Real Estate Report

Lake Travis property values are finally on the rebound after heavy rains

After heavy rains, Lake Travis property values are on the rise.

AustinHomeSearch.com

KVUE — As lake levels at Lake Travis rise and lakefront property makes a comeback, property values are on the rebound — and homeowners are enjoying the views they paid for.

"It's exciting! I mean it's great to see it back again. I've seen it at all different levels," said realtor Kathy Anglin, who lives near the lake. "I think we'll start seeing a lot of these waterfronts come on the market for people that have wanted to sell for years or needed to sell."

Anglin said one of her properties sat on the market for a year and now three people are interested. "All of a sudden a frenzy of people wanted that waterfront," she said. "Great news for the homeowners, because they were getting very frustrated."

Prior to May, docks sat on land. All the rain brought them back up where they belong.

"Everybody's business comes back up with it," said Rob Swett, owner and president of Robert Steven Homes. Swett said builders are staying busy preparing for people who want to take advantage of the prime real estate. "People are back on the lake and getting back into that lifestyle that everyone knows and loves here in Austin."

"Once the lake levels start to go down those are the first properties to take a hit. But when it comes back they're the ones that bounce back the fastest," said realtor Ashley Stucki.

---

Read the full story on KVUE.com.

unspecified

Eviction Notice

Major landlords with Austin ties being investigated for illegal rent hikes

Photo courtesy of KVUE

Some of Austin's rent woes could be a result of this alleged scheme.

The Justice Department (DOJ) is suing six of the country's largest landlords, along with RealPage, alleging they took part in a pricing scheme that harmed renters.

We already know the increase in population and businesses moving to Austin raised rental prices. But lawyer and owner of Texas Tenant Law Jennifer MacGeorge said the new DOJ lawsuit could prove illegal rent hikes made it even worse.

"It's about collusion versus competition," MacGeorge said. "It's just about trying to gouge the market and get as much as they can."

The antitrust lawsuit claims six property management companies — Cushman & Wakefield, LivCor, Cortland, Greystar, Dallas-based Willow Bridge, and Houston-based Camden, which have numerous locations in the Austin area — are using software like RealPage. Together, the landlords control 1.3 million apartment units.

According to the lawsuit, the software uses an algorithm to help set rents and privately share sensitive, non-public information with competitors, allowing landlords to align their prices and avoid competition.

MacGeorge said the result is higher rents, for not only residential but commercial properties. She said this type of behavior exacerbates affordability issues and displaces residents and small businesses.

"We're getting rid of people that help the economy sustain itself and be stable, which is what everybody's looking for in this environment where you can't even afford your groceries, and now you're worried about your rent. It's absolutely unacceptable," MacGeorge said.

The lawsuit names the Austin-Round Rock metro area multiple times, saying 30 percent or more of the residential properties in the area are using this type of software.

While MacGeorge mainly represents tenants, she found out some of her landlord clients are using similar pricing strategies to artificially raise prices.

"They are engaging in other practices that are artificially raising prices, such as putting in a rental rate at a renewal that's maybe 20 percent above what the tenant was paying before and leaving it that high only until the tenant moves out and then immediately dropping it," MacGeorge said.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

rent lawsuit housing market apartments