COVID Dining Rules in Austin

 

Check out this article from Eater for a breakdown on the current rules for bars and restaurants:  What Are Austin's Rules for Indoor Dining and Bars Right Now?

Remember, while bars in general have been ordered to remain closed they can be open if they serve food from their own kitchen or a food truck.  Star Bar, for example, is open because there is a Via 313 trailer out back (and if you haven't tried it: their Detroit-style pizza is delicious).  

Pictured above is the dry-aged grass-fed New York Strip (Oscar style) from ALC Steaks.  That will probably be my first dine-in order after I get the vaccine.  

January 2021 Austin Residential Real Estate Market Statistics

 

Visit ABoR.com/MarketStatistics for more information and a full press release from the Austin Board of Realtors.  The above statistics compare January 2020 to January 2021.

The residential market continues to be on a wild upward trajectory.  You can see the data above from January, but nothing about these trends has stopped in February.  Competition amongst buyers is brutal, with multiple offers and single family homes typically going for well over asking.  It's the same story as last month: people keep moving here, there isn't enough inventory (.5 months is wildly low), and interest rates are low.   I do think that COVID concerns kept people from listing in 2020.  Once COVID concerns abate, the next questions will be: (1) are people deciding against selling because they don't want to have to compete in this extreme seller's market, (2) how many people will decide to stay put (and thus not list their home) because they have refinanced at historically low interest rates, and (3) will the emigration from California tech hubs continue at the current pace?  Also, what will become the new standard for close-to-Austin?  Lockhart and Elgin, for example, are being casually discussed as suburban areas by my clients (and clients of other Realtors I know).  Lockhart may seem far out to a longtime Austinite, but I recall when going to Cedar Park was like driving to another town.  Finally, what are we going to do about building more housing?

Visit us at Floyd Real Estate, LLC, if you are thinking about buying or selling property (residential, commercial, or land) in the Central Texas area.   We would be happy to advise you on your real estate related needs.  

Floyd Real Estate is a Texas real estate brokerage, TREC Lic. #9003790

Texas Winter Storm Power Failure

 

Think from KERA public radio has a good episode about why Texas lost power and water services last week.   I listened to the podcast while I was walking Gus earlier.  He was definitely glad to be out walking and not huddling under blankets like last Wednesday night.  Listen to the story.  Apparently we were quite close to the grid being damaged to the point that blackouts could have lasted for weeks.  

I also checked out the Texas Tribune's in-depth coverage of the failure to protect the power grid from extreme weather.  

Trivia: The Creative Fund

 It will be happening on Thursday night at 7.  Buy your tickets for the Zoom code.

[update: it was a fun night.  We had five teams play and it was quite competitive.]

Winter Storm Follow-Up

 

My Street, About an Hour Before the Blackout

Last Monday I woke up to the realization that the "rolling" blackouts which started at 2a weren't so rolling and that my car was trapped in the driveway.  Today I woke up to sunshine and the news that my part of the neighborhood no longer has to boil water.  That's quite a turnaround.   

Austinites: I hope you have running water back at this point.  If you do not, the Statesman has an ongoing list of places to get water.  Also, check my Twitter as I have been retweeting water related updates (and follow those sources, as I'm not updating all of the time).  

Austin Realtors: ABOR has a winter storm recovery checklist you can reference.  

Trivia Fans: Floyd Real Estate trivia night is still scheduled for 3/4.  Stay tuned to this blog and I'll update on whether The Creative Fund's trivia night will go forth on Thursday or will be postponed.  

Thawed Out in Austin

 Last week was quite unpleasant.  We lost power in the neighborhood for 77.5 hours (so much for the "rolling" blackouts we were told to expect).  My house (a 1950's pier and beam; fortunately re-insulated in May) was down to 41 degrees inside on Thursday morning right before the electricity returned.  At least we had water the whole time (many people I know lost it at some point) as well as natural gas.  We had hot water and could cook on the gas range, but the central heat didn't work without electricity.  Add into this mix the fact that Austin is not equipped to clear icy roads, thus our cars (RWD sedans) were unable to go anywhere until our street was sufficiently melted on Friday.  

Fortunately, I own ski and cold weather camping gear.  I also have a lot of camp lighting.  All of these things made dealing with the blackout better; however, we're buying more equipment to handle the next blackout that occurs (I hope never, but of course I'm sure it will happen again).  I'll probably post about such things here.

Next time I need gas, I'll be filling our cars up at Sonny's market/Exxon at the corner of Lamar and Lamar Square.  They were about the only place open (in walking distance) on Thursday; the snacks I procured from them were a huge morale booster at the house.  Shake Shack and Southside Flying Pizza were up and running Friday, and Maudie's was back in operation yesterday.  They too provided a huge morale booster (especially Maudie's with those tamales smothered in chili con carne).  

It will be interesting (and probably infuriating) to read the post mortems on the power grid failures.  Everything I've read/heard points to the conclusion that the blackouts were - if not completely preventable - at least much worse than they would have been with adequate planning and preparation.  Sadly, none of this information has thus far been surprising.  Good times.  At least it's 75 degrees and sunny today.  

[Note: If you are looking for updates on where to find water, check out my Twitter at @wdfloyd.  I recommend following some of the links I have retweeted, as I'm only retweeting sporadically.  Also, breweries and restaurants have been giving out water, so check the linked article to see if water is available at one of the listed places near you.]

Trivia: Floyd Real Estate Trivia Returns March 4th

 

We'll be back (virtually) on March 4th.  I'll be hosting.  Fundraising plan needs to be finalized but it is probable we will ask for donations to the Central Texas Food Bank (as we did for much of 2020). 

Follow the Floyd Real Estate trivia page on Facebook if you are into following Facebook pages.  I'll also post the registration link on this blog.

Can Humans Live in Zero Gravity Like in The Expanse?

Whether or not you like The Expanse, there is interesting information in the above embedded video about NASA studies regarding living in zero gravity.  Also, apparently bacteria can thrive and grow stronger in zero-g.  Great.

Top Gun 2 EXTENDED SUPER BOWL Trailer (from 2020)

I am still eagerly awaiting the release of Top Gun: Maverick in theaters (yes, I realize this may still be a long wait).   The YouTube algorithm reminded me of this, when it served up the above embedded trailer during a search for unrelated videos.  It's an extended trailer from the Super Bowl last year.  The reason I've posted it is because at the end there is some cool/interesting content related to how the actors trained for their roles and how the aviation scenes were films.  I hadn't seen it before, thus I posted it in case you haven't either.  

Meteors

(Blurry) Photo of Meteor Crater in Arizona

 

I came across this interesting list last week:  Meteorite Impact Craters in the United States 

Many of these impact craters are now filled in, covered up, or otherwise unable to detect without having done some kind of geologic surveying.  A glaring exception is the Barringer Crater (aka, Meteor Crater) in northern Arizona (shown above, in a photo from a point and shoot camera I bought in 2006).  I went there on a whim back in 2008 when I was in the Flagstaff area.  The crater was much more fun to visit than I anticipated (though not on the level of the Grand Canyon, which I also visited on that trip).   

The crater I have "visited" more recently is the Sierra Madera Astrobleme.  I used the quotes there because said visit involved driving to Big Bend National Park on US Route 385 (which runs through the 8 mile diameter crater).   The cool parts are visible from the highway, but on a private ranch.   Thus, it's a cool road trip anomaly to encounter on the way to Big Bend (a place I'll write more about in a future post).  

Do you like the idea of owning rocks which have traveled through space?  Earlier this evening I read that starting on Tuesday Christie's will be auctioning off 72 meteorites.  Thus if have some spare cash lying around, you can potentially get your hands on a meteorite without having to wait for one to fall on your property.   And if you do buy one, consider letting a museum display your new meteorite (at least from time to time) so that the general public can enjoy getting to see it.