The skyline in Austin never stopped morphing during the recession. Startups are flocking to the city, as well as hip heavyweights like Facebook and Google (who have both set up offices in Austin recently). Add in longtime employment hubs like Dell, plus employment anchors like the state government and the University of Texas (sources that are both stable and dynamic — meaning lots of people moving in and out, creating all sorts of real estate opportunities), and you’ve got a robust city determined to roll right through the recession.

So what does the housing market look like post-recession in one of America’s most recession-proof cities? A glance at the numbers says it’s in better shape than most cities, but not immune to broader economic problems. In fact, many Austinites have been in this situation before.

According to KUT:

Jim Gaines has been in the Central Texas real estate business for over thirty years. When asked if the housing market is the worst he’s ever seen it, he laughed and said, “Certainly not. The oil bust in the 80s was far worse.” Texas’ booming oil industry went belly up in the 1980s and dealt a major blow to the economy. Gaines explains that this concept of big boom equals big bust may be the very thing that has saved most of Texas from the current recession.

The rest of the nation started gaining steam through the 1990s, creating the slowly inflating economic bubble; Texas, however, was still licking its wounds from the oil bust so it did not boom along with everyone else. When the bubble burst, Texas was relatively unaffected

So let’s compare 2010 to 2007 with some data compiled by the Austin Board of Realtors:

• Across the city, per-square-foot prices declined by 3.39 percent. Home prices stagnated, dropping slightly from $315,281 in 2007 to $314,704 in 2010.

• Within the city limits, the total number of homes sold dropped 26 percent from 10,831 sold in 2007 to 7,997 sold in 2010.

• Almost every zip code in Austin experienced declines, including highly coveted neighborhoods in West Lake, Tarrytown, Downtown, and around the UT campus.

• Unemployment in Austin rose from 3.62 percent in 2007 to 7.12 percent in 2010.

In other words, it’s a great time to buy a home in Austin. Overall, the picture is rosy, and a robust recovery seems inevitable. But, currently, steals abound.

Here at Texas Lending, we’re proud to offer a slew of Austin home purchase loan options, as well as Austin home refinance loan options if you already own a home in the capital city and would like to take advantage of historically low Austin home interest rates. Contact our Austin home loan specialists for more information.

About Kevin Miller

Kevin Miller, Owner & CEO of TexasLending.com. TexasLending.com provides expert service in the field of residential mortgages.

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