Hi y’all, welcome! This is our last edition for 2024, see you in the new year!

Inside: 2024 market wrap up + what to expect in 2025 👀 + Developer drama 🚨 

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(*unbiased opinion)

WHAT'S INSIDE

• 🚨 TIPS FROM YOUR REALTOR

• 🤠 WHAT’S HAPPENING AROUND TOWN

• ⁉️ WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU

• 🤤 HOUSE WORTH DROOLING OVER

🚨 TIPS FROM YOUR REALTOR

(it’s me)

I’m an ex-dentist turned Realtor - let’s work together! Email me, tweet me or send me a carrier pigeon. 🐦️ 

What’s going to happen to Austin real estate?

There is dull chatter that Austin has gone downhill since the pandemic. I’ve had people ask me where I think the Austin market is headed and if this “Zoom town” is going to bust.

I’m bullish. Let’s break down why:

During the pandemic, Austin’s economy grew at almost double the national rate. It was unsustainable growth and caused home prices to skyrocket. 60% from 2020 to 2022. Rising interest rates tempered the national market but Austin had the largest drop, 11% since its 2022 peak. This was a needed corrective response to the markets bloated high. There are pockets of overbuilding - the speed and density was based on pandemic growth projections. We see this resulting in dropping rents and concessions on downtown high-rises.

Here are some concrete developments that illustrate 2025 and beyond in Austin.

Rainey: 
Anyone remember what that looked like a decade ago?

There are now 11 residential high-rises that are opened/under construction. Estimates come in at 3,800 apartments and 6.4M+ square feet of development (that’s just in Rainey)!

These enormous properties aren’t sitting vacant.
Multiple towers still under construction have pre-sold 60%+.

The tallest building in Texas:
Welcome to, the Waterline

1,022 ft tall and 2.7 million sqft (yes, million)

World class developers - the architects of Hudson Yards and One Vanderbilt will put their mark on Austin.

Read more here.

Sixth&Blanco

Clarksville is changing and the price points are going up 📈

Ultra Luxury in Austin isn’t slowing down.
You might have heard of this development already (plans were announced in 2023) but renderings come and go. The true test is the funding. Just last week the MML group secured a $193 million construction loan and has been given the green light.

Construction started last week on the 1.6 acre project and the first units will be live Q2 2027.

You probably already know the MML group.
This hospitality company has a massive Austin presence - some of their portfolio includes:

• Swedish Hill Bakery

• Clarks Oyster Bar

• Ski Shores Cafe

• Pecan Square Cafe

• Jeffrey’s

• Josephine House

Read more about the 10, $10,000,000 penthouses here.

All that to say - we are just at the beginning.

🤠 WHAT’S HAPPENING AROUND TOWN

We're going to throw it back to one of the most astounding stories of 2024.

The Storybuilt saga reads more like a reality tv plot line than niche developer drama.

It’s a convoluted game of he said, he said - let me break it down:

What happened (tldr):

• StoryBuilt is a developer founded in 2001 with an estimated portfolio worth over $1B+

• August 2023 - both Co-Founder and COO stepped away suddenly

• StoryBuilt went into receivership with the Stapleton Group

  • Psst: A receivership is a court-appointed solution that can assist creditors to recover funds in default and help troubled companies to avoid bankruptcy.

• 130 employees laid off without notice

• Stapleton begins trying to sell 28 developments (17 in Austin!)

• Here are some of the biggest accusations against the founders:

  • $6.7M raised for property they never bought

  • $3M borrowed at 280% interest

  • Used money for developments on “miscellaneous expenses”

Part 1 of the full story below ⬇️ 

Yikes. Here’s Part II:

StoryBuilt’s co-founder Ryan Diepenbrock is suing the receivership firm, the Stapleton Group.

Co-founder Ryan alleges:

• Stapleton is the true culprit and have mismanaged a simple problem

• Stapleton dragged out this process so they could make more money and put their own interests above investors/buyers

  • $1.1M of the $2.5M Stapleton raised from investors after taking over went to professional expenses (for a 13 week period)

• Ryan states that StoryBuilt struggling was mostly due to the market turning

• Stapleton was only supposed to be in for July but pushed Ryan out and replaced him with a new executive committee (very Succession-vibes)

• Mismanaged and ended up foreclosing on Charley - an east Austin development - costing investors millions

Who do you think is really at fault? Read more here.

⁉️ WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU

If you’re a buyer/seller/investor/renter or just interested in real estate - this weekly newsletter will help guide your decision making and help you better understand the market.

🤤 HOUSE WORTH DROOLING OVER

Y’alls most clicked house worth drooling over. It’s a surprising one, maybe the black tub is more intriguing than I initially thought. This listing expired after 440 days on the market.

Could probably still be yours for $18,000,000.

Thank you for being here! Reply to this email if you have any questions or just to say hello! 👋 

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