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Home prices in Austin continue to rise while inventory is on the decline, according to the Austin Board of Realtors. Here are six must-know statistics just released:

• The median price of an Austin area home increased 7 percent in February to $208,500 compared to a year ago.

• The market had 2.6 months of inventory in February, a drop of 1.6 months compared to a year ago.

• The number of homes sold in February was 1,626, a 26 percent increase compared to a year ago.

• The total value of homes sold was $430.3 million, a 32 percent increase compared to a year ago.

The surge of companies moving to the Austin area continues. They move here they hire and then they seem to hire some more. So, why do these companies keep moving to Austin and why are they so successful in growing their businesses here?

Among the reasons, the Austin area has a great business climate for companies, a relatively low cost of living, the nationally renowned Austin environment for all ages and “units” and the great local outdoors.

Online legal services company LegalZoom Inc. has purchased an area building to grow its regional operations.

The California-based firm reportedly paid $21 million for the 206,000-sf building and surrounding property at 9900 Spectrum Dr. in far northwest Austin.

LegalZoom plans to employ 600 workers locally by next year.

White Stone Properties Ltd. was the seller.


Read the full article from Austin Business Journal here:
http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/print-edition/2013/03/08/legalzoom-pay...

Austin took the No. 3 spot on a list that ranks U.S. cities with technology job growth.

The number of advertised local tech jobs surged 16 percent this year versus last year, according to a report by Dice.com.

Austin was surpassed in tech job growth only by St. Louis, which reported a 25 percent growth, and Charlotte, N.C., with 22 percent. Other high-ranking cities were No. 4 Phoenix, with 13 percent growth and No. 5 Detroit with 10 percent tech job growth.

In the entire 5 county Austin area: Extremely limited availability of homes for sale; Increasing numbers of home buyers; Heightened home buyer urgency; and a slowly trending increase in mortgage rates is putting extreme pressure on those looking to purchase homes.

Here are a few statistics that I've just pulled from the MLS on re-sale homes ...

- During the first fifteen days of March, OVER 175% more homes went under contract on “the day they hit the market” as in the same period last year … 64 this year versus 23 last year.

Austin is in the midst of a construction boom that will reshape the city over the next decade. The city of Austin's list of ongoing projects now spans more than five pages of development in the planning stages and under construction. Austin Business Journal went through the list and have highlighted the 'top 10' of what they found as the most interesting projects.

Texas metropolitan statistical areas, micropolitan statistical areas and counties — including Austin and Travis County — were among the fastest-growing last year, the U.S. Census Bureau said Thursday.

Between July 2011 and July 2012, Travis County experienced the seventh-largest increase in raw numbers of U.S. counties, adding 34,381 residents over the year.

Harris County ranked No. 1 with 80,005; Dallas County came in fourth with 45,827; and Tarrant County wrapped up Texas counties in the top 10 at No. 9 with 32,997.

With SXSW here, short-term rentals in Austin are at a high, and proposed changes to the existing rules could affect more of the market than previously thought.

In February, the Austin City Council passed a resolution to broaden the existing short-term rental rules to include licensing for apartments and condominium units that are rented for periods of less than 30 days. The resolution also calls for amendments to allow renting a portion of a home short term, with fines for unlicensed rentals totaling as much as $2,000 per day.

KB Home Inc. is planning its first new home community in Bastrop. The grand opening of River Meadow is scheduled for April.

Homebuyers will be able to choose from 13 floor plans, which range from 1,582-3,125 square feet and feature up to five bedrooms. Each home site is one acre or larger. A total of 26 homes will be built.

Prices will range from $167,995 to $208,995.

The community is on the southwestern edge of Bastrop, not far from the high school.

So Austin really is getting around!

On Friday the BBC highlighted Austin on its web Travel page ... www.bbc.com/travel.

Check out what the BBC published about our globally recognized location.

In case their home Travel page changes, here are the links to check out what they said about Austin, its Presidents, its food, its attractions, its culture, its ...

http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20120206-living-in-austin-texas 

http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20130304-a-presidential-tour-of-austin