Posts Tagged ‘Austin’
Open House! (Multi) Million Dollar Austin Skyline Views
Wednesday, September 8th 11am-7pm
Drinks and Light Snacks Provided
Downtown Views
Your chance to see one of the most spectacular estates in Austin. 8039 SQ FT home on 2.36 acres backing to Lady Bird Lake with spa waterfall spilling into large pool looking out to the best view of Austin’s skyline in town. Home features tall ceilings, gleaming hardwoods, two kitchens, large master suite, 4 living areas, 6 decks and balconies and separate guest home. Incredible city and lake views, one of the best estate deals in Austin.
Austin is the #1 city!
In the latest sear for America’s best cities, Kiplinger named Austin the #1 in best cities for the next decade. Why you might ask? Three factors: smart people, great ideas, and collaboration. This is not exactly something new to those who live in Austin but what is impressive is that the rest of the world is starting to see how awesome Austin truly is. In a place where the educational institutions, business communities, and the government work together, prosperity and economic growth is certain. As the article expressed, “it’s no coincidence that economic vitality and livability go hand in hand.”
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Take a Walk Through Tour: Bella Tesoro
Bella Tesoro is an 11.37 acre gated estate in the gated Lone Mountain Ranch community. The 4,270 sq. ft. stone Tuscan style home has beautiful details and luxury features. See the whole listing here.
Right now, you can take an extended walk through of this tranquil, exquisite home. Bella Tesoro is currently offered for $895,000. Contact us today if you are interested in more information.
Home Highlights:
- 11.37 Acre Gated Estate in Gated Lone Mountain Ranch Community
- Landscaped and Lighted Drive with Porte Cochere and Fountain
- 4,270 SF Stone Home Surrounded By Landscaped and Manicured Lawn
- 3 Bedrooms, 3 Full Baths,1 Half Baths and 3 Living Areas
- Italian Tile Throughout First Floor Living Areas
- Grand Entry with 8′ x 10′ Cantera Doors
- Impressive Great Room with Vaulted, Beamed Ceilings, 2 Story Windows and Fireplace
- Gourmet Kitchen with Sub Zero, Walk-In Pantry, Granite Counters, Center Island and High-End Stainless Appliances
- Formal Dining in Two Story Rotunda
- 900 SF Game Room with Wet Bar, Full Bath and Plumbed for Heated Floors
- Master Suite with Sitting Area, Fireplace, Walk-In Closet, Safe Room/Storm Room
- Elegant Master Bath with Jetted Tub, Separate Shower, Double Vanity with Television Built into Mirror
- Two Separate Bedrooms with Jack and Jill Bath
- Formal Office with Built-Ins and Patio Entrance
- 3 Car Garage with Air Conditioned Workshop
- Covered Patio with Dining Area and Fireplace
- Fenced Pool with Waterfall and Spa Surrounded By Exotic Cacti
- Large Utility Room
- Security System and Commercial Grade Phone System
- Well, Septic, Propane Utilities
- Fantastic Hill Country Views on Private Acreage
- Minutes from Lake Travis Boat Launches and Public Parks, 15 Minutes to Downtown Austin via New 183A.
You’re invited!
Please email thedavemurrayteam@gmail.com to RSVP.
For more information on the home, see the listing or virtual tour.
Highland Lakes Part Two: Lake Travis
Lake Travis
The next westernmost lake from Lake Austin is Lake Travis. Created when the Mansfield Dam was finished in 1941, Lake Travis has the most notoriety in the greater Austin area as a recreational destination spot. Lake Travis is a spot for beautiful restaurants and campsites, popular for marinas and watercraft, and waterfront homes are consistently in demand.
Lake Travis is fed by both the Colorado River (as with all the highland lakes) and the Pedernales River, which flows into the southwestern portion of the lake. It is known as one of the clearest lakes in Texas, with its beautiful aquamarine tint to the water. Lake Travis serves as not only the primary flood control reservoir of the chain, but also a major source of drinking water for Austinites.
View from Rancho Estacia
The bluffs of Lake Travis provide unparallelled views, and often privacy, in any Hill Country properties. Rivercliff and Rancho Estacia are both stunning waterfront estates on the Pedernales arm, each offering opportunities to own horses and land on this beautiful lake. Another property we just recently profiled, The Falls, is 315 stunning acres on a private cove of Lake Travis.
Part One: Lake Austin
Luxurious Custom Ranch on Miller Creek
Miller Creek
Just listed: beautiful 4,950 Sq. Ft. custom home on 68 acres in Texas Hill Country. Sits on 800 ft on both sides of Miller Creek.
Home Features:
- Stone entry with custom wrought iron door & wood beam ceiling
- Full Commercial Thermador kitchen – 6 burner oven with griddle, 3 ovens, built-in microwave, ice maker, dishwasher, trash compactor, built-in refrigerator and freezer – All appliances have wood fronts to match cabinets. Kitchen also features Custom Beveled granite countertops, extra large island with breakfast bar, attached breakfast room, large walk-in pantry.
- Breakfast Room with buffet, shelves, built in TV, wall of mirrors and large stone fireplace. Formal Dining Room with Wall of windows overlooking creek, Solid wood beam and stained wood ceiling, Stone walls with arched passages. Wet Bar with Stainless steel sink, Wine fridge, built in cabinets and stone walls.
- Great Room with Huge masonry fireplace, Large stained wooden trusses with custom ironwork – 100% wood ceiling, Full glass wall overlooking pool and creek
- Master Bedroom with stone fireplace, wall of windows overlooking pool & creek, Built-in computer desk, bookcases, TV, His and Hers entrance into Bath/Dressing areas. Master bath with his & hers walk-in closets, Walk-in natural stone shower, rock walls with arches, Large Jacuzzi tub, Stone entrance to Exercise area, Vaulted ceiling with wood beams, Separate water closet.
- Exercise Room with Large windows overlooking creek, Wood wainscot, Mirrored wall, Music/TV. Utility Room with Sink, Built-in cabinets, Freezer area. Game/Media Room with 100% stain wood stairway, Wrought iron handrails, Walk-in closet, Built-in Desks, Built-in Entertainment Center, View of creek.
- Detached 4 Car Garage with Attached Breezeway to House
Miller Creek
Exterior Features:
- Stone entry gate with communal gate operations, Intercom to house, 8 foot custom iron gates.
- Stone lined custom heated pool with pebble tech plaster, 6 person Hot Tub overlooking creek. Lighted stone walkway to creek. Flagstone deck around pool.
- Large flagstone terrace the entire length of house with Built-in TV and stainless steel gas BBQ Pit on terrace overlooking creek.
- Large (20 ft x 18 ft) BBQ Cabana with Full kitchen, TV & custom Commercial wood Burning BBQ pit
- Bath with outdoor shower, Large fire pit with built-in rock seats, Wrought iron fencing around fully landscaped yard.
- Approx. 3 acres of house, pasture is irrigated. Fenced horse pasture and antique windmill. 2×2, “no climb” fenced horse pasture. All fencing is new or excellent condition.
- 3 stall stable with 2nd floor office/gameroom. Tack and feed Barn, Hay barn, fenced paddock. Round pen/roping arena with square feed lot. Wood and storage shed.
- Well house with game cleaning area. 4 wells with 25 gal per minute capacity and rainwater collection system with 10000 gal collection tank.
- 3 RV hook-ups for guests
- 1 acre stock pond. Miller Creek is stocked with bass, catfish and perch. Other spring locations on property with the availability to add multiple other water features.
- Cedar has been cleared on all but 10 acres. Ag Exempt – cattle. Wildlife abounds: Whitetail deer, turkey, Axis, Seika.
- Fenced and gated garden with limestone planters
If you are interested in this property, or one similar, contact us today.
Take a virtual tour:
Big Changes in the Month of March
The Fed reiterated last week that in March of 2010, they will be ending their Mortgage Security Buyback program, a big part of what has kept interest rates low throughout 2009. It won’t be a sudden drop-off, rather a slow decrease in these purchases until March, when there will be no more.
With the Fed no longer spending the tens of billions of dollars monthly on mortgage securities, we will only have the private sector to fill in the gap. When that happens, we can naturally expect mortgage rates to rise. “The difference in monthly mortgage payments of 5% or 6% can be measured in tens of thousands of dollars over the life of a loan,” one writer explains.
The Atlantic Monthly writes that the credit markets need securitization, and warns that it will only become more difficult to borrow money (and those loans will come at higher interest rates) as the Fed program ends. “If you think banks aren’t lending enough now, then you’d find a world with no securitization much worse. Yet, that might be what you get if the Fed ends its program.”
Why would the Fed remove such a successful program? The analogy of a bike with training wheels is often given – if you want an economy to strengthen, recover and stand on its own, at some point you need to take the wheels off. If the Fed keeps rates too low for too long, inflation will rise higher and you will expect to see rates rise anyway. Home loan rates will increase as demand is met, naturally, with or without the Fed.
We can expect the end of the first quarter of 2010 to be a telling time for the economy’s recovery, but the heavy favor of the buyer and borrower is going to change. These will be some of the last months we’ll see that are such great markets for buying a home or land. If you are considering buying, you should begin your search now.
Go Green While Saving Green
- 1611 Westlake makes use of shade and multi zone air conditioning
Austin architect Peter Pfeiffer and Dallas architect Betsy del Monte have devised a Energy Use Pyramid, to determine which strategies save or create the most energy for their cost. Like the food pyramid we learned about in elementary school, the Energy Use Pyramid has a base of the most efficient green tactics working up to ideas that, like icing on the cake, are nice to have but less important.
The base of the Pyramid may surprise many – it has nothing to do with solar panels or windmills. To keep your home the most energy efficient for your money, according to Pfeiffer, has to do with design of the home and landscape, and proper insulation. An ideal house is oriented to avoid direct western exposure (which creates even more heat in the summer) and to use southern exposure to capture heat in the colder winter months. Shade trees and strategic overhangs create much of the same effect. Houses created with this mindset are smaller, and insulated with no air leaks. These ideas to maximize heating and cooling are the best investments you can make to keep your house greener.
The middle of the Pyramid deals with appliances and other electricity using items in the house. For example, one Energy Star front-loader washing machine uses 75% less energy, 60% less water and reduces more dryer time than a standard top-loader. Another strategy is CFLs – florescent lights that use a quarter of the energy of traditional incandescent bulbs, reducing your electrical bill by around 10% if used throughout the home. They also create less heat for your air conditioner to cool – dropping that bill by as much as 15%.
The top spot of the Pyramid goes to the energy you can harness yourself with solar and wind power. While this is a great way to stay green, it is not the most cost efficient. Simple home improvements like correctly sized windows, efficient two-zone air conditioning, and big shady trees affect the aesthetic value of your home, resale value, and energy use. 1611 Westlake
Austin and Texas are Looking Green
According to the EPA, the Energy Star program is celebrating reaching the one million mark throughout the nation. Even more exciting news for Texans, 28% of these homes are in the Lone Star State. The country’s fourth biggest city, Houston, tops the list of most Energy Star homes. Also appearing in the top 20 are San Antonio, and at #14, Austin.
Energy Star homes will save an average of $200-$400 this year on utility bills, and $270 million nationwide. They are at least 15% more energy efficient than regular homes and will save 4 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions.
Call your Realtor today about your future Energy Star home.
Video Tour: East Creek Gentleman’s Ranch
Perfectly located gentleman’s ranch in community east of Dripping Springs. Country Living Along Spring-Fed East Creek. 25 Minutes to Austin in Exemplary Dripping Springs ISD.
Full listing with features, photos and virtual tour here.
Video Tour:
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