Gargantuan growth

New $3 billion project in Austin’s ‘second downtown’ is officially underway

Austin’s “second downtown” is about to get a whole lot bigger.

Work has gotten underway on a new neighbor for North Austin’s mixed-use Domain and Domain Northside developments. Construction just began on the first phase of Uptown ATX, a $3 billion, 66-acre master-planned neighborhood. The project will dramatically enlarge Austin’s so-called “second downtown,” along Burnet Road near North MoPac Expressway.

Uptown ATX, formerly known as Broadmoor, eventually will feature nearly 7 million square feet of offices, apartments, stores, and hotel space, as well as a new MetroRail station. The site already is home to IBM’s Austin campus.

Brandywine Realty Trust and Canyon Partners Real Estate are developing the first phase of Uptown ATX — a $328 million mixed-use project called One Uptown. The 5-acre first phase will offer:

A 14-story building with 348,000 square feet of offices.
341 apartments complemented by a resort-style pool, a 3,100-square-foot fitness center, and a 5,000-square-foot clubroom. The apartments will include units dedicated to affordable housing.
15,000 square feet of street-level retail.
A six-story parking garage.

“This community brings unmatched lifestyle and work experiences, and is intentionally designed to prioritize bold architecture, community connections, green space, walkability, and mass transit access,” Jerry Sweeney, president and CEO of Brandywine Realty Trust, says in a news release.

The office component of One Uptown is targeted for completion in the third quarter of 2023, with the apartments on track to be finished in the second quarter of 2024.

Uptown ATX is rightly termed "Austin's second downtown."

Courtesy of Brandywine Realty Trust

Uptown ATX is rightly termed "Austin's second downtown."

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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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