Coming on July 10, 2010, AquaPalooza on beautiful Lake Travis! For more information on this huge event click here . This will be the signature event of the year, featuring Brad Paisley, and held at The Reserve at Lake Travis in Spicewood Texas. If you plan on purchasing a boat for this event, or need a good salesperson to speak with, contact Roger Duffee. If you are considering purchasing a home, or would like to look for one as you fall in love with our lake, look no further than the page you are on! And have fun!
Coming Soon here in Lakeway!
Lakeway Regional Medical Center
The City of Lakeway will soon become a hub of medical facilities with the new Lakeway Regional Medical Center which is currently under construction here on R.R. 620. It is expected to generate about 2500 jobs for the local area. This hospital had been planned for several years, and had a lengthy delay due to uncertainties from the new Obamacare initiative. They finally have secured financing from HUD, and the work has now begun again. If you are a medical employee looking for housing in the local area, please feel free to give me a call, or send me an e-mail and I'll keep you updated as I find out more.
Medical Development will include the following:
• Hospital
• Medical Office Buildings
• Selected Retail Space
• Hotel and Restaurant Space
• Daycare Center
TEXAS' EXISTING HOME SALES DOWN, PRICES UP IN FEBRUARY
Austin, Texas up from last year.
TEXAS (Real Estate Center, Reuters, CNNMoney.com) – A total of 13,064 existing single-family homes were sold in Texas last month, a 2 percent drop from February 2009, according to MLS data compiled by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.
The median price was up 2 percent to $141,100 during the same period, and the state finished the month with a 6.9-month inventory of existing homes.
Here is how select Texas cities fared in February (data current as of March 25, 2010):
| Sales |
Change from |
Median Price |
Change from Last Year |
Months' Inventory |
|
| Austin | 1,276 | up 7% | $182,000 | down 3% | 6.2 |
| Dallas | 2,707 | down 9% | $149,200 | up 1% | 6.1 |
| Fort Bend | 510 | down 7% | $188,700 | up 8% | 4.8 |
| Fort Worth | 538 | up 5% | $106,000 | down 3% | 6.5 |
| Houston | 3,615 | down 4% | $146,600 | up 6% | 6.6 |
| Longview-Marshall | 116 | down 12% | $120,000 | up 1% | 8.9 |
| Odessa | 67 | up 26% | $123,100 | down 5% | 5.8 |
| San Antonio | 1,239 | up 7% | $140,700 | down 1% | 7.8 |
| Temple-Belton | 94 | down 10% | $110,800 | down 11% | 6.7 |
| Victoria | 61 | up 33% | $109,200 | down 23% | 6.6 |
| Texas | 13,064 | down 2% | $141,100 | up 2% | 6.9 |
Additional home sales data for these and other major Texas cities are available on the Center's website.
At the national level, the National Association of Realtors reported this week that existing-home sales fell 0.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.02 million units in February from 5.05 million in January. That was 7 percent higher than the 4.69 million-unit pace from February 2009.
Total housing inventory at the end of February rose 9.5 percent to 3.59 million existing homes, representing an 8.6-month supply.
The national median existing-home price for all housing types of $165,100 last month, which was 1.8 percent below February 2009.
Thanks to all of the fantastic student athletes playing for the 3 time champion Lake Travis Cavalier football team! Congratulations to you all!
Parade of Champions
January 17, 2010
2:00 p.m.
Hill Country Galleria
The City of Bee Cave and the Hill Country Galleria are proud to host a parade for the three-time 2009 State Champion Lake Travis High School Cavalier football team.
The Cavaliers defeated the Longview Lobos 24-17 on December 19, 2009 for the second time in as many as years to claim a third consecutive Class 4A State football championship.
This old-fashioned parade will begin at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 17, 2010 at the Dillard's store and end on the opposite end of the Galleria. A ceremony and celebration will follow in the amphitheatre with live music to follow the trophy presentation. Please park in garages as Main Street will be used for the parade.
If you have a convertible that you would like to drive in the parade, please contact Bob Dorsett at 600-4365 or Amy Still at astill@austin.rr.com or 750-3355.
Championship merchandise is available through the Lake Travis football booster club.
Visit www.ltisdschools.org for more information.
Interesting Lake Travis Articles
New Bee Caves Information
Updates on the Galleria:
· 2-3 new restaurants are coming,
· New St. David’s Emergency Clinic,
· Big push to fill office space in the Galleria,
· Occupancy of Alexan Apartments is 90%; these apartments are currently on the market.
Updates on 620/Hamilton Pool construction:
· The intersection at 620 and Hamilton Pool Rd is currently in process of completing Phase 2, but has been delayed due to some communication lines that were found in the area. Phase 3 of the project has been slowed due to the economy and the lack of bond funding for the moment.
· The park is mostly complete, except for grass and plants that suffered through the drought and need to be replanted.
· Pad site has been sold to build a CVS on the corner.
Updates on the Shops at the Galleria:
· The USPS has agreed to open a Postal Unit in the New Flower Market. The Postal Unit will be run by New Flower employees and is a big step in a time where a lot of postal offices are closing.
· Maudie’s is scheduled to open this summer and Gumbo’s has just signed a lease.
Hudson Bend Keeps its Eclectic Feel
Lake Travis community survives boom along RM 620
Traffic moves briskly these days on RM 620, the four-lane road that winds through the heart of the Lake Travis area. Impatient drivers coming up in the rear-view mirror probably won't allow you much time to slow down and take in the changes to this area, but quick glances will reveal shopping centers and subdivisions popping up everywhere along RM 620 from the once-remote outpost of Bee Cave to the once-rural RM 2222.
In the midst of this dizzying explosion, the Hudson Bend community, first built up in the 1940s, offers a respite of sorts, as well as a reminder of the way much of this area felt before the recent boom. Driving deep into the peninsula along Hudson Bend Road, you see wildflowers and cactus set behind metal mailboxes and cedar fenceposts. Modest low-slung homes are nestled behind oaks, and the occasional somewhat grandiose architectural experiment sits perched on a bluff. Lake views beckon all the while.
Life here is still a bit looser than in the neighboring city of Lakeway. A grizzled old lake character in an RV with cars on blocks in his yard might live down the road from a million-dollar mansion. Good-time places include the legendary funky Carlos' N Charlie's on the water and the elegant restaurant Hudson's on the Bend. One minute you're passing ubiquitous boat repair places, the next you're nearing the Austin Yacht Club.
A Different Side of Lake Living
People are discovering northern shores of Lake Travis for small towns, gorgeous views at affordable prices
Sunday, July 15, 2007
NORTH LAKE TRAVIS — Looking ahead to retirement, Dan and Laurie Sullenbarger thought they'd find their second home on the Florida coast.
But two years ago, hurricanes Rita and Katrina altered the game plan for the couple, who live in Spring, on Houston's north side.
Estates are beginning to pop up in Lago Vista. This home belonging to the McIngvale family of Houston will have 26,000 square feet and a 10-bedroom guest house.
"In addition to having a home in Houston, we didn't need to have another one located in the path of a hurricane," said Dan Sullenbarger, 56, vice president of corporate responsibility for Houston-based Marathon Oil Corp. Their search led them to the northern shore of Lake Travis, where they recently bought a 5,500-square-foot, four-bedroom home in the $1.8 million range in Waterford, a gated high-end subdivision. They can be door-to-door in about three hours, a big attraction.
While at their second-home getaway, the Sullenbargers live amid the deer, roadrunners, wild turkeys, quail, jackrabbits and other wildlife that inhabit the lake's environs.
"It truly is a back-to-nature experience," says Dan Sullenbarger, who's familiar with gridlocked HOV (high-occupancy vehicle) lanes but who, on a recent 45-minute walk through Waterford with Laurie, 54, saw only one car.
The gates aren't closing behind the Sullenbargers.
From its boating, sailing and other water sports and recreational activities to its well-regarded schools and nationally recognized golf courses, Lake Travis is seeing growth push to its northern shore.
Not everyone is happy about the changes transforming this rural lakefront community. Some property owners say the new development isn't being handled responsibly. They are concerned that some of the higher-density projects will detract from the area's character, quality of life and schools that are ranked among some of the state's best. But with the southern shore largely developed and with selling points such as new toll-road access and relatively moderate prices, the Lake North area designated by the Austin Board of Realtors is seeing heightened activity from developers who are building or planning hundreds of new homes and condominiums. They are seeking to meet current and anticipated demand from the growing number of retirees, families and vacation- and second-home owners who are being drawn to the area's waterfront charm and amenities.
More than 7,000 acres are under development along the RM 1431 corridor, west of U.S. 183 toward the lake, said Mark Sprague, a partner in the Austin office of Residential Strategies, which tracks the housing market.
Just as the Lakeway and Steiner Ranch areas to the south saw a tremendous growth spurt several years ago when the bridge under Mansfield Dam was completed, "we are seeing the same dynamics happen with the north side of the lake and the opening of the toll roads," Sprague said. Drive times to downtown Austin, for example, have decreased from two hours to about 30 to 45 minutes, Sprague said.
Lake North home prices historically have lagged the southern shore. But the Lago Vista and Jonestown areas have seen significant appreciation in the past two years, Sprague said.
Still, local real estate agents say the area's comparative affordability continues to attract buyers.
The median new home price is $500,000 to $700,000, Sprague said, a far cry from where it was in the past.
Existing home prices also are climbing. The median price rose to $255,000 last year, up 64.5 percent compared with $155,000 in 2003, though still below Lake South's 2006 median of $335,000. One-acre lots in the Lake North area have jumped from $50,000 to $400,000 in the past few years, Sprague said. Dan Sullenbarger says he experienced "a bit of sticker shock associated with all of Lake Travis," but says it didn't deter him and his wife from buying. And he is realistic about the coming changes, saying it's "only a matter of time until the north side is populated as well."
"The folks are going to be coming this way more and more because people are attracted to the water. It's a beautiful lake. That's a mixed blessing, to be honest."
Good deals still to be found As someone who owns a condominium and several rental properties on the lake's north side, Risé Johns has a front-row seat to an area at a crossroads.
Johns, a transplant from Illinois who has lived in the Austin area since 1980, settled with her husband in Lago Vista in 2002.
"We spent about two years looking all over the lake, and we just kept coming back to Lago Vista," she said. "It was the best bang for the buck."
And despite the recent sale of a $5.5 million estate in Waterford, there's plenty of more moderately priced properties, she says, pointing out on a recent tour a three-bedroom, 1,850-square-foot home in "pristine" condition on a golf course that sold for $200,000.
Newcomers run the gamut, from primary- to second-home owners, and Central Texans to out-of-towners. "We're flooded with people from Houston," Johns says.
The new U.S. 183A toll road and this year's arrival of a Super S Foods grocery in Lago Vista "have had a massive impact on our market," Johns says.
Strict ordinances in Lago Vista — from rules limiting commercial zoning to ordinances requiring homeowners to plant a tree elsewhere for every one they remove — have helped protect the area's beauty, Johns says.
"They're trying not to become like some lake developments that have uncontrolled commercial growth and a billboard on every corner," Johns says.
But some residents aren't pleased with the direction growth is taking.
The grassroots Lago Vista Citizens for Responsible Growth and Government recently formed to protest the Sunset Harbor development, which would bring 200 condominiums and a hotel next to an existing residential community. The developer is seeking a zoning change.
Maureen Raymond, a member of the group who lives nearby, says the project would bring a high-density commercial development to an area where zoning prohibits it. In addition to the anticipated increase in property values, some residents are concerned about the increased noise and traffic Raymond says the project would bring.
The group also is concerned about the environmental effects of that and other developments on the landscape, including clear cutting and disrupting the habitat of herons and golden-cheeked warblers, a federally protected endangered species.
Sunset Harbor developer Jeff Dolen did not return calls seeking comment.
"(Development) is definitely at a turning point," says Raymond, adding that she and her husband, who moved to the area in 1999, have persuaded their son and daughter-in-law, Gary and Carrie Markham, to move there with their five children, ages 4 to 14.
Raymond stresses that she and others opposing Sunset Harbor are not anti-growth, and support other projects that are "well-thought out."
"We are among the fortunate few who have been able to move to this area, and we want other people to do the same thing," Raymond says. "We want them to move here and come visit and relax and enjoy the beautiful, natural surrounding of Lake Travis and have the same quality of life."
Eye on growth About 60,000 people now live in the Lago Vista-Jonestown-Cedar Park area, up 82 percent from 33,000 in 2000, according to Brian Kelsey, assistant director of economic development for the Capital Area Council of Governments.
Although most of the population growth is concentrated in Cedar Park, which nearly doubled in size from 2000 to 2006, both Lago Vista and Jonestown are growing quickly, about twice as fast as Travis County as a whole, says Kelsey, who tracks migration patterns across Central Texas for the agency.
Lago Vista grew from 4,600 residents in 2000 to 5,800 residents in 2006, and Jonestown increased from 1,700 to 2,100 people during that time.
"It's not a lot of people numerically, but definitely enough in percentage terms to feel like the areas are growing very rapidly," Kelsey says. "It's very similar to what is going on in many of the 5,000- to 10,000-population cities in our region."
George "Bam" Look, who opened Bam's Roadhouse Grill in Lago Vista in 2003, said there's no doubt the area is "on the map."
Unlike some of its waterfront counterparts, "it's laid-back and unpretentious here," Look says. "When you've got this to offer, growth is inevitable."
Look's eatery is distinguished by its chef, Tommy Williams, formerly an institution at the Night Hawk, Onion Creek Country Club, Green Pastures and the Westwood Country Club, where he fed the likes of George W. Bush and Ann Richards during their Texas governorships. Both Look and Williams commute daily from Austin.
Lago Vista resident John Vohs says he and his wife, Charlene, traveled far and wide before retiring, and knew nothing about the lake area until one of Charlene's sons moved to Austin.
"When we visited in 1998, we were told to check out Lago Vista and found it to be ideal for us, even though it was out from North Austin, where my stepson lived," John Vohs said. "We liked the friendliness of the people, and the costs were better than we had seen in other areas."
The couple bought a condominium in the new Vista Villas project. Checking into the new condo high-rises in Austin, they faced prices of up to $400 a square foot, John says.
"We decided we could still get into Austin for the cultural events we like, and move into the Vista Villas condos for a lot less cost and still enjoy the benefits of a small friendly community," he says. "Lago Vista is currently experiencing some rapid growth that has and will continue to change its previous sleepy nature. But we like most of what we see happening."
