All Forum Posts by: Thomas Hoch

Hiren, I've personally been focused on the northern MSA markets of Round Rock, Georgetown, Cedar Park, Leander. I like the strong infrastructure investment and overall job growth trajectory in these parts of Williamson County.

We're also seeing similar job and infrastructure growth between Austin and Bastrop mainly thanks to Elon Musk's investments in the area. See the attached maps of his/his related entity real estate investments (courtesy of The Wall Street Journal). I have no doubt he'll transform this entire corridor in the coming decade so I'm also looking closely at Hornsby Bend, Del Valle, and anywhere in the general vicinity.

These are my top two areas where you can find low entry price points relative to both current and anticipated market fundamentals.  Of course there are other great areas in the Austin MSA depending on your strategy and risk tolerance.

Let me know if I can answer any questions or share my thoughts on any other topics. Happy New Year,

Thomas Hoch

@Nick Duckworth welcome to Austin and great work taking down your first property.  I also recently bought a multifamily property in San Antonio.  Overall, the city has tons of value add potential and long term upside. I own and invest in Austin as well so glad to help where I can.  Sending you a connection request

@Parker Reyna The shift in the Austin market has certainly cooled down investment activity.  As a local agent and investor, I see this as a positive since Austin's growth trajectory and economic KPIs are still strong relative to the rest of the region.  The speculative investors have left the market, reducing demand to a healthy level, which has opened up opportunities for serious investors. 

As Ryan mentioned, the higher rates have taken a lot of buyers out of the market who rely on financing. We're seeing the best opportunities to buy under market since the time Austin its explosive growth.  Of course these will be the properties that aren't selling quickly, so some sort of value-add component will be needed to maximize rent or resale value.

With all that said, I'm bullish on long term buy and hold in the right areas, especially with a value-add component AND as long as you're buying below market value.  The value add component is the only way you'll really see cash flow since its still an appreciation market based on the fundamentals.  Absolutely house-hack first if you have the opportunity.

@Raj Janakarajan I'll second Ryan regarding the more established northern MSA markets of Round Rock, Pflugerville, Georgetown, Cedar Park, Leander. I've certainly observed strong infrastructure investment and more room for growth relative to the inner City of Austin market.

Also agree with Robin about the growth potential of Lago Vista. Lago Vista has the same core fundamentals as the already hot hill county lakeside markets of Lakeway, Westlake, Steiner Ranch, etc. … multiple golf courses, lakefront community parks, and reputable school districts. While you're on your way out to Lago, also check out Jonestown: "The Gateway to the Hill Country". Jonestown also has a large lakefront community park on the north side of Lake Travis, its a 10 minute drive in to Cedar Park, and shares the same reputable school district. It's an established community with a lot of homes that could use modern updates.. relatively lower entry prices with great fix and flip/ BRRR potential in my opinion. Also seeing infill new builds and remodels pop up regularly which helps increase values all around.

I'd also check out the City of Taylor for value-add long term buy and hold (again, a stretch for "Greater Austin" but still considered a submarket by most). Samsung's $17 billion semiconductor chip manufacturing plant currently under construction on the south side of Taylor is poised to upend the local economy, being by far the largest anchor employer in the region. I’ve personally been impressed by the city’s newest compressive development plan: https://www.ci.taylor.tx.us/DocumentCenter/View/13206/Envisi...

The older parts of the city close to downtown (which arguably could use the most investment) give investors more flexibility with rear alleyway block layout (rare for central Texas) and dual commercial/residential zoning options. However, I want to emphasize my suggestion for value-add long term buy and hold here. As Ryan mentioned about Seguin and New Braunfels, there is plenty of room for developers to build out the outskirts of Taylor, increasing inventory quickly. On the other side of the coin, its only getting more expensive for developers in the region as water use is getting harder to come by and raw land prices have skyrocketed with the announcement of Samsung.

Let me know if I can answer any questions or share my thoughts on any other topics. As a native Austinite it’s been amazing to watch all the growth in and around the city, especially over the last few years. Cheers,

Thomas Hoch, Keller Williams Realty