CHECK this page OFTEN for CURRENT REAL ESTATE NEWS and STATS
Did you know????
Study ranks Austin as one of the least stressful cities
Austin Business Journal - by G. Scott Thomas Contributing writer
Friday, February 29, 2008
We live in stressful times. Consider the evidence:
- Forty percent of Americans say they are frequently subjected to stress, and another 36 percent sometimes feel that way, according to a January survey by the Gallup Poll.
- Nearly half of adults believe the stress in their lives has escalated during the past five years, as reported in an October study by the American Psychological Association.
- Three of every 10 Americans say they experience persistent stress or have panic attacks, as documented in a November survey by the Anxiety Disorders Association of America.
These numbers reflect the dimensions of a "national pressure cooker," to use the American Psychological Association's term, and it's causing untold damage to physical and emotional well-being and relationships. Several factors contribute to the daily pressure felt by millions of Americans, ranging from finances and unemployment to traffic, crime and pollution. The intensity of this toxic mixture varies from market to market across the country, as does the level of stress.
The worst
Nowhere is the situation worse than in Detroit, which ranks as the most stressful metropolitan area in , according to a new Bizjournals study.
Detroit is saddled with the highest unemployment rate, 7.2 percent, in any of the nation's 50 largest markets. It also has the group's worst murder rate. And it's among the 10 places with the most robberies, the slowest rates of income growth, the most heart attacks and the fewest sunny days.
Overnight real estate rates drop sharply
30-year fixed rate at 5.88%; 10-year Treasury yield at 3.67%
Friday, February 29, 2008
www.inman.com
Long-term mortgage interest rates fell considerably Thursday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield was down at 3.67 percent.
The 30-year fixed-rate average dove to 5.88 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate plunged to 5.28 percent. The 1-year adjustable rate dipped to 4.83 percent.
The 30-year Treasury bond yield sank to 4.51 percent.
Rates and bonds are current as of 7:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
Mortgage rate figures are according to Bankrate.com, which publishes nightly averages based on its survey of 4,000 banks in 50 states. Points on these mortgages range from zero to 3.5.
In other economic news, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 112.1 points, or 0.88 percent, finishing at 12,582.18. The Nasdaq lost 22.21 points, or 0.94 percent, closing at 2,331.57.
Stock figures are current as of 7:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
Hundreds of jobs may head for Hays Co.
Austin Business Journal - by ABJ Staff
Austin Business Journal - March 3, 2008
by Kate Harrington ABJ Staff
Columbia, Md.-based U.S. Food Service, Inc is talking with both Buda and Kyle about buying land to build a warehouse and distribution center, according to sources familiar with the company's search process. The facility could span between 250,000 square feet and 500,000 square feet, according to sources, and would initially bring about 300 employees to the area.
Columbia, Md.-based U.S. Food Service, Inc is talking with both Buda and Kyle about buying land to build a warehouse and distribution center, according to sources familiar with the company's search process. The facility could span between 250,000 square feet and 500,000 square feet, according to sources, and would initially bring about 300 employees to the area.
While U.S. Foodservice's manager of media relations, Philip Jones, declines to comment on the company's potential activity, sources say U.S. Foodservice is very close to making a deal to close on land in Kyle. Austin-based Site Solutions, Inc is acting as the broker for the company. Representatives of Site Solutions couldn't be reached for comment.
U.S. Foodservice is a food service distributor that employs about 27,000 people in 70 locations nationwide, with 250,000 U.S. clients that include restaurants, hospitals, hotels and schools.
Diana Blank, director of economic development for Kyle, says she can't comment on whether or not the city has been talking to or trying to recruit U.S. Foodservice, but says the city has been talking to a distribution company.
VILLAGE SHOPPING CENTER
Developer plans makeover of Anderson Lane shopping center
Plans call for more retail, larger theater; vertical mixed use with residents may follow.
By AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, February 28, 2008
A 1970s shopping center on West Anderson Lane is in line for a makeover.
The new owners of the Village Shopping Center are seeking to rezone the 12-acre site for vertical mixed use development, which could mean more shops, housing and offices.
According to a concept plan submitted to the city, developer Joe Lamy could put more than 88,000 square feet of retail, 100,000 square feet of office and more than 400 apartments on the site.
However Lamy's lawyer, Steve Metcalfe, said that would be a long-term plan.
"At first, it will be a retail-oriented center with existing tenants," Metcalfe said. "Long term, that site probably is a good site for vertical mixed use. It's just a good location."
The center houses an Alamo Drafthouse movie theater, the Korea House and other restaurants, the Academy of Oriental Medicine, a fitness center and several small retailers. The buildings are grouped around a courtyard.
It's across the street from Northcross Mall, where a citizens group tried unsuccessfully to stop a new Wal-Mart Supercenter.
The Village redevelopment would expand the Alamo Drafthouse from four to six screens and would more than double the 131,000 square feet of space at the existing shopping center.
Click here for the rest of the story
SWSW ECONOMIC IMPACT
New study says SXSW worth $95 million to Austin Impact is double the previous impact estimate by visitors bureau
By Joe Gross AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, February 28, 2008
The South by Southwest music, film and interactive festivals and conferences pumped approximately $95 million into the Austin economy in 2007, according to a new economic impact report commissioned by SXSW.
Mayor Will Wynn introduced the report, prepared by the consulting firm Angelou Economics, at a news conference in front of City Hall on Tuesday. City Council Members Betty Dunkerley and Mike Martinez and SXSW executive planner Mike Shea also attended.
"Cities that are fun are going to do better economically," Wynn said, highlighting SXSW's blend of trade show, professional conclave and entertainment provider.
"There's no other event like it in the United States," said Angelou Economics chief executive Angelos Angelou.
Angelou said that in addition to the $95 million in direct revenue, SXSW generated media attention worth $12.8 million.
Angelou's estimate is more than double the $43.5 million impact estimate from the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Beth Krauss, spokeswoman for the bureau, said its estimates were based on a smaller pool of participants than Angelou's.
"We only used official numbers provided by the conference based on their attendance figures," Krauss said. "We multiplied that number by $264, an amount from the Texas Travel Association based on money spent per visitor per day. We were thrilled that we were that far under."
"Their formula only really works for standard convention and trade shows, but it doesn't work for something with the scope of SXSW," Shea said. He said the study " doesn't make SXSW bigger or better, but it does satisfy the public's curiosity."
Click here for the rest of the story
$500M investment may yield two new downtown towers
Austin Business Journal - by A.J. Mistretta ABJ Staff
Friday, February 22, 2008
More than three years after Austin developer Tom Stacy and a Chicago partner company purchased the building at 501 Congress Ave. and unveiled plans for a dramatic multiuse tower on the site, the deal has grown much larger, incorporating one-and-a-half city blocks, two soaring towers and an estimated $500 million investment.
Stacy's company, T. Stacy & Associates Inc., and Walton Street Capital now plan a 500,000-square-foot office and retail tower at 501 Congress that would be slightly taller than the 26-story Bank of America Center building the partnership owns at 515 Congress next door. The group is also plotting a hotel and condo tower at the corner of Brazos and Fifth streets that would rise more than 800 feet, making it by far the tallest building in Austin and the sixth-tallest in Texas.
Stacy and Walton Street had initially proposed a 700-foot-tall tower at 501 Congress -- with a hotel, condos, office and other uses -- that would have been the tallest in Austin. But when the group finalized the purchase late last year of the Littlefield Garage just east of 501 Congress fronting Fifth Street, plans were reworked.
Stacy and his partners now control the entire block bounded by Congress Avenue, Fifth, Sixth and Brazos streets, as well as half of the block immediately east where Bank of America currently has a drive-through operation. That large a block of downtown space called for an even grander vision, says the developer.
Austin ranks 3rd in Best Cities for Jobs in 2008 by www.forbes.com January 2008
CNNMoney, Wednesday, January 30th
FederalTaxRateCut.doc
Austin Business Journal, Tuesday, January 29th
Regionalwatergroupgetsloanapproval.doc
Austin American Statesman, Friday, January 25th
AustinEconomistGivesForecast.doc
Austin Business Journal, Friday, January 18th
RoundRockGrowth.doc
Austin Business Journal, Friday, January 18th
AustinAffordableHousingIncentive.doc
** To request more info, please fill out the following form:
