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The small city of New Braunfels, on the Guadalupe River, was established by German immigrants led by Prince Carl Solms-Braunfels in 1945. German immigrants had been urged to leave Germany and settle in Texas by the Noblemen's Society, of which Prince Carl was an officer, and he named the town for his German hometown, Braunfels. Settlers began arriving from Germany in March of 1945, and at that point, they divided the land, built homes, and began planting crops in the New Braunfels area, partially due to the cold springs that fed the Guadalupe River near the settlement.

After Texas became a state in 1845, a second group of settlers arrived from Germany, but were hit immediately by three disasters, one of which was an outbreak of cholera, which took…

Most visitors to Austin notice the unusual streetlights strategically located throughout the city known as the moonlight towers, but most are not aware of the history of the towers. Probably the most well known of the moonlight towers is the one in Zilker Park which is used every year to represent a huge Christmas tree, when it is encircled with multi-colored lights and can be seen from miles away.

There are actually 17 moonlight towers in and around Austin, including the Zilker tower, and these lights have been in use since the late 1800s, when Austin purchased the lights from the city of Detroit. In 1894, 31 used mercury vapor lamps were installed throughout Austin, and at the time, these types of lights were used in many cities across the country, but…

Travis Heights is one of the most eclectic Austin neighborhoods. The neighborhood was originally an exclusive suburb south of the Colorado River, now known as Lady Bird Lake, and the neighborhood was established in 1913 by the Newning and Swisher families, along with General Stacy, for whom the parks in the area are named. The neighborhood was actually originally settled in the late 1900s, informally, but did not really expand or become fashionable until the early twentieth century, when it grew rapidly. The neighborhood's borders are generally considered to be I.H. 35 to the east and the lake to the north, and Oltorf to the south and Congress Avenue to the west, so the area is very accessible to the downtown area and the freeway, as well as the recently…

The Bryker Woods neighborhood in Austin is actually a collection of small housing developments and subdivisions, and the earliest known residents settled in the area around 1886, thus it is a very historic neighborhood, located in west central Austin. The neighborhood is roughly bordered by 35th Street, the MoPac Expressway, Westover, and Lamar, and this neighborhood is adjacent to some of the most historic neighborhoods in Austin, including Pemberton Heights and the Old Enfield neighborhoods.

The neighborhood was founded when the fourteen-lot William Thiele subdivision was platted in 1886, near Kerbey Lane and Jefferson, and the neighborhood is also very close to Shoal Creek, which is a beautiful creek that runs north and south through parts of the… Read Full Post

One of the coolest neighborhoods in the Austin real estate market has to be a cute little neighborhood called Travis Heights. Featuring historic houses, charming shopping streets, great restaurants, and an unbeatable central location, this area is one of the most sought-after in Austin. The streets ramble and roll, curving over hills, through ancient trees, lending an air of serenity to a neighborhood in close proximity to Downtown Austin, as well as the bustling Soco shopping area.

The borders of Travis Heights are Riverside Dr. to the north, Interstate 35 to the east, Oltorf to the South, and South Congress to the west, although the area just west of South Congress features many of the same amenities. The older houses date to the late 1880s, when the… Read Full Post

"The Live Music Capital of the World." That's what Austin, Texas is best known for. Every other Wednesday evening during the summer Zilker Park becomes the mecca for all Austin music lovers. Blankets are spread out, families are relaxing, people are dancing, and everyone is having fun as they all listen to the great musicians that are playing. For eighteen summers, 107.1 KGSR has sponsored Blues On the Green, Austin's largest free concert series. The shows are held every other wednesday from June 11th through August 22nd from 7:30 - 9:30pm.

The stage is set so that all who come out to hear the music (even the thousands that are usually in attendance) can all see, hear, and enjoy the show, because the outdoor stage faces Town Lake and allows plenty of…

Ok I just ran stats on my market and found this pretty intereting.

First here is the months of inventory.



Whats interesting is not just that the months of inventory is improving. But for the last two years at this time Months of Inventory was actually increasing and this year its decreasing.

Ok so now lets look at prices



Basically whats happening here is that prices had one of largest year over year drops in Austin for the last few years. Wierd? So basically the fundamentals of the market are improving while prices are going down. It looks like sellers might be affected by the negative hype about the national real estate market.

Is anyone seeing similar trends in their area?

Though the heat of the summer in Austin can be a real drain on exercising or any outdoor activity, the city is blessed with several public pools in which to cool off.

Probably the most well known pool to Austinites, and those visiting, is Barton Springs Pool located near the Barton Hills neighborhood. The pool sits on a lovely 3 acres of hillside, with a nice shallow end for children, and a deep end for those who brought their floats, as well as others who want to swim a lap or two. The pool is a natural spring, and got its name in 1837 from William “Uncle Billy” Barton, who owned the tract of land which included the springs. Once the area became a city park in 1917, the residents began to flock to the refreshing spring water, which averages 68 degrees…