AUSTIN | Economic Development

[drummer]

We moved back to the Austin area and are saving up for a house. With the way the numbers are going, we're not sure where can geographically afford to live come 1.5 years down the road or so. Crazy. I'm not going to gripe and moan about it, but I make decent money and it's still tough.

[We vs us]

Originally Posted by drummer

We moved back to the Austin area and are saving up for a house. With the way the numbers are going, we're not sure where can geographically afford to live come 1.5 years down the road or so. Crazy. I'm not going to gripe and moan about it, but I make decent money and it's still tough.

The "I make decent money and STILL can't find a house anywhere near Austin" is my life, too. The pandemic really threw a wrench into things (as did the Apple Campus being built about 6 blocks away) -- but it shouldn't be this hard to find enough space for me and mi familia without having to move to Elgin. I don't WANT Elgin. I want [a reasonable facsimilie of] a big city!

[chinchaaa]

Originally Posted by We vs us

The "I make decent money and STILL can't find a house anywhere near Austin" is my life, too. The pandemic really threw a wrench into things (as did the Apple Campus being built about 6 blocks away) -- but it shouldn't be this hard to find enough space for me and mi familia without having to move to Elgin. I don't WANT Elgin. I want [a reasonable facsimilie of] a big city!

Part of the problem is that we all want a house with a yard and a picket fence. This century will redefine what a family home looks like in America, and people will have to accept that you can’t have a 5 bedroom house on an acre of land 5 mins from downtown anymore, and that’s a good thing in the long term.

[drummer]

Originally Posted by chinchaaa

Part of the problem is that we all want a house with a yard and a picket fence. This century will redefine what a family home looks like in America, and people will have to accept that you can’t have a 5 bedroom house on an acre of land 5 mins from downtown anymore, and that’s a good thing in the long term.

Agreed. I lived in a highrise in China and elsewhere in Asia for a long time and we adapted. Affordability in single-family homes and apartments/condos is still a relevant discussion. You're not wrong, though, on unrealistic expectations related to size, proximity, etc.

[Jdawgboy]

Originally Posted by chinchaaa

Part of the problem is that we all want a house with a yard and a picket fence. This century will redefine what a family home looks like in America, and people will have to accept that you can’t have a 5 bedroom house on an acre of land 5 mins from downtown anymore, and that’s a good thing in the long term.

I'm sorry but that isn't good enough and I find that line not only irritating but out of touch with a segment of the population who has long been here. There are cities, major cities that still have quaint single family homes near the center of their respective cores.

First off, nobody is saying they want acres of land. My yard is actually one of the largest in this neighborhood at just over half an acre, most are considerably smaller. The original houses in this neighborhood don't have 5 bedrooms either, this isn't Old West Austin or Tarrytown, it's smaller mid century homes with at the very most 4 bedrooms, but most commonly 2 to 3. The difference this time unlike past booms we've gone through is this boom is causing a significant shift in rising property values. It's an issue the city has been needing to tackle but now more than ever as families are being affected.

[chinchaaa]

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

I'm sorry but that isn't good enough and I find that line not only irritating but out of touch with a segment of the population who has long been here. There are cities, major cities that still have quaint single family homes near the center of their respective cores.

we have those kinds of neighborhoods, but we don't have enough supply. the "segment of the population who has long been here" should support increased density and land use reform. we're in a housing crisis. things are changing, and everyone needs to accept it.

[the Genral]

I moved to Round Rock when I wanted to get into a house I wanted to retire in. I moved from the downtown area and had a 5 bedroom house on a half acre custom built in '97 for $148K. Its now appraised at just over $300K. The taxes are high but not killing me... yet. Excluding insurance and tax, my payments are a little over $900 per month. My son also lives in RR and pays over $1400 for a 2 bedroom apartment. If someone were to buy my house, they would probably have to pay almost 3 times what I pay now. I think the push for somewhat affordable housing is edging towards Jarrell and northward.
Houses don't stay on the market long in my area because there is still an influx of people willing and able to pay at or above market value to stay within 25 miles of downtown. This has kept the value of my house and the taxes I pay on an annual rise. I am now on a fixed income since I retired but got a WHOPPING 1.3% COL on my SS check. The numbers along with our growth are getting a bit out of hand for my savings account making me ponder my future living arrangements. I honestly did not anticipate all of this. I thought I was far enough away, being that my house was built on a cornfield surrounded by pasture land and grazing cows, 2 streets and a 4 way stop sign.
Anyone familiar with Gattis School and Red Bud knows of the dramatic change. Austin's constant growth is affecting everyone from here to Hutto and beyond. I think Taylor will be next. Anyone seen Jarrell lately? It used to be a tiny community small enough to be almost entirely wiped out by not 1, but 2 tornados. Its grown quite a bit since then. I have friends who recently moved to Salado to find a more affordable place to live. They work in north Austin near the Domain. I'm not sure a six figure income will get you too much anymore in the Austin proper. We will have to see what happens to future gas prices to see if that will play a factor on people's ability to even afford longer commutes.

[ATX2030]

Originally Posted by The ATX

Samsung is playing the incentives game and including other locations in their site selection process.



https://thehill.com/policy/technolog...-us-chip-plant

Went from 10B to 17B. Would have to rank as one of the largest investments ever in the metro? Paired with the article We vs us posted about Tesla partnering with Samsung makes me like our chances even more.

Austin stands out in race for potential $17B Samsung chipmaking plant, site selector says Talent, business climate and longtime presence are pluses for Texas capital

https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/n...for-plant.html

[Novacek]

Incentives from Travis County, maybe Samsung?

code name "Silicon Silver"

https://communityimpact.com/austin/c...ives-agreement

[The ATX]

If anyone is interested, there is discussion about the Samsung factory in the General Phoenix Metro Discussion Thread in the SW section of the forum.

[clubtokyo]

I saw the discussion. I don’t see any mention that Samsung already has a chip plant in Austin and already owns a bunch a land around it.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by clubtokyo

I saw the discussion. I don’t see any mention that Samsung already has a chip plant in Austin and already owns a bunch a land around it.

You apparently didn't read the whole discussion because I posted that.

[clubtokyo]

Sorry ATX your right I just skimmed through. Good on your for pointing that out

[psychlotron]

Samsung and Tesla are now partnering on custom processors for Tesla using Samsung's 5nm technology. For those of you who aren't semiconductor geeks, I'll add that 5nm is so advanced that even Intel doesn't have it yet. It's absolutely state of the art.

Now, imagine what it would mean if Samsung, because of their partnership with Tesla, brings 5nm technology to Austin. We would have one of the most advanced semiconductor fabs in the world, right there on Parmer Lane.

The numbers you guys are quoting ($10b - $17b) are enough to make it happen. And Austin is full of veteran semiconductor expertise from the likes of Motorola/Freescale, AMD, NXP, Cirrus, Silicon Labs and so on.

This could be huge.

[Echostatic]

Originally Posted by psychlotron

...I'll add that 5nm is so advanced that even Intel doesn't have it yet. It's absolutely state of the art...

Well, Apple has 5nm chips in the newest iPhones, and AMD's 2021 CPU suite is expected to be 5nm. Intel isn't on the bleeding edge anymore, they've been stuck on 14nm+++ for years now.

[kingkirbythe....]

TSMC is working on 3nm for 2023 iphones.

[clubtokyo]

Wait I think we are quoting wrong numbers here guys.... Samsung is wanting to build this factory for 3nm chips.... which is like impossible to even imagine

https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/22/2...billion-report

[psychlotron]

Originally Posted by clubtokyo

Wait I think we are quoting wrong numbers here guys.... Samsung is wanting to build this factory for 3nm chips.... which is like impossible to even imagine

https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/22/2...billion-report

Good info! And it only reinforces what I said before: this cold be huge.

I'm also not in any kind of disagreement with the other comments, e.g. about Intel. Intel lost their edge and now they need help. For that matter, AMD divested their fabs to form Global Foundries, and now GF is no longer able to keep up with AMDs advances. AMD uses TSMC fabs in Asia for their advanced process nodes. My point is that we'd have Leading/bleeding edge semiconductor manufacturing technology in Austin again, and apparently on a large scale. So like, huge.

[ATX2030]

Samsung bid to relocate road may be hint it's picking Austin for huge new chip plant

https://www.statesman.com/story/busi...id/4263166001/

[Riverranchdrone]

The chip industry is starting to really pick up. Samsung never really took a hit during the pandemic but NXP kinda did. Nxp is recovering and up to pre pandemic numbers. It is still working on its little expansion. At Samsung they already have cranes for their current expansion.