High-tech home life

East Austin unlocks first neighborhood of 3D-printed homes in the U.S.

Who says print is dead?

The country’s first neighborhood of 3D-printed homes has arrived in East Austin. But you might need to print some money to afford the houses, with one of the price tags approaching $800,000.

Two 3D-printed homes at the East 17th Street Residences development in East Austin were sold in March, and the two other 3D-printed homes there are on the market. The two homes being offered by Austin-based DEN Property Group are:

The two-story Treehouse Residence, a 1,928-square-foot home with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. It’s listed at $795,000, or $412 per square foot.
The two-story Skyview Residence, a 1,572-square-foot home with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. It’s listed at $745,000, or $474 per square foot.

For comparison’s sake, the median sale price of a home with the city of Austin reached $574,975 in July, the Austin Board of Realtors says. According to Realtor.com, the median per-square-foot list price for a home in Austin was $304 in July.

Each of the 3D-printed homes features a private yard, covered parking, an open floor plan, “bespoke” interior design, large windows, a high-performance HVAC system, and a “minimalist” architectural style.

Kansas City-based real estate developer 3Strands teamed up with Austin-based construction technology company ICON on the country’s first neighborhood of 3D-printed homes.

“Fundamentally, our country’s housing crisis is a supply issue,” Gary O’Dell, CEO of 3Strands, says in an August 31 news release. “3Strands is working to solve this by pushing the boundaries of new technologies that address root causes of this supply issue. By 3D-printing these homes, East 17th Street is a significant advancement for the future of construction.”

O’Dell’s company says 3D-printing technology enables construction of safer, more resilient homes that are designed to withstand fires, floods, windstorms, and other natural disasters better than traditional homes.

Austin-based Logan Architecture designed the homes, and Austin designer Claire Zinnecker oversaw the interior finishes and fixture selections.

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local real estate report

Homebuyers can afford to be picky as Austin housing inventory rises

Photo by Avinash Kumar on Unsplash

Housing economist Clare Losey said the most significant factor affecting home sales in Austin is high mortgage rates.

The latest real estate report from Unlock MLS and the Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR) has revealed housing inventory is still on a steady rise in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA, creating more choices for potential homebuyers as they navigate a high interest rate market.

Residential home sales dipped by a mere 1.5 percent year-over-year from October 2023, amounting to 2,248 closed sales in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos MSA. Median prices have also dropped to $430,000, or 3.2 percent less than this time last year. More than 3,300 new home listings were added on the market — a 7.4 percent increase from 2023 — bringing the total number of active home listings to 11,599.

According to Unlock MLS and ABoR housing economist Clare Losey, Ph.D., October's mortgage rates stood at 6.4 percent and are showing no signs of a significant drop in the near future. Even heading into 2025, Losey says potential homebuyers who are biding their time in the hopes of seeing rates plummet "may be in for a long wait."

"In the meantime, sellers must recognize that bringing buyers to the table requires a more aggressive pricing approach," Losey said. "Even in a more balanced market, buyers with limited purchasing power are struggling to meet current price expectations."

As for the overall health of the Central Texas housing market, 2024 Unlock MLS and ABoR president Kent Redding labeled recent news reports that called Austin "ground zero" for a downturn as an "extreme over-exaggeration."

"Austin led the state and nation in record-breaking home price growth and sales activity during the pandemic," Redding said. "For three years, near-zero housing inventory, numerous offers above list price and a rapid-paced market raised home prices and left little negotiating power for buyers. During this record-setting growth, ABoR and Unlock MLS consistently emphasized the unsustainability of the rapid growth, and now, our market is working to balance those extremes."

Central Texas housing trends in October 2024

In Travis County, 979 homes were sold last month — a slight 2.5 percent increase from last year. Median prices remained flat year-over-year at $510,000. Active home listings continued growing to 5,702 homes, which is 9.4 percent more year-over-year.

In Williamson County, 807 homes were sold in October, with median prices steadily dropping to $420,000. There were 1,028 new home listings on the market, showing a 4.5 percent increase from October 2023, bringing the total number of active home listings to 3,369.

Residential home sales dropped by nearly eight percent in Hays County in October, totaling 315 sales. Median prices also fell 5.5 percent year-over-year to $359,000. Active listings rose 6.6 percent year-over-year to 1,740 homes with the addition of 534 new listings on the market.

Meanwhile, 114 homes were sold in Bastrop County last month, which is 4.4 percent more than this time last year. Median prices dropped by a single percentage point year-over-year to $355,000. There were 654 active listings on the market in October, and 152 new home listings, representing a 1.3 percent slip in new inventory when compared to last year.

Only 33 homes were sold in Caldwell County in October to reflect a near 14 percent decline year-over-year from October 2023. Median prices fell to $262,990, which was a 13.5 percent decrease from last year. There were 136 active homes on the market last month, and 40 new homes added on the market.

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