Austin’s downtown condo market on the rise

AUSTIN – Is the downtown Austin condo market heating up after years of being stagnant?

Anna Hardeman, broker and owner of The Boutique Real Estate, crunched some numbers, and Charles Heimsath, president of Capitol Market Research, weigh in on the prospect of new for-sale product.

According to Hardeman, thus far 209 downtown condos have sold this year. Compare that to sales completed by Sept. 30, 2013, when 157 condo sales had been recorded.

In her estimation there are four tiers of product from the highest end luxury condos, which include numerous amenities — such as The Austonian or the W Residences, to the more affordable entry-level projects with few amenities — such as Ave. Lofts and the Railyard Condominiums.

“What we need is the Tier two stack,” Hardeman said. Tier two communities “are higher end buildings minus all the fanfare. They have understated luxury.” She classifies Nokonah, Austin City Lofts and the 555 Condos above the Hilton, and the proposed Fifth and West Residences in that category.

Could that niche demand encourage new condo development or condo conversions downtown?

“It’s not likely that any of the large downtown properties will convert in the foreseeable future, but I would expect to see more small central core properties convert over the next few years," said Charles Heimsath of Capitol Market Research.

Though more new condo development likely will evolve, he said, it won’t be on par with the current apartment boom. “The demand is evident but financing is still difficult,” Heimsath said.

Here’s a look at more of Hardeman’s research for the first six months of 2014.

•  157 condos sold (78 one-bedroom, 73 two-bedroom and eight three-bedroom units)
•  55 condos currently on the market
•  $119,250 least expensive one-bedroom condo sold (Greenwood Towers)
•  $799,000 most expensive one-bedroom sold (W Residences)
•  $179,000 least expensive two-bedroom condo sold (Greenwood Towers)
•  $1,675,000 most expensive two-bedroom condo sold (W Residences)
•  $665,000 least expensive three-bedroom condo sold (Towers of Town Lake)
•  $2,537,500 most expensive three-bedroom condo sold (W Residences)

Read more at the Austin Business Journal.