One of the big stories circulating around Austin these days (I feel like they’re constantly changing!) is the urban development plan currently under construction in City Hall. Named CodeNEXT, it seeks to completely rewrite the way Austin is zoned to account for the massive population growth we have already experienced, and are expecting to see in the future. While City Hall’s rewrite is still in the early stages of development, some of the larger topics that are being addressed will shape the way our city develops in the years to come.
The top issue on the agenda concerns population density. Over the past few years especially, Austin’s growth has created a shortage of homes, with no shortage of willing buyers! Luckily, this is where Loan Ranger Capital can do the most to help improve Austin, providing hard money loans to great home builders in our local area, in addition to the rest of Texas. This is helping to ease our shortage of homes, in a time where the supply is vastly outstripped by the demand.
While we are seeing good growth in our new builds, the flipping market has been as robust as ever, with plenty of older homes in the Austin area that are in need of some attention. Demographic shifts have played a large role in unlocking new value in neighborhoods that were considered undesirable a few decades ago. This increasing attractiveness in local neighborhoods (especially closer to downtown) has meant that flipping is still in full force with the city limits of Austin proper.
Even with the uncertainty surrounding CodeNEXT and Austin’s proposed development plan, we foresee favorable market conditions for the flipping and construction markets in the near to medium term. No matter how CodeNEXT ends up shaking out, Austin will still be experiencing the drastic shortfall in housing we are currently experiencing. This creates a great opportunity for hard money lending, and I hope we can work together to help improve Austin for all of us!