Austin Median Home Price: $167,100
2005 Appreciation: 6.48%
5 year Appreciation: 18.64%

BEST PLACES WINNER: AUSTIN, TXTop 5 Best Places to find Property Under $150,000
Voting compiled by Investment Riches , a Real Estate Investment Guide

MARKET TRENDS
Central Texas transit routes are undergoing rapid transformation which bodes well for the future of Austin real estate investment. Three new Central Texas highways all constitute portions of a 65-mile Central Texas Turnpike Project which should reduce traffic and spur economic development in the area. The project should be completed in early 2007 and the excellent functional and aesthetic planning involved should bode well for Austin investment property along its routes.

CITY OVERVIEW

The Austin real estate market has recovered well since the dot com bust and subsequent high tech layoffs in 2000-2001. The Austin economy made a turn for the better in mid-2003 and economists project the Austin area will add jobs at the second fastest rate in the country over the next five years, generating an average of 20,000 new jobs per year between 2005 and 2009.

Austin ranks high on numerous “lists” including the fourth best metro for retirees, the best city for relocating singles, second best metro for relocating families, and the best place for Hispanics to live and work. Residential Austin real estate values have increased approximately 5%-9% in 2005 versus 2004, a moderate rate as compared with other high tech metropolitan areas. Gray Buffington, President of Austin’s Buffington Mortgage comments: “We continue to be the exception to the rule in housing economics. Austin builders and sellers are simply unable to produce as fast as the strong demand for buyers. Hence, Austin is an investor’s paradise currently–we have affordable homes, yet every possible statistic shows those homes will continue to increase in value with the continued influx of buyers. We are fortunate to be a favored lender in Austin at this time”
Not a bad problem for the Austin mortgage and real estate industry–or homeowner.

KEY EMPLOYERS

Among those expected to spur the projected growth in Austin employment, and improve Austin real estate investment environment, include the expansion of the Samsung Austin Semiconductor plant, Home Depot’s new Technology Center, significant Accenture relocations, as well as existing high tech firms adding to their ranks. Commonly referred to as the “Silicon Hills”, the Texas state capital boasts a highly educated workforce with major employers including the state of Texas, the University of Texas, Dell Computer, Freescale Semiconductor and IBM. Also considered best companies to work for: The Container Store, SAS Institute, Inc., Cisco Systems, Southwest Airlines, Charles Schwab, TDIndustries, Edward Jones, Continental Airlines, BECK Group, and Deloitte & Touche.