Vacation is Over

I went to the East Coast to visit some family and friends.  Though I was only 20 minutes from the hustle and bustle of New York City, the area I grew up in still has many unemployed and houses are certainly not selling the way they are here.  Let’s be grateful and thankful that overall Austin has a strong stable economy. 

Last week was a big vacation and shopping week as people started to prepare for the new school year.  I do have a new listing in Sendera at 9432 Collazo Way, which is in South Austin and very close to the new Alamo Drafthouse on Slaughter.  I’ve also been working in Austin’s popular Central zip code 78704 lately for a condo buyer and an investor seeking a duplex.  For a change of pace, I sold a house in Buda to a repeat client and her husband in the community of Leisurewoods.  We looked at homes for about 2 years before we found the right house.

Austin Vacation Home Rentals

Last week, the City of Austin finally adopted an ordinance to put some controls in place regarding Austin vacation home rentals.  Vacation home rentals are very popular in areas of Austin like Barton Hills and Travis Heights because of the close proximity to local Austin attractions like Downtown, South Congress Ave and Zilker Park.  Vacation home rentals are the ideal alternative to staying in a hotel because they provide an added level of warmth and comfort and are often closer to an Austin attraction.  As the popularity of vacation home rentals increase, so do the problems associated with it simply by the fast overturn of the tenants renting these properties.  Noisy vacationers have become cumbersome for certain communites in Austin, so having an ordinance will allow the City to control the inventory of properties and impose a tax on them as well.

Austin Short Term Rental Rules

  • All short-term rental properties are required to be registered with the City of Austin.
  • Upon registration, all STRs must demonstrate certificate of occupancy or proof of inspection.
  • No more than 3% of single-family residences may be used as a non-owner occupied STR in a census track.
  • A packet containing viable community information must be shared with the tenant.
  • Short-term leases pertaining to home sales/closing terms (leasebacks) will not be affected by this ordinance.

Austin Investment Homes

The market is hot right now for Austin investment properites. Leases prices are in some areas 20% or more than last year. Purchasing an investment property whether single or multi-family property will typically have a slightly higher interest rate and a larger downpayment. With Austin inventory down, rents have increased making this a strong market for investors.