New home construction, single-family home sales on the rise
The population of Georgetown is expected to grow to more than 100,000 by 2030, according to the city of Georgetown Planning Department, and the increasing population has driven a high demand for homes.
In 2013, single-family home sales in the Austin area grew by 19 percent compared with 2012 numbers, according to the Austin Board of Realtors and the Williamson County Association of Realtors.
Job growth and people moving here, that was the main reason, said Gary Cocanougher, president of the WCAR and an associate broker with ERA Colonial Real Estate in Georgetown. When a lot of other places were slowing down we were still selling homes [in Georgetown].
Expanding market
In 2013, the city of Georgetown issued 1,042 housing permits an increase of more than 39 percent compared with the previous year, said Georgetown Chief Plans Examiner Tamera Baird.
We had a really good year last year, and I think itll be just as good this year, Cocanougher said. There were more homes sold in 2013 than there have been in seven years.
Other Realtors, including Marcy Urban, owner of Urban Homes and Land, also reported 2013 as a good year.
2013 was my best year in the real estate business, she said. The economy is turning around, and we had more building starts last year.
Cocanougher said many of his new-to-Georgetown clients are families.
There are a lot of people just moving here with jobs, he said. Theyre mainly families, but also there were a lot of young couples moving here. And people getting out of the armed services were settling down here, particularly ones [formerly stationed] at Fort Hood.
Troy Hellmann, Century 21 HSK & Associates co-owner, spoke about Georgetowns population growth and the resulting increase in housing at a Georgetown Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting Jan. 21.
The citys proximity to Austins jobs and activities, as well as the safety and natural beauty are all attractive factors to people moving to the area, he said.
People want to be [in Austin], but they dont really want to live there, Hellmann said.
Developments
The citys extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ, which includes the unincorporated areas up to 2 miles beyond the city limits, will see the continued expansion of neighborhoods such as Teravista this year, Newland Communities Marketing Director Vaike OGrady said.
Newland Communities is the developer of Teravista, which broke ground in 2002. The 1,550-acre development includes homes by 10 builders.
We anticipate lot construction to continue through 2015, OGrady said. Home sales kind of lag behind that a bit, so the community should be complete in 2016 or 2017.
OGrady said about 1,000 of Teravistas 3,000 homes will be in the Georgetown ETJ. Teravista homes range from 1,500 square feet to 5,000 square feet and may cost between $200,000 and $700,000, she said.
Last year was a strong year for us. We sold 249 homes, OGrady said. Well do that or better this year, we anticipate.
Newland Communities markets Teravista to a range of homebuyers and introduced low-maintenance homes in 2013 targeted toward empty-nesters and never-nesters, OGrady said.
Market acceptance has already been high; were seeing that more baby boomers are choosing mixed-age neighborhoods versus those restricted to [age] 55-plus, she said.
Hellmann also discussed various housing projects in the city at the meeting and called Teravista and Sun City, which has about 1,000 more homes before it is completely built out, juggernaut developments in the city.
Water Oak at San Gabriel is a 1,354-acre master-planned community that will contribute about 3,000 homes to the market, said Kelly Hurta, assistant vice president of land development at Galo Properties.
The first phase of the development broke ground in the southwest Georgetown ETJ in 2012, and Hurta said the community could take seven to 10 years to build out.
Homes in Water Oak generally range from 1,900 square feet to 4,200 square feet, Hurta said, and cost between $250,000 and $450,000.
Hurta said Water Oak at San Gabriel currently has four builders: Chesmar Homes, Grand Haven Homes, Scott Felder Homes and Wilshire Homes. Upcoming units could also be built by Sitterle Homes and Meritage Homes, she said.
On the northern side of the city, neighborhoods in the Georgetown Village area, such as Creekside developed by KB Home, are also adding to the housing market.
KB Home spokeswoman Cathy Teague said by the time the 550-acre Georgetown Village development is completed it will have 1,200 homes.
Georgetown Village has been an active, growing subdivision since 1998, she said. Its the third largest submarket in terms of permits in the Austin metro area.
Housing costs
The Austin Board of Realtors reported the median price of homes in the Austin area increased by 9 percent to $223,890 over the course of 2013.
According to WCAR, resale residential properties in Georgetown had an average selling price of $255,723 in 2013more than $31,000 higher compared with the Austin area in general.
In January 2014 the number of available homes in Georgetown costing more than $250,000 was more than double the number of homes costing less than that amount, Urban said.
Most people have a budget, and if they go to Georgetown, they realize their budget wont get them as far, she said. Foreclosures have decreased, and its harder to get a loan than it has been before.
On the market
Homes in the Austin area spent an average of 50 days on the market in 2013, according to the Austin Board of Realtors19 days fewer than in 2012.
Georgetown homes were on the market an average of 64 days in the first six months of 2013 and 49 days in the second half of the year, according to the WCAR.
Its a double-edged sword, Cocanougher said. [Homeowners] can sell quickly, but where do [you] go? So some people were reluctant to put their home on the market [because] they had nowhere to [move to].
The number of homes on the market has also been lower in the past year, Cocanougher said. In January 2014, there were 4,500 homes on the market in the Austin Multiple Listing Service.
Thats a very low number, Cocanougher said. Generally its two or three times that.
Even with low availability, Realtors like Cocanougher are expecting 2014 to be as good as 2013 or better.
I think its going to be about the same as far as the amount of people moving in, he said. We had a really good year last year, and I think itll be just as good this year.
