Modern Austin - Architecture & Design of Central Texas » Around Town

The Heywood Hotel – new, modern, boutique, hotel

rmc — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:37:19 +0000

There’s a new, modern, boutique hotel in Austin – the Heywood Hotel. It’s along the lines of Kimbermodern, but less expensive. Check out their website HERE and facebook page HERE. FYI the design is that of KRDB.

Let’s hear it for local family owned businesses with modern flair!

A few pics below to spark your interest:

Just for fun – some blogs focused on building modern in austin

rmc — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:15:17 +0000

Here are some build blogs I check out pretty regularly. I particularly like Austin Cubed as it’s a real life couple going through a real life process of building a modern home in central Austin. Feel free suggest other blogs you know of in the comments section of this entry.

Modern Homes Tour Austin – February 4

rmc — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:08:39 +0000

The annual Modern Homes Tour of Austin (aka – an organized open house featuring numerous modern homes for sale in Austin) is just around the corner. Click HERE for more info.

New Architecture in Austin (AMOA event)

bp — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 19:12:03 +0000

More info.

some numbers

bp — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 15:35:30 +0000

In the previous post, this comment was made:

(context: this was in response to another comment saying it was a buyers market.)

Think so? Even though buy-vs–rent-ratios are so out of whack?…and despite that homes are still listing for double what they sold for ten years before?

On a very early morning drive this AM to the airport I was wondering what the numbers really were. I know housing pricing hasn’t doubled in raw numbers in the past 10 years and what about the average income, that has surely increased as well? And interest rates, outside of income that is one of the biggest impacts on buyer’s purchasing power.

Here is what I found.

Median home price growth, 2000 to 2010: +31%
Median household income, 2000 to 2010: +25%
Median home price to income ratio growth 2000 to 2010: +4.5% (2.45 to 2.56)
Average interest rate, 30 year mortgage conventional, 2000 to 2010: - 3.37%

This sum of that basically is that it the cost of buying of home for the median is just over 1% more expensive in terms of purchasing power now than it was 10 years ago.

Now if you go back to 1990, that is where you see the big change. The numbers argue that it was between 1990 and 2000 when Austin become less affordable (at least as measured as ratio of income spent).

Median home price growth, 1990 to 2000: +98%
Median household income, 1990 to 2000: +49%
Median home price to income ratio growth, 1990 to 2000: +32% (1.85 to 2.45)
Average interest rate, 30 year mortgage conventional, 1990 to 2000: - 2.12%

Here we see a 30% rise in the cost of buying a home.

Let’s thank our lucky (lone) star that we are not like SF or California as a whole. Even after the ‘crash’, the income to home price ratio for SF is 4 times what it is here and 2.6 times for the state as a whole (including the vast wastelands of places like the island empire).

Within a more recent analytic window, we have seen income growth outstrip home price growth since 2007. Median incomes are up 6%, median home price is up 2% and interest rates have improved by 1.65 points. That means housing is 5.35% more affordable than it was 2007.

Reference data:

http://recenter.tamu.edu/data/hs/hs140.asp

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/demographics/downloads/mfi_10.pdf

http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h15/data/Annual/H15_MORTG_NA.txt

2Modern’s (Modern) Austin City Guide

bp — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 19:48:54 +0000

Adrienne put together a nice little guide to modernish places to visit in the city. It is also a handy guide where to avoid during the annual locust season that is SXSW. :)

2Modern’s Austin City Guide

“How Austin lives now”

bp — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 01:03:10 +0000

Fake trend article* in the Statesmen about how people are “demanding smaller, greener, more contemporary homes”. Quotes from Jay Hargrave, Dick Clark, Hugh Randolph, and Mark Lind (CG&S). Pictures from a few homes we’ve featured a few times this year.

Perhaps I am jaded but all I hear is the same talk of opening of living space that has gone on since the 50s. Many of the quotes sound like they could be lifted from the Eichler books I have. Yes, there does seem to be an renewed interest in these principles. I am thrilled about that. My concern remains that it will remain niche and reserved to the premium market. The cost premium has undermined widespread adoption of “smaller, greener, more contemporary” building principles before. Tellingly, this article steers well wide of that topic.

*Fake trend articles are made famous by the NY Times which make sweeping statements about the changing trends yet offer no actual data save a few choice quotes. I always picture them as the result of idle chatter over a few drinks.

Baldridge Home

bp — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 15:52:54 +0000

Feature in the NY Times about this lovely Austin home.

Article.

Slideshow.

Event Reminders

bp — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 19:55:33 +0000

Don’t forget that this Friday is Modern Austin’s 1st (timeframe not defined) Meet-up. 6pm @ San Jose Hotel. Right now, it looks like the weather will be very lovely for outdoor drinks and conversation.

This weekend is the AIA Austin Homes Tour. Homes by Alter Studios, Dick Clark, Cottam Hargrave, CG&S, among others.

1st (timeframe not defined) Modern Austin Meet-up

bp — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 15:06:31 +0000

photo by davisayer

When I first moved to Austin, the forum at LiveModern was my entry point into what was going on locally. The forum nowadays is a ghost town for the most part. One of the lasting impacts (for me at least) were the semi-regular meet-ups that occurred. It was through there I meet people like Chuck Voelter (artist, Stenger fan extraordinaire), Mark Meyer, Karen Pittman, among others. That lead, in part, to me starting modernaustin.com which through I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many more great people.

So now that the season of death rays is drawing to close, I think it is time we revive this tradition.

1st (timeframe not defined) Modern Austin Meet-up

Date: Friday, Oct 1st, 2010
Time: 6pm to 8pm
Location: San Jose Hotel (click for map)*

For the first one, I think a casual evening of drinks and chit chat is a good place to start. If this is something people like, and only a modest amount of blood and tears are shed, I have some ideas for topical / event style meet-ups (tour a house with the architect / builder, etc).

*If the weather looks like it won’t cooperate, I will announce an indoor location a few days before hand.