Lake Travis Vacation Homes get National ExposureAustin and Lake Travis will be in the national spotlight when The Travel Channel airs an episode of Vacation Home Search, featuring waterfront homes on Lake Travis. The Travel Channel chose Austin for its growing national reputation for a healthy economy, vibrant social scene and picturesque scenery, and cited Lake Travis as one of the most popular outdoor recreation areas in Texas.
The 30-minute episode features Dr. Derek Tieken, a cosmetic dentist from Houston, and his family on their search for a vacation home on Lake Travis. The episode was filmed in late February, and airs on November 6, 2006.
Although prices are quickly rising and Lake Travis boasts many million-dollar-plus homes, the Travel Channel chose to focus on homes in the $500,000 to $600,000 range, which was a challenge for the Tieken’s Realtor, Mick Hooper. Three individual homes in Jonestown, Point Venture and Spicewood were filmed, along with a couple of popular waterfront restaurants.
The Travel Channel chose real estate broker Mick Hooper to host the film crew from Authentic Entertainment because of his expertise in Lake Travis real estate. Hooper, broker/owner of Crosswind Realty, routinely tours waterfront properties with clients in “The Office”, his 37 foot cabin cruiser. Hooper’s unique insider’s tour of the lake often includes cruising through Devil’s Cove and wraps up with dinner or cocktails at a boat-up restaurant. This unique aspect of Hooper’s real estate practice caught the attention of the Travel Channel.
The Lake Travis episode of Vacation Home Search will air on Monday, November 6 at 1:00 PM CST (and simulcast at 2:00 PM EST/PST). Locally, the Travel Channel is on Time Warner Cable, channel 33. You can also e-mail Mick for a copy of the show on DVD!
In case you missed it, this article was in the North Lake Travis LOG 09-21-06… Groundbreaking promises new grocery storeNew shovels dug into the dirt on the site of the new Super S Foods not far from backhoes and other heavy equipment digging up dirt and rock in preparation of the grocery store’s opening early next year.
“We are thrilled to be part of Lago Vista,” Alan Buxkemper, Super S Vice President of Human Resources, said.
Lago Vista’s first grocery store, near FM 1431 and Lohman Ford Road, hopes to have its doors open by March 1, 2007.
“I think it’s a very exciting day for Lago Vista, “Lago Vista Chamber of Commerce President Rita Parker said.
Land clearing for Super S’ fifty-first store started last month and Super S officials said laying the foundation will begin Monday.
Lago Vista’s Super S will be one of the largest with nearly 25,000 square feet. Its state-of-the-art building will include an extensive fresh meat department, farm-fresh produce, a large wine selection and specialty and organic foods.
Buxkemper thanked the City Council, Mayor Dennis Jones, the chamber of commerce, City Manager Bill Angelo, property developer Mark Currey and others.
Councilmen Bob Bradley, Hugh Farmer, Fred Harless, Randy Kruger and Mike Thornton were attendance, along with Mayor Dennis Jones.
As parts of Super S are finished, Ace Hardware will be constructed on the same site.
Ace Hardware plans on opening a month after Super S. A Domino’s Pizza will also be in the Town Center.
Super S, which gained Council approval in April, will have 25-30 full time jobs, and Ace Hardware will have 10.
Residents agree that a grocery store in Lago Vista is a long time coming. Some may recall when a Piggly Wiggly considered coming here 20 years ago or when a Super S store fell through three years ago. The store’s progress is reassurance that will not happen again.by Kimberly Bates, Staff Writer, North Lake Travis LOG
Central Texas new home market stays hot!Central Texas continues to buck signs of a cooling housing market seen elsewhere in the country. Area builders started 4,266 homes in the third quarter, up about 8 percent from the same quarter of 2005, and closed on 4,518: a record, according to Residential Strategies Inc., a Dallas-based firm that tracks new home activity.
In Sandy Springs, Ga., and most other places across the country, chilled housing markets are turning away both builders and buyers, but in Central Texas, no such letdown is in sight.
Thanks to strong job growth and moderating mortgage rates, Austin's housing market has been healthy all year. In contrast, markets are cooling rapidly in many other parts of the country.
"It seems to be the rest of the nation is doing poorly, and we tend to go against that," said Mark Sprague, Austin partner with Residential Strategies.
Over the past 12 months, Central Texas builders have cranked out 16,973 homes, up more than 20 percent from a year ago. The construction pace indicates that builders are confident that there are plenty of buyers either already here or moving in.
The median price in the quarter rose 8.5 percent, to $196,933, as builders shifted their emphasis to higher-priced homes, in part because of an influx of buyers from more expensive markets. For example, starts of homes costing more than $300,000 have risen 64 percent in the past year, triple the overall increase in starts, according to Residential Strategies.
Starts in the $151,000 to $200,000 price range rose 14.8 percent. The escalating price of construction materials also is driving up the cost of many new homes.
Although Sprague was upbeat about the state of the Austin housing market, he raised one caution about sales to investors, which can give a false sense of market demand. "The hope is that investor interest will subside in the coming year so as not to overhype the market, as has occurred elsewhere in the nation," he said.
Local real estate consultant Charles Heimsath agrees. "The market is inflated by investor demand, which doesn't actually put bodies into houses; it just turns a sale," Heimsath said. "Then, eventually, you create a bubble, and eventually the bubble will burst. I'm not saying that will happen in Austin, but it's something we need to carefully monitor."
Sprague said he thought the Austin market will remain strong through 2007, unless the job growth picture changes. The region has been adding jobs for 32 months in a row. In August, the local work force reached 714,000 jobs, up 2.8 percent from the same period a year ago.NEW HOME SALESNation: Through August, sales were down 14 percentAustin: On track for a record yearSUPPLY OF UNSOLD NEW HOMESNation: 6.6 monthsAustin: Less than two monthsAUGUST RESALESNation: Down 0.5 percentAustin: Up 6 percentBy M.B. Taboada AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Tuesday, October 03, 2006
