310 sf of high-end retail space, 31,800 sf of office space and 300 luxury apartments. The Meeks Partners' design will accommodate professional and residential needs in the Lake Travis area. Construction began in March and should be completed within 2 years.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Crescent jumps at chance to add apartments in Northwest Austin
The company behind two master-planned communities north of Austin and a high-profile condo tower slated for the edge of downtown has plans for an upscale apartment project in one of the city's hottest areas.
Crescent Resources LLC is under contract to purchase a nearly Seven-acre tract on Stonelake Boulevard near the Arboretum shopping center. Plans call for a four-story apartment building of 280 to 300 units surrounding a structured parking garage in a dense format. The property will use green building standards and seek LEED certification, but the amenities and specific design elements are uncertain at this point.
High-end living has already established a foothold in the area. Less than a mile from the Stonelake site, the Residences at the Domain opened in late February and is already over 70% occupied. The 390 apartments are part of the 700,000-sf, mixed-use lifestyle center at MoPac Expressway & Braker Lane. Carmen Lynch, property manager for the Residences, says the complex is already four months ahead of schedule in meeting its occupancy goals and is on target to be 96 percent full this spring. Rents for apartments at The Domain range from $925 to $2,450/mo.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wave of new apartments under way
Developers, most analysts say demand in Austin is strong enough to fill new space.
A wave of apartments is under construction, and developers are counting on the area's appeal to pull in more residents to fill the space. More than 10,000 apartment units are planned to open in the next 2 years, according to first-quarter figures by Austin Investor Interests LLC, which analyzes rents and occupancy rates.
"We are very bullish in Austin in general and in particular, the downtown area," said Timm Wooten, executive vp with Martin Fein Interests Ltd., the Houston-based developer. "The desire to live close to downtown and the growth of Austin will support it," he said. Many of the developments are popping up in South Austin, Central Austin and downtown and include the Monarch, Red River Flats and AMLI on Second Street.
At the Domain in North Austin, 390 luxury apartments are saddled into the open-air upscale development, with one-bedroom units starting at $999 per month and going up to $2,244. Monthly rents also are on the rise, increasing an average of about $7 in the first quarter of the year, according to Austin Investor Interests. Renters are paying an average of $766 per month. It's very healthy right now, and landlords are taking advantage of it by raising the rents.
The Robertson Hill Apartments just East of Downtown just opened the first of 290 upscale units this spring. The complex, on San Marcos Street between Ninth and 11th streets, features one-bedroom apartments that start at $1,240 and two-bedroom units going for $2,600. The increased demand for urban living is propelling the wave, analysts say.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
512.258.5200
1.888.217.5200
Call anytime including
evenings and weekends
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MUELLER MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENT
AUSTIN – Construction is continuing on the Mosaic at Mueller, the first multifamily development at the former Robert Mueller Municipal Airport. Mosaic at Mueller is a $45 million, 440,000-square-foot complex with 442 apartment units. It is being developed by Simmons Vedder & Co. in partnership with Dallas-based Crow Holdings Realty Partners
The 4 story Mosaic at Mueller includes 1, 2 and 3-bedroom units ranging from 580 to 1,750 square feet. Monthly rents will range from $850 to $2,500, with 10% of the units available to low-income renters. Facilities will include swimming pools, a clubroom, business center and a fitness center
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Southpark Meadows has two apartment projects totaling 670 units planned
Grand Prairie–based Fairfield Residential LLC has two apartment projects totaling 670 units planned for the area. Grading work will begin soon on the first project. The 426-unit initial phase will be ready next spring, with second-phase units following shortly after.
The average-size unit in phase one — 879 square feet — will rent for about $990 a month, while the average-size unit in phase two — 926 square feet —rent for about $1,075 a month (before grand opening incentives)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Crestview Station moves forward
Multifamily component will include 300 live-work units and loft-style apartments
Plans are picking up speed to turn a former North Austin industrial site into the $200 million Crestview Station, which will be one of Austin's biggest transit-oriented developments. A commuter rail station is planned for Lamar and Airport boulevards The project, which is bordered on one side by the future Capital Metro commuter rail line, is designed as a community where people will be able to live, work and shop without having to drive.
High Street Residential, a Trammell Crow subsidiary, will build the multifamily component. The mix will include live-work units and loft-style apartments.
The first phase will include 300 apartments and 60,000 square feet of retail.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5th Street Commons
Gables Residential Inc.& Direct Development broke ground on 5th Street Commons, a mixed use project that will bring 38000 sf of retail and restaurants & 138 residences to 5th Street between West Lynn and Campbell streets.
The 4 story, $28 million development features luxury rental units on top of a neighborhood retail project. At least 15,000 sf will be dedicated to restaurants, including Pok-e-Jo's BBQ and Mean Eyed Cat. Both currently reside on the project site.
The site will also have a 200 parking space parking lot for retail customers and a multi-level garage for tenants.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------