All Forum Posts by: Neil Narayan

Austin was recently deemed one of the top "boomtowns" in the country based on a study by CoWorking Cafe ranking America's "boomtowns" based on population growth, GDP, employment rates, and other economic factors

Fort Worth came in at No. 2 with 64 points, beating Austin in the report's ranking of top cities with a 500,000+ population. The North Texas city's population has grown by 7% and its economic diversity has been a key factor in sustaining employment and population growth, according to the report.

Austin's prosperity was tied with Fresno, California for a top 5 rank and total score of 59.9 points. Despite Austin's population only growing by 1% from 2018 to 2022, it had the biggest GDP evolution at 46% during that time and tied with Fort Worth for an 11% rise in housing, the report says.

Similar to Fort Worth, Austin's unique economic advances can be attributed to a steady increase in housing, and an attraction of major businesses and employers, according to the report. Median earnings among Austin residents rose 32% in the five-year span and trade-exports grew 34% within the same time period.

Mesa, Arizona was named the No. 1 best economic boomtown in America, earning a score of 66 points. After Fort Worth and before Austin, the other two cities in the top 5 were Phoenix, Arizona (No. 3) and Sacramento, California (No. 4).

Other Texas cities in the top 25 best large economic boomtowns were El Paso (No. 16) and San Antonio (No. 23).

A South Korean company that supplies Tesla is inching closer to a transformative project - codenamed "Project Motion Forward" south of Austin that could make the company Buda's largest private-sector employer.

Futronic's potential project is part of the continued referring to how electric vehicle suppliers have flocked to the region in response to Tesla's mammoth presence in eastern Travis County where the Elon Musk-led company has a huge factory and headquarters. Tesla's expanding footprint in the area in recent years has made Central Texas a hub for the electric vehicle industry.

Examples of the biggest recent projects in the Tesla sphere are: the company itself taking more than 1 million square feet at Kyle/35 Logistics Park; supplier US Farathane Corp. taking an entire 410,000-square-foot building in Georgetown; and Hanwha Advanced Materials LLC building a $100 million, 200,000-square-foot advanced high-tech manufacturing facility near Georgetown.

There are deals to be had as prices have gone down compared to two years ago but compared to pre-pandemic we have appreciated. I wouldn't say housing market in Austin has crashed ... we just bid on a prop this weekend in central Austin and it went to multiple offers, my friend just bought in N Austin and there were 12 offers on that prop. So it really depends on the area. 

I was there last week, that place is the hot bed of high tech lol

From the article -

"Have had enough of dodging gangs of violent drug addicts just to get in and out of the building," Musk posted.

Elon Musk's Austin empire is about to grow a lot more.

The enigmatic serial entrepreneur and world's richest man said July 16 on X that he will move X's headquarters from San Francisco to Austin. He also said that he will move Space Exploration Technologies Corp. from Hawthorne to its Starbase in South Texas where it is developing plans to one day send humans to Mars.

The move further cements Musk's influence on the Austin area and, more broadly, the state of Texas.

The proposal includes plans for for more than 1,000 residential units at the north side of the project consisting of 122 single-family homes of various building types, 786 multifamily units and 153 carriage house apartments. About 21,000 square feet of live-work-play units are also envisioned, allowing a small business owner to operate a tiny shop from their home, according to details shared by Taylor Assistant City Manager Tom Yantis during a June 27 public hearing with the Taylor City Council.

2024 Trends to Watch:

• - Smaller leases (1,000-15,000 square feet) make up the majority of transactions and movement in 2023.
• - Tech companies are increasingly starting to call employees back to the office in a hybrid capacity.
• - Home to over 3,000 tech companies and a host of accelerators and incubators, Austin is quickly developing a reputation as a key player in the US AI startup scene.
• - According to Built in Austin, defense technology appears to be the leading area of interest for venture capital investors on the Austin tech scene. In October and November, the two largest funding rounds went to local tech companies operating in the defense space. On the heels of defense, construction technology and logistics technology companies secured the next highest amounts of funding.
• - As semiconductor, electric vehicle and other advanced manufacturing companies flock to central Texas, companies in adjacent high-tech industries are piquing interest in Austin.

Austin is one of the most dynamic and exciting technology hubs in the world. Fueled by a robust education system, a supportive business environment, and an enviable quality of life, Austin continues to magnetize companies and is poised to lead tech innovation for years to come.

New unemployment statistics indicate the region's jobless rate actually fell in April to 3% down from 3.5% in March and only slightly higher than 2.9% a year ago, according to figures from the Texas Workforce Commission. A jobless rate of 3% or below is widely considered "full employment" by economists, or the point at which most people who want a job have one