Austin Area Info 
General Information about Austin, Texas and the surrounding areas.
There are currently 49 blog entries related to this category.
New Property Appraisal Laws in Effect in Texas
Saturday, March 13th, 2010 at 7:56pm. 34 Views, 0 Comments.
Several new laws affecting homeowners went into effect on January 1 of this year. Although there are numerous new laws that Texas residents should learn more about, those that specifically affect homeowners include new laws that are meant to lower property taxes as well as those that are meant to improve the home appraisal process.
Several new pieces of legislation related to property taxes were passed by lawmakers last year. One of these includes legislation that will limit what is known as a "comparable sale" as well as creating a new arbitration process. Additional legislation…
Austin Traffic: How does it compare?
Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at 1:37pm. 252 Views, 0 Comments.
It certainly isn't uncommon to hear Austinites complain about the traffic they experience while traversing the city. But, according to a report recently released by the Texas Department of Transportation, Austin does not rank at the top of the list of congested traffic areas throughout the state. In fact, within its list of the top 100 most congested roadways in the State, downtown's Austin’s I-35 was ranked at number 26. Highways and interstates running through Houston, Dallas and San Antonio, on the other hand, were listed far ahead of Austin's I-35.
I-35 wasn't the only Austin…
The Number of Austin Foreclosures Continues to Drop
Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 7:15pm. 365 Views, 1 Comments.
For homeowners around the country, facing foreclosure became an unfortunate reality during the recession. While a number of homeowners have been forced into foreclosure on their homes in Austin, the good news is that RealityTrac Inc. has determined that foreclosures in Texas were actually down 7% during the month of August.
For the month of August, the state recorded a total of 11,261 default, bank repossession and auction notices. While this number may sound a bit disheartening, it is actually 6.8% less than the numbers that were posted in July. In fact, during July, these sort…
Austin's City Services Rank Above the National Average
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009 at 9:28pm. 1022 Views, 0 Comments.
According to a survey conducted by the ETC Institute, Austin's residents rank the city's services at above the national average. The survey considered a number of different services, including:
• Curbside recycling
• Drinking water quality
• Parks
• Swimming pools
• Youth athletic programs
The survey was conducted by taking a random sample of 1,293 households throughout the city and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8%. When compared to cities with populations of over 250,000, Austin ranked particularly high for its "overall quality of customer…
Austin Housing Market Fairing Well in Troubled Economy
Friday, August 21st, 2009 at 9:24pm. 699 Views, 0 Comments.
Although home sales are still down in the Austin area, the figure are steadily showing signs of improvement. Furthermore, prices of homes in the Austin area continue to hold steady, which is one reason why Forbes.com has named Austin as the city most likely to make the fastest economic recovery.
According to the Austin Board of Realtors, a little more than 2,100 single-family home sold in the Austin area in June. This represents a 4% decline when compared to June of 2008, but the year-to-year gap continues to close each month.
Unlike much of the housing market around the…
Austin Ranked as One of the Top 10 Greenest Cities
Friday, July 31st, 2009 at 8:17pm. 614 Views, 0 Comments.
The city of Austin and its residents have long been recognized for their commitment to live a "greener" lifestyle. As such, it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that the city was recently listed as one of the top 10 greenest cities by The Mother Nature Network.
Founded in 2008 by Chuck Leavell, who is the keyboardist for the popular band Rolling Stones, The Mother Nature Network is dedicated to educating people regarding eco-friendly business practices, transportation options, lifestyle choices and more. The network included Austin in its list of green cities largely…
Enjoying Austin's Established Wineries
Friday, June 26th, 2009 at 8:19pm. 948 Views, 0 Comments.
Although quite a few wineries have popped up in Austin over the past 10 years are so, there are also plenty of wineries that have been around for much longer. Each of these wineries has been around for so long for one simple reason: they produce a great product. So, whether you live in Austin or you are planning a visit, a stop at one of these tried and true wineries is certainly worth your time.
Fall Creek Vineyards
Fall Creek Vineyards has been around since 1979 and is located in Tow. This winery’s specialty style is classic chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, viognier, cabernet…
Austin one of the Top Ten Best Places for a Business
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009 at 5:56pm. 954 Views, 0 Comments.
According to Forbes, the city of Austin is the 8th best place for business as well as for career. Among the reasons for the city's high placement on the list is the fact that the projected annual job growth rate for the city is currently at 2.3%, making it the fifth fastest growing city in terms of job growth. The city also ranked highly on the list due to its subprime mortgage exposure, which is relatively low when compared to other markets.
"The city of Austin is extremely business-friendly," said Glenn Cooper, who is the head of real estate at Charles Schwab Corp, in an…
Austin Population is the 8th Fastest Growing in the Nation
Tuesday, November 4th, 2008 at 6:10pm. 1376 Views, 1 Comments.
The recently conducted U.S. Census has shown that the population in Austin has grown significantly over the past year. In fact, Austin Business Journal reports that the population increased by 2.4% since the July 2007 census, at which time the population in Austin was a healthy 734,074. With the increase over the past year, the city has now added another 18,000 residents to its population.
Thanks to the recent population growth, Austin has officially been listed as the eight fastest growing city in the nation between July 2006 and July 2007. Other Texas cities also made the…
Texans Enjoy One of the Lowest Tax Burdens in the Country
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 at 4:59pm. 1074 Views, 1 Comments.
In addition to offering its residents an increasing number of job opportunities as well as one of the most stable housing markets in the country, Texas has also been ranked as one of the least-burdensome states in terms of taxing its citizens.
The Austin Business Journal reported that the Tax Foundation recently released its annual report and listed Texas in the 43rd position, with 1st being the worst, for its tax environment. The list was compiled by evaluating the state and local taxes that each of the state's residents had to pay. This amount was then divided by the total…
