Your Expert Guide

The Uplands: A Bee Cave enclave that exudes quiet luxury

The home is flooded with natural light.

Photo courtesy of Kuper Sotheby's International Realty

There are so many great places to live in Austin that it helps to have an expert on your side. The Neighborhood Guide presented by Kuper Sotheby's International Realty gives you insider access from the agents who live and work there, providing in-the-know info about your possible new community.

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Drawn to its location, abundance of shopping and restaurants, and the beautiful homes on large-acre lots, real estate agent Beata Burgeson and her family have called The Uplands home for the past four years.

"It's a hidden gem," the Kuper Sotheby's International Realty agent says, "providing a peaceful and quiet lifestyle tucked behind the 4,000-acre Barton Creek Habitat Preserve. It's a quiet little spot that not everyone knows about."

Even though she's a fairly new Uplands resident, Burgeson has been working the area much longer: 15 years.

"My business is mostly referral-based and I work wherever my clientele is," she explains.

Burgeson, who spent the first 20 years of her life in Poland, describes The Uplands as having a luxurious yet neighborly vibe. The Hill Country Galleria is within biking distance, she points out, and there are 20-plus restaurants within walking distance.

Burgeson offered up a few of her personal favorites about life in The Uplands. Here's her guide to the area:

Where to eat & drink
Whether you're looking to walk or bike to a neighborhood favorite or hop in the car for a nearby meal, the options are nearly endless.

Some of Burgeson's favorites are Plate By Dzintra, Baguette et Chocolat, Toss Pizzeria & Pub, Chisos Grill, Ellera, Schmidt Family Barbecue, Mandola's Italian Kitchen, Maudie's Hill Country, Tony C's, Cafe Blue, Buenos Aires Cafe, Tadashi, The League Kitchen & Tavern, Madam Mam's Thai Cuisine, Woody's Tavern & Grill, Amy's Ice Creams, Runaway Luna Coffeehouse, and FoliePop's.

Where to play
The Hill Country Galleria is very close by and includes a Cinemark movie theater.

Or you can head outdoors to Bee Cave Park, Commons Ford Park, or the Lone Star Farmers Market.

To get your adrenaline pumping, visit Urban Air and then relax and recharge at milk + honey spa.

What to see
Indulge your artistic side at Bee Cave Sculpture Park, El Dorado Gallery, and Flip'N Art.

Where to live
"The Uplands neighborhood is an amalgam of custom-built and traditional homes with generously sized backyards, established trees, and quiet but welcoming streets," says Burgeson. "There is definitely an elevated quality of homes in this gated and private community, and the majority of homeowners seem to consistently work at enhancing design, landscaping, and other elements as the years pass. This is a neighborhood that has only improved with time."

One of Burgeson's most recent significant sales in The Uplands is 11802 Colleyville Dr., which broke the record for the highest sold property in the neighborhood at the time. The custom build featured an incredible backyard with its own private trail toward the back of the property.

"After working with Beata during fall of 2021, she is now the standard by which we measure all real estate professionals," says one client. "Beata made the process of selling our home as easy as possible for our family — she concisely delineated her marketing strategy and then executed each detail according to the agreed-upon timeframe. Her kind, warm mannerisms complement her business savvy in such an elegant way that it is evident Beata is well respected among her Sotheby’s team, as well as Realtors from competing offices."

"Additionally, Beata has taken the time to cultivate a strong team of support professionals to assist her clients in their real estate transactions," says another. "It is abundantly clear that Beata is successful not only due to her business acumen, but because she strives to surround herself with others who are the best at what they do."

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Beata Burgeson lives, works, and plays in The Uplands. For more information on buying and selling a home in the area, click here, email beata@beataburgeson.com, or call 512-795-9900.

Photo courtesy of Kuper Sotheby's International Realty

Agent Beata Burgeson.

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real estate report

How Austin fits into Zillow's predicted housing market growth in 2025

Photo by Justin Wallace on Unsplash

Potential homebuyers in Austin may see improving mortgage rates and home prices in 2025, according to Zillow.

It looks like a few more people are about to turn their online home shopping daydreams into reality in 2025. Zillow, the famous real estate listings website, says in a press release that next year will likely bring "a gradual but bumpy decline in rates, impacting sales and price growth."

It attributes the forecast to "erratic and dramatic mortgage rate movements" throughout 2024, which will continue to affect the market. The website's housing market predictions report estimates that 2025 will see about 100,000 more sales than 2024, that home value growth will be "low and slow" at 2.2 percent, and that inventory and new listings will continue recovering from pandemic weakness.

On a local scale, Zillow's latest data shows Austin has already experienced a 3.4 percent drop in annual average home values from 2023 to 2024, which will continue fluctuating in 2025.

As of November, Zillow's home value index says the average home in the Austin metro is worth $443,995. That figure is greater than the Austin Board of Realtors' median home sales price in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, which came out to $435,000 last month, reflecting an estimated 2.4 percent increase for just the month of November year-over-year from 2023.

Pick the right season to buy
Potential buyers may see better opportunities for purchasing a home during the fall and winter, which is a typically slow season for home sales. Across 36 out of the 50 biggest U.S. metro areas, Zillow's heat market index showed a drop in competition from October to November.

"There's a strong sense of déjà vu on tap for 2025. We are once again expecting mortgage rates to get better gradually, and opportunities for buyers should follow, but be prepared for plenty of bumps on that path," said Zillow chief economist Skylar Olsen in the release. "Those shopping this winter have plenty of time to choose and a relatively strong position in negotiations."

Zillow suggests buyers may have the ability to negotiate "from a position of safety" during the slow winter months. This is especially true for Austin-area buyers, who only saw 10.4 percent of homes sell for more than their listing price in October. The website says buyers can take advantage of opportunities to buy contingent on inspections or repairs, and they may avoid bidding wars during this time.

"While the number of options available to shoppers today are lower than they will likely see in the spring, there's also less competition in the field," the report says. "The [national] share of homes that sold for more than list price was below 28 percent in October (the latest data available), continuing a downward trend that began in July."

Buyers will head to the Southwest
Eyes are also turning to the American Southwest as the top region for homebuyers in 2025, as 13 major metro areas – including Austin and San Antonio – are now considered “buyer’s markets” where buyers have more negotiating power than sellers.

However, this prediction depends on the gravity of falling mortgage rates. Homebuyers should also keep a close eye on mortgage rates in 2025, which could drop unpredictably like they have been for the last three weeks in a row. If the rates dip further than expected, that doesn’t bode as well for buyers.

“It is anticipated that a significant mortgage rate dip would bring more buyers than sellers back to the market, increasing competition and tilting negotiating power in favor of sellers,” Zillow says.

Small-home living is gaining traction
As Austin and other major cities are battling for more high density housing, buying trends are also leaning towards smaller (and more affordable) homes.

Zillow even goes as far to say that the “pandemic-era need” for large houses is officially a thing of the past.

"The term 'cozy' is appearing in more listing descriptions — 35 percent more in 2024 compared to 2023 — reflecting current design trends that have shifted away from cavernous open floor plans, toward contained spaces that have their own style and purpose," the report says.

housing market zillow