In the year 2000, Red Wassenich a librarian at Austin Community College had no idea that he had coined what would become his city’s official slogan. Unlike the previous catchphrases “Live Music Capital of the World” and description, “A Blue Dot in a Red Sea,” this three-word phrase effortlessly captured its vibrancy. Despite its brevity, […]
Austin Ranks #3 on WalletHub’s 2018 Best Big Cities to Live In
Coastal cities are becoming more and more expensive. It’s not uncommon in New York or San Francisco for residents to spend 60% (or more) of their income on housing. We continue to see many people looking for dynamic cities with a lower cost of living. Austin has been welcoming transplants for years and that influx […]
Is Austin Still Affordable? 2018 Report
As the Austin real estate market heats up for Spring, we’re starting to hear talk around the affordability of Austin real estate. It is affordable to buy a house in Austin for a family making the median income? Median Income in Austin is $55,216 If you run a quick Google search, you’ll see the median […]
Austin Named Finalist for Amazon’s Second Headquarters
Amazon announced yesterday its “short list” of 20 cities for their second headquarters, to be named HQ2, behind Seattle, WA. Amazon received 238 bids from cities around the US and other North American countries and whittled the list down to 20 finalists. HQ2 is expected to bring 50,000 high paying jobs to its new city […]
How Much are Property Taxes in Buda?
Buda property taxes can contribute a significant amount to your monthly mortgage payment. Budgeting for property taxes can be difficult because there are two variables: property tax rate and assessed value of the property. Both can change from year to year. The property tax rate varies from neighborhood to neighborhood, so there is no set […]
What are the Average Property Taxes in Austin?
Buyers who want to budget their monthly housing payment frequently ask how much property taxes are in Austin. The short answer is property taxes vary based on several factors, so it is hard to say they are a certain percentage in the Austin metro area. School district, utility district, hospital districts and whether or not […]
North Austin Zip Code Lands Top 10 Hottest Zip Codes in the US List
Earlier this week, Realtor.com released their report of the top 10 hottest zip codes in the US. Realtor.com analyzed data from the first 6 months of 2015 and, not surprisingly, one of Northwest Austin’s zip codes made the list. The study cited healthy local economics, job opportunities and affordability as top considerations for zip codes […]
Austin Named #1 on Best Large Cities to Live List
WalletHub, known for compiling data on cities in the US and determining which cities are best in each category recently released their 2015 Best Large Cities to Live In report. Austin is no newcomer to the “best cities” lists and is one of the reasons we relocated to Austin from San Francisco about five years […]
Top 10 Reasons We Relocated to Austin
If you’ve read our blog, you know we are not native Texans. We relocated to Austin from San Francisco about five years ago and couldn’t be happier. Many of you who are reading our blog might be contemplating the same type of move. I’m sure you’ve read all the articles naming cities like Raleigh, Austin, […]
Austin Named Best City Poised to Be the Next Silicon Valley
I was reading Forbes recently and saw an article that echoed what we’ve been saying and experiencing for a couple of years now. Having grown up the heart of the Silicon Valley, and witnessing the birth and explosion of the tech industry there, we are familiar with the stages of the growth process. When we […]