Town Center and New Homes in Section 6 of Mueller

The new town center should break ground in 2012 - it will add a walkable commerce and entertainment aspect to the old airport, and have the Austin Children's museum as one of its main and first anchors. What this means is an easily accessible center for both employees (10,000 are planned at such places at Dell Children's Hospital and beyond) and the ten thousand projected residents of Mueller.

The town center is going in at the same time as the 211 New Homes which make up Section 6. These new homes are of a variety of different types, though are being built by four builders, three of whom have already built in the development. The new housing types include the Shop Home - a live-work solution in and around the town center, and the Courtyard Row Homes, about which little information is currently available. I anticipate that they will be a variation on the Garden Court Home theme - a group of homes facing a common area.

One thing I don't see in the new plans, which also include an HEB grocery due to open two years hence, are new parks. There are already 140 acres of parks in place, and the only real aspect of the hike and bike trails that are missing is the complete loop, as only perhaps a third of the neighborhood has been built to date in terms of surface area.  There may be one more pocket park, though on the developer's master model, it looks diminutive and as the name suggests, the pocket park would be more of a local amenity than a destination in and of itself.

4108 Threadgill Street, Austin TX 78723

Tomorrow, 4108 Threadgill is hitting the market. Mueller's real estate scene is blowing up with homes hitting the resale market left and right. That's three in the last three days.Compare this to the average of two homes per month in 2010 and  you'll see what I mean. The neighborhood is less than a third built out, and has reached some stability with residents being here more than a few years.

In many parts of the country it isn't possible to sell a new home in a new development in which the builder is still active and still make a profit two years after moving in. Here it is. There's somewhat of a pricing bubble in my opinion - prices can't sustainably rise 10% per year forever - there will be a correction some time. The only counter argument I see to that is that there are in fact new amenities coming to the neighborhood- grocery, town center, commercial and medical real estate and hence jobs.

So how long will the boom last? Until the market gets flooded with over priced inventory. Each appraisal builds on the last and also the recent trend. Having seen an appraisal lately that showed that the roof of the lower part of the market is moving up, it seems that the rollercoaster is still on it's upward journey.

The three bedroom 2.5 bath home on Threadgill is a popular Antone layout, on a nice sized corner lot. It has great updates - I'm sure it will do well.

Life on Camacho Street in Austin

There are three sections of Camacho St in Austin TX - it's a road of many different natures and characters. The homes in the most famous section are across from Lake Park and have a magnificent view of the Browning Hangar - these are five star green built starting in 2009. This is middle of the road though the prices are in the upper echelons for the Mueller neighborhood.

4428 Camacho St, Austin is a home listing that is currently for sale and this is known colloquially as Upper Camacho, as it is furthest into the development and closest to Berkman Drive. When this road opens up to 51st Street, it will actually be much easier to get to Upper than its compadre, Lower Camacho, which loops around after Zach Scott towards the other major thoroughfare - Antone Street.

The houses on this street were built by a slew of custom and a handful of production builders, including the Muskin Company, Durrett Interests, Streetman and Meritage. Part of the overall design plan for the previously City of Austin owned airport land was that a quarter of the residential build was to be designated as affordable, meaning that it supported an income qualified program.

Nowhere signifies the beating heart of the City's immortalized wishes more closely than this street with million dollar properties along side those sold for $160,000. It is a truly diverse mixed-income street with a variety of investment opportunities.

2008 Antone Street, Austin TX 78723

2008 Antone Street is for sale pronounces the sign proudly perched in the narrow strip of grass between the sidewalk and the street of the old airport development in Austin Texas. The sign proclaims that showings are by appointment only, which I had thought most people take for granted.

Do some people just show up on other people's doors when they see a "for sale" sign, asking to look around. My advice to sellers in this circumstance is not to open the door and to point to the sign and say, "Call that guy - the realtor whose name and number are on the sign", and then to run inside and have 911 on speed dial should the prospective buyer actually turn out to be a serial killing nutcase.

This home in Mueller is listed with Jonathan McMahon, an insurance agent who holds a real estate license and is helping to sell the home on behalf of the owners. The 2712 sqft home is nestled on a popular street with the triangular if a little soggy park opposite - a popular venue for social gatherings, events and running around with water balloons.

Boasting three bedrooms, the upstairs is a succinct execution of both elegance and luxury, housing a master of epic proportions and a walk in closet with its own zip code. Downstairs sees a manifestation of ornate open plan design for the living, kitchen and dining areas, and a generous laundry, bathroom and fourth bathroom complete the tastefully appointed picture.

Go check it out