Austin: Nice town, nasty real estate market

Austin's always been 2nd on my list of places to live in the US - first place reserved for Denver, of course.

However, I'm quickly learning that Austin is anywhere from blah to downright evil when it comes to real estate...as in buying a new house.

I blew into town with a goal of securing new digs as quickly as possible, and quickly ran into a set of obstacles, some of them unique to my own needs as a single guy. Austin is a land of ranch homes - one-story spread-out ramblers with huge yards. And with my travel for Sears at 50% or more, the last thing I want to deal with is a yard. If I have to spend for nice landscaping, I'd rather pay a homeowners association and own a townhome.

With my budget, unfortunately, townhomes are few and far between, especially in Austin's "sweet spot" - northwest and west of downtown. I found exactly one nice townhome community, and it's a beaut: Hillside on FM 2222. Wonderful finishes, reminiscent of my great townhouse in Denver. Sadly, prices are about $50K over my budget, and selection is almost nonexistent, as the community is fully occupied in Phase I, and Phase II is still about a year away.

Off to Steiner Ranch, sometimes known as the Orange County of Texas (strike one!), or the Highlands Ranch for those of you who know Denver. I found a home in my price range - one of those sprawling ranches (strike two!) - but almost immediately, the builder, Taylor Morrison, started reneging on promises and representations made. Can I specify the carpet going in? Yes - er, no, it's already ordered. Can I specify how the stairs come off the back deck? Of course - er, oops, we already built them. Can I use my own financing and still get $8,000 towards closing costs? Certainly - well, actually, no. Is the view towards the back going to remain open? Forever - well, that is if you count forever as 18 months, when we'll be building a bunch more homes behind you.

I was quite spoiled with my semi-custom builder in Denver - Jeff Braiman, a wonderful builder who answered every question, handled every issue no matter how small, and delivered a stellar townhome for me. Taylor Morrison? Something along the level of used car salesmen.

So I've abandoned the idea of buying a new house for now. There are simply no good options with a reasonable commute to work. Much as I wanted to avoid a double move, I'll have to once again rent for a while. My real estate agent and I are looking tomorrow.

Of course, this could be incredibly prescient of me, depending on how the economy recovers or erodes further in the next twelve months. Stay tuned.