Austin real estate snapshot

The city is the cultural and economic center of the Greater Austin metropolitan area with a population of 1.6 million people. It has been ranked among the Best Places to Live by Money magazine, came in No. 6 in Kiplinger magazine's 2008 list of Best Cities and was voted the Greenest City in America by MSN.

Residents of Austin are known as 'Austinites,' and include a mix of university professors, students, politicians, lobbyists, musicians, state employees, high-tech workers, blue- and white- collar workers. In recent years, many Austinites have adopted the unofficial slogan 'Keep Austin Weird,' to pay homage to the eclectic and progressive lifestyles of many Austin residents and to encourage smaller local businesses and resist excessive commercialization.

Thousands of graduates each year from the engineering and computer science programs at the University of Texas at Austin provide a steady source of employees that help to fuel Austin's technology and defense industry sectors. As a hub for major technology companies such as Hewlett Packard and Cisco, the city has earned the nickname 'Silicon Hills.' The metro Austin area has much lower housing costs than Silicon Valley, but much higher housing costs than many parts of rural Texas. The median home price in Austin is $186,000.

From the city to the suburbs, Austin offers a rich stock of homes to choose from. Austin is divided by the escarpment known as the Balcones Fault. Everything west of that fault is hilly countryside that stretches out into the fabled Texas hill country. Everything to the east of the fault is flatland, much of it situated along the Colorado River that runs through downtown Austin. The vintage neighborhoods are to be found in the older, flatlands of Austin. Newer neighborhoods, especially new subdivisions are west of the fault and in northern suburbs, such as Pflugerville, Taylor and Georgetown. But you'll find the people of Austin are very friendly, no matter where you choose to live, and you'll be welcome no matter what neighborhood you choose to live in. So begin your Austin real estate search today!

Sources and more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin,_Texas
http://www.austin-real-estate-team.com/advice-choosing-austin-tx-neighborhood
http://www.austin-chamber.org/