Blog — Designer >>---> Austin, TX <---<< Realtor

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The (true) cost of building a home

The (true) cost of building a home

This post has been a long time coming. So long in fact you may have forgotten where we started from. So let's do a brief recap.

Two years ago my wife and I decided we wanted to build a modern home in East Austin, and we started looking for land.

16 months ago, we bought the house we are currently living in. Mostly we bought it for the lot, and the amazing tree, but we figured we would do a quick superficial remodel to it so we could live in it and save money while we designed our home. You can see the before and after photos of the remodel here.

HomesCreede FitchJune 5, 2015Budget, Casa Marrakech Comments

At Risk : 2 A.D. Stenger homes slated for demo

At Risk : 2 A.D. Stenger homes slated for demo

This week I learned that not one, but two homes designed and built by Austin mid century modern architect A. D. Stenger have requested demo permits from the city of Austin. The first, located at 1908 Airole Way and pictured above, may look familiar. That's because it was for sale just earlier this year. You can see my feature of it here. Clearly the big draw for the new owner was the .45 acres that the home sits on, and not the amazingly original mid century modern home. The crazy thing is that it even ended up selling for more than $100,000 over asking price! The home was originally built in 1950, making it one of the first Stenger homes to be built in Austin.

HomesCreede FitchApril 23, 2015Comment

Your life, your space : 5413 Agatha

Your life, your space : 5413 Agatha

A home is so much more than just four walls and a roof. It's a place where you carve out your little space in this world and fill it full of memories. It's where you return at the end of a work day or the end of an adventure. It's where friends meet, glasses clink and laughter comes easy. Where you choose to carve out that space is one the biggest choices we make in life.

This is the first in many future posts that peels back the curtains and takes a peek inside not just someone's space, but someone's life. This one happens to be inside the home for sale at 5413 Agatha in Agave, where the adorable couple that lives there have managed to create a place that truly represents them and their lives. The next chapter in their life is taking them away from this fine city. What would your life look like in their space?

HomesCreede FitchJanuary 30, 2015Your life your space, AgaveComment

5413 Agatha : Welcome Home

5413 Agatha : Welcome Home

If you have been following me for a while, by now you have surely heard me rave about Agave. If you are new here, let me summarize. Agave truly is Austin's only modern neighborhood. Sure there are pockets of modern homes in other parts of the city, but here you can walk for blocks and only see modern homes. In 50 years people will look at Agave like we do Eichler neighborhoods now. The homes are all amazing, architect designed, and best of all affordable. Located just 6 miles from downtown, or even better a short, easy (no traffic) 10 min drive to all the good stuff on the east side.

HomesCreede FitchNovember 7, 2014Agave, Listings Comments

Agave : New Construction

Agave : New Construction

If you are looking for a modern home at an affordable price, it's hard to beat Agave. Unfortunately there isn't a lot of turn over out there, so that means inventory can be a bit limited, until now. If y'all remember, there are lots of vacant lots out at Agave. The original developer has financial issues, so those lot have been held by the bank until recently. Now a new developer has stepped up and is getting ready to break ground on a new round of homes. The first 6 should begin construction in the next month or so, and depending on sales hopefully there will be many more to follow. There are still nearly 200 empty lots out there

HomesCreede FitchOctober 3, 2014Agave Comments

Silvermine is golden

Silvermine is golden

Earlier this week I featured 6806 Silvermine on my Austin Modern Homes blog, but I felt like the photos online didn't really do it justice so I snapped a few of my own. I still don't feel like the photos quite do it justice, but check it out and let me know what you think.

If you want to get a closer look, give me a call. I'd love to walk you through the home and tell you why I think it's so special. Have I mentioned it's priced at $375,000?

HomesCreede FitchSeptember 19, 2014Mid Century ModernComment

Austin Weird Homes Tour 2014

Austin Weird Homes Tour 2014

Ahh the good ol' homes tour. People love nothing more than being able to pry into the secret lives of others and see how they live. There are modern home tours, traditional home tours, but one group has been sadly left out, until now. The weirdos.

The 2014 Austin Weird Homes Tour will give you a chance to sneak a peek into some of Austin's weirder homes, from dumpster homes to container homes to homes made of earthbags (whatever that is). Ohh, and you'll be giving to charity too, because 20% of all ticket sales goes to Caritas, and that's not weird at all.

Austin Weird Homes Tour 2014

HomesCreede FitchSeptember 5, 2014Comment

A.D. Stenger

A.D. Stenger

I've been thinking a lot about A.D. Stenger recently. He built over 100 homes here in Austin, and I always wonder how many of them are still around. So I started making a list. A lot of them are pretty easy to find, many were built in 3 main neighborhoods, but some are a bit trickier. So far a have just over 50 documented, and hope to be adding more soon. I've also added a little A.D. Stenger section to my modern resources section of my website, and started up an A.D. Stenger group on Facebook for Stenger owners and fans. Also, if you haven't already, make sure you check out the website Riley Triggs has on Stenger as well. Great information there.

HomesCreede FitchJuly 3, 2014A.D. StengerComment

5433 Agatha : Bright and Beautiful Modern

5433 Agatha : Bright and Beautiful Modern

Today I'm sharing a sneak peek of my new listing that is dropping tomorrow. Hopefully by now you know how much I love the Agave Neighborhood, so I'm delighted to be listing this amazing 3 bedroom 2 bathroom home designed by Emily Little.

This little gem has a little bit of everything you need. The ground floor features a open floor plan kitchen and living room that opens up to an amazing outdoor patio. The main floor bedroom would work equally well for either an office or bedroom. The living room space is flooded with light from all the windows in the double height room. Upstairs features two extra bedroom, one with en suite bathroom. The catwalk that wraps around two sides of the living room space ensure that each bedroom feels separate and private.

HomesCreede FitchMay 23, 2014Agave, ListingsComment

1400 Garden : SOLD!

1400 Garden : SOLD!

I'm happy to report that my listing on 1400 Garden street in East Austin sold last week for above asking price. It was in the top 5 of highest priced homes sold in the area in the last year. Among that list were two other beautiful homes a few blocks away that were also updated and from the early 1900's. To me that is a good sign that people value the history of East Austin. While not all the houses here are historically significant, it is important to save and restore the good ones.

With that I give a HUGE congratulations to my seller, and a warm welcome to the neighborhood to the new owner.

If you live in the neighborhood and wonder what your home is worth, let's chat. :)

HomesCreede FitchApril 24, 2014East Austin, SoldComment

Agave Modern : Neighborhood guide

Agave Modern : Neighborhood guide

This week I feature a home in Agave on my Austin Modern Homes blog. The pictures were honestly pretty lousy, and it was hard to even get a feeling for the layout of the house, but you know what? I know it's a cool house. Why? Because pretty much all the houses out there are cool. Sure there are some that are better than others, but all of them are solid. Thinking about this got me motivated to add my second neighborhood guide, Agave. While the heyday for Agave was a few years ago when development and press was still going strong, great things are coming in the future. Additional lots that have been bank owned have now been sold to a developer, and I've go fingers crossed for lots of great new houses being built out there.

HomesCreede FitchApril 11, 2014AgaveComment

5102 Ridge Oak Drive : Arthur Fehr

5102 Ridge Oak Drive : Arthur Fehr

This week I thought I'd give you a sneak peek of the home I'll be at tomorrow for the Mid Century Modern homes tour "Austin 1964!".

5102 Ridge Oak Drive was built in 1949 for Arthur Fehr and his family by Fehr & Granger. He lived in the home until his death in 1969, and his wife would remain in the home until the 1990’s. The home is an excellent example of mid century modern architecture with it’s use of expansive sections of glass connecting the inside with the out, and the minimal ornamentation. The recent home owners purchased the home 2010 and are the 4th owners. Once moved in, they waited 3 years before undertaking a minimal remodel so that they would be able to become better acquainted with the home.

HomesCreede FitchApril 4, 2014MCM Homes, Home Tour, Highland HillsComment

1400 Garden : Historic East Austin done right

1400 Garden : Historic East Austin done right

Pending - Accepting back up offers.

Price: $500,000

Details: 1,912 sq/ft, 3 Bed, 2 Bath

Location: 1400 Garden, East Austin

While I tend to focus a lot on "modern" the truth is what I really appreciate is good design. It can be spanish colonial, victorian, mid century, as long as it's done well. My newest listing happens to be a home 114 year old home in East Austin that has been lovingly updated, and turned into something special. The original long pine flooring was restored, the en suite bathroom received era appropriate white hex tile floors and subway tiled walls.

HomesCreede FitchMarch 7, 2014East Austin, ListingsComment

432 Ridgewood

432 Ridgewood

We featured this house a few weeks ago when it first came on the market, but it's worth revisiting for a few reasons. First, they've gotten some professional photo's up, so the voyeurism is so much more satisfying. Second, it's not that often that an A.D. Stenger home comes on the market. It's true that they are available more often than other prominent MCM architects (he did build over 100 homes over the years) but it's still a special thing. Plus, I think that they've done a particularly good job with the interior remodel on this one. Check it out.

HomesCreede FitchFebruary 28, 2014A.D. Stenger, MCM HomesComment

A Picture's worth . . .

A Picture's worth . . .

Everyday I go through all the new homes that are available for sale in Austin to look for the exceptional ones I want to share on my Austin Modern Homes blog. Like thousands of others looking for homes, I quickly scan the photos and stats looking for the winning combinations. Good areas, homes built in the 60's and 70's, or new construction in central austin. Sometimes the great ones are obvious, but sometimes you find photos that do such a poor job representing the property it blows my mind.

HomesCreede FitchJanuary 7, 2014East AustinComment

Phillips House

Phillips House

I just got back from the Mid Century Modern tour in East Austin featuring the work of John Chase. I was blown away on many levels, first to find out that John Chase was the first black Architect in the state of Texas (in 1952) and second to see the amazing Phillips house. It's an ultimate sleeper. From MLK it looks like just another cool MCM home, but the inside feels really special. Unfortunately pictures weren't allowed inside, but I did pull some old ones off the MLS to share. The don't really do the space justice, and the current owners have done a much better job decorating, but at least you'll get the general idea.

HomesCreede FitchOctober 5, 2013East Austin Comments

2715 Stacy - Open House

2715 Stacy - Open House

Let me be the first to say that I was surprised at how much better this house was in real life compared to the pictures. Which is saying a lot, because it looks pretty great online. This little treasure likes to defy description however. While technically a condo (it's on a shared lot) it is a free standing home complete with private yard. The interior is nicely fitted out with a fantastic Ikea kitchen and bathrooms.

HomesCreede FitchSeptember 20, 201378704, Open HouseComment

Agave : 5349 Agatha Circle

Agave : 5349 Agatha Circle

If you are looking for a reasonably priced (many in the $200-$300 range) modern home in Austin, in a neighborhood full of kick ass people, it's pretty hard to beat Agave. That being said, not all homes in the neighborhood are equal. Good modern is more than just a look, it's the marriage of form and function. This house at 5349 Agatha Circle manages to check both of those boxes. The interior space flows well, and it thoughtfully put together. The bonus is over 1,000 square feet of outdoor deck space just waiting for you and your friends and a few of your favorite drinks.

HomesCreede FitchAugust 30, 2013Agave, East AustinComment

Jewel St.

Jewel St.

New Construction home in Bouldin designed by Burton Baldridge built by Brodie Builders! Rooftop deck and large Oak trees shade the downstairs outdoor patio which is off of the living, kitchen, and dining room perfect for entertaining. Secondary patio space off of downstairs master bedroom. Game room or Office upstairs with built-in bookshelves and entertainment center. An abundance of floor to ceiling windows for natural light, custom iron stair case, and custom dining room light fixture.

HomesCreede FitchAugust 22, 2013Comment