East Riverside Oltorf Area

The East Riverside Oltorf Neighborhood of Austin has recently undergone huge changes, with old apartments torn down to make way for new taller apartments, lots of new retail, and more.  

East Riverside-Oltorf is located just south of Lady Bird Lake, east of I-35, west of Grove Boulevard, and north of Ben White/Highway 71.  Although in the past it was popular with students, but it has recently been gaining popularity with young professionals who value its proximity to downtown and easy access to recreation on Lady Bird Lake.

Children in the East Riverside area living west of Pleasant Valley Road attend Austin ISD schools and those east of Pleasant Valley Road attend Del Valle Schools.

Austin ISD students go to either Allison Elementary or Linder Elementary for grades Kindergarten through fifth grade.  Students at Allison go on to Martin Middle School, whose mascot is the Eagles.  Students at Linder go on to Fulmore Middle School.  Fulmore is the Law and Humanities Magnet for AISD and their mascot is the Falcons.

For high school, AISD students attend either Travis High School, Austin High School, or Eastside Memorial Green Tech High School.

Del Valle students attend Baty Elementary, Ojeda Middle School, and Del Valle High School.  

There are many employers in this area, and downtown is just a few miles away.  Cypress Semiconductor, an American semiconductor and manufacturing company, is located in East Riverside-Oltorf off Oltorf just west of Montopolis.

Tokyo Electron, a Japanese semiconductor and manufacturing company, has its American headquarters just down the road from Cypress.    

Oracle is also building a huge new campus on Lakeshore Drive. 

East Riverside has seen a ton of new dining options in the Amli Southshore development.  Mod Pizza allows you to pick your own unlimited amount of toppings for your pie before it’s sent to be cooked in a pizza oven.  Best of all, it’s super fast!  They also have beer on draft, wine, and tasty salads.

Pho Please serves delicious Vietnamese Pho, Bun, and Bahn Mi’s in a vibrant, modern setting.  Fast and well-priced, Pho Please will make your tummy happy.

Emo’s is a popular live music venue that wears its punk ethos on its sleeve.  Now relocated to East Riverside from Red River Street, Emo’s has a high end lighting and sound system to make sure your concert experience is top-notch.

East Riverside has a lot going on, but you know what’s missing? YOU! If you’re looking for an apartment in East Riverside Oltorf or anywhere in Austin, Austin Apartment Specialists South Austin can help! Give us a call today at 512-200-7535!

Amazon HQ2 Could Cause Rents in Austin to Climb

If Amazon HQ2 comes to Austin, rents could climb, according to a new study.

Culturemap Austin reports that a study bo CoStar Group predicts rents in Austin will go up an additional $103 over the next 10 years if Amazon decides to call ATX home. 

If Amazon decides to put its new headquarters somewhere else, average monthly rent will go from $1,206 in 2018 to $1,450 in 2028, which is a 20.2 percent increase. With the addition of Amazon, rent would go from $1,206 to $1,553, which is is a 28.8 percent increase. The difference amounts to $103 and would affect apartments of any size.

The forecast increase in apartment rent for Austin is the 4th highest of the 16 cities being considered. Raleigh, North Carolina would see the highest increase in rent, then Nashville, Tennessee, and Columbus, Ohio.

Dallas-Fort Worth is the only other Texas city on the short list and they are forecast to see a small increase in rent. If HQ doesn’t come to DFW, rent will go up $14.8 percent and with Amazon they will go up 17 percent, or $26 more a month than without HQ2. 

CoStar’s analytics director says that because Austin is continuing to build a lot of apartments, Amazon’s influence on the rental market will be minimal. The additional demand can easily be covered with our apartment stock. Also, Austin’s cost of housing is relatively inexpensive so he expects many employees to buy homes rather than rent.

Another report from Amherst Capital Management LLC found that if Amazon picks Austin, demand would increase 13 percent. Dallas Forth-Worth would see a 4 percent increase. 

Looking for your own apartment in Austin? North, South, East or West, we can help you find the perfect new place that fits your lifestyle and your budget! Give Apartment Specialists South Austin a call today at 512-200-7535!

Downtown Austin Alliance's Vision for Downtown

Last Fall, the Downtown Austin Alliance invited area residents to share their ideas for what downtown could look like in 20 years, Community Impact reports.

Wednesday, the Alliance revealed its “Downtown Austin Vision” based on the insights it learned from 3,000 answers from Austinites in 75 different zip codes. Responses were given in response to online surveys and “community’s table events” where participants drew what they wanted downtown to look like on wooden blocks, which were then assembled into a table.

23 percent of those who answered the survey said they love downtown and 48 percent said they like it a lot. Major concerns about downtown cited included affordability, walkability, traffic congestion, and maintaining its unique character.

The Downtown Austin Vision focuses on four high-level priorities: creating a thriving center for business and community life, having welcoming places, growing neighborhoods, and leading mobility through innovative transportation alternatives.

The Downtown Austin Alliance feels 20 years is long enough to provide time to make changes and reach goals, but short enough to feel like it’s not too far in the distant future.

Are you looking for an apartment near downtown or anywhere else in the Austin area? Apartment Specialists North can help! Give us a call at 512-241-1150 to take advantage of our absolutely free service! 

Rent Increases in Austin Slowing

Rent growth in Austin is slowing, the Austin Business Journal reports. 

Since 2010, Austin rent has increased 34 percent, which puts it in the top 13 cities in the country for rent growth according to an analysis from RealPage, Inc.

Atlanta, Fort Worth and Nashville all saw bigger rent increases ranging from 35.1 percent to 36.5 percent. 

Not surprisingly, the cities with the highest increases in Northern California. San Jose’s rent went up 51.3 percent over the last eight years, putting it on top of the list. Denver, Portland, Seattle and Sacramento all had rent increases high enough to land them in the top 10.

RealPage, a software and analytics company from Texas, looked at the actual rent prices for a set of apartments over the time period studies. This makes the numbers much more accurate than just examining averages.

Austin’s biggest growth was in the the early part of the study, followed by a slow down in growth and even negative growth at the tail end of last year. Austin was the only market in the US’s 50 biggest metro areas to have rent go down. 

The slowdown in rent growth is due to an increase in luxury apartments, as well as the fact that the middle and lower tier apartments are starting to see they are priced as high as their middle and low-income tenants can afford. 

Rent growth year-over-year has stayed the same for Austin at 2.1 percent, equal to the increase for Texas overall. The other 9 largest Texas cities had greater increases. Houston, Laredo, and Plano’s rent was up more than the state average, although just by tenth of percents.

Median rent in Austin is $1,120 for a one bedroom and $1380 for a two bedroom.

The rental market in Austin started to slowdown at the end of 2017 as occupancy and lease rates started dropping. Still, apartment construction continues unabated with 18,000 new units currently under construction in the metro area.

Looking to take advantage of the lower rates and find a new apartment in Austin? There’s never been a better time! Give Austin Apartment Specialists South Austin a call today at 512-912-8000 to find your dream apartment tomorrow!