By TRISHA MARCZAKtrisha.marczak@austindailyherald.com

Eleven families set out in 2010 to build their dreamhomes in Austin.

While that number may be down from previousyears, there are still some out there making theirdreams come true.

Community Development Director Craig Hoiumsaid new homes built in Austin are typically designedfor the family at hand, rather than those designed bycompanies seeking to build and sell new “spec” homes.

“Most of our homes that were built were custombuilt,” Hoium said. “Other communities might build20 spec homes, but that was never the case in Austin.We have a more conservative approach with new homeconstruction.”

In 2009, 13 new homes were built — down from 15constructed in 2008. That’s comparable to surroundingcommunities, even those that were known for buildingspec homes. In 2010, Hoium said Owatonna came inwith around 14 new homes. That’s down from thetown’s previous average of 100 new homes, prior to theeconomic downturn. Even when times were good inthe housing market, Austin averaged around 40 homes.The high for Austin was set with 67 new homes in theearly 2000s.

The sizes of the homes has also decreased alongwith the multitude of homes.

“I would say, back when times were good, homes

constructed ranged more from $300,000 to $500,000,where now it’s more in the $25000 to $300,000 range,”Hoium said.

Living the American dreamNew homes continue to be built in Austin, despite weak housing economy

Trisha Marczak/trisha.marczak@austindailyherald.comEleven new homes were built in Austin this year, including a handful of houses in the new Nature Ridge housing project, located near the HormelNature Center.

2 FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2011 AUSTIN DAILY HERALD

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A new development in Austin is included in the city’s new housing project this year. The Nature’s RidgeHousing Project is located on 21st Street NE near the Hormel Nature Center. The houses built in this de-velopment area are among the 11 new homes built this year in Austin.

Trisha Marczak/trisha.marczak@austindaily

herald.com

TOP: A view from the side ofa home built recently in theNature Ridge developmentarea.

RIGHT: A view of the samehome from backside of thehouse.

Making a home in Austin

ARA Content

For thosewho've ever dreamed of buy-ing a vacation home in themountains, onthe beach, or in the big city, it's becomingeasier and more common for people tomake that dream a reality.

In fact, Americans bought more thanhalf a million vacation homes last year,according to the National Association ofRealtors (NAR).

Low mortgage rates, median saleprices that were down more than 15 per-cent, and the potential for generating sub-stantial rental revenue are among thereasonsmany havemade their dreams ofa second home come true.

While baby boomers have historicallyled vacation home purchases, nearly halfof the buyers in 2009 were under the ageof 45, and the median household incomeof vacation home buyers was $87,500 —down from $99,100 just two years ago.

“An increasing number of youngerbuyers are getting into themarket, seeinga vacation home as a long-term invest-ment and a source for ongoing personalenjoyment and memories,” said TomKelly, author of “How a SecondHomeCanBe Your Best Investment.”

Kelly points to the NAR Investmentand Home Buyers Survey that found va-cation home owners plan to own theirhomes for an average of 16 years, up from12 years in 2008 and 10 years in 2007.

Offsetting the cost of vacation homeownership

More people are able to afford a vaca-tion home due in large part to the poten-tial revenue stream that comes withrenting the home to travelers — some-thing that's become especially easythanks to the rapid growth of the onlinevacation rental industry in the past fewyears.

HomeAway, Inc., which operates onlinevacation rental sites HomeAway.com,VRBO.com andVacationRentals.com, hasgrown dramatically since it was foundedin 2005. The company now boasts morethan 540,000 vacation home listings.

“Our goal is to make it as easy as pos-sible for vacation home owners to adver-tise their properties and manage their

bookings online,” says BrianSharples, founder and chief executiveofficer of HomeAway. "We literally de-liver millions of rental inquiries eachyear to our owners who list their homesfor rent on our sites."

Those inquiries can lead to substan-tial revenue. Sharples says the averagesecond home owner rents out their prop-erty to travelers about 20 weeks a year,generating more than $35,000 in rentalincome annually.

“The rental income that our homeowners generate can help cover a typi-cal second home mortgage as well asbasic home maintenance and repairs,”he adds.

Tips for generating rental in-come from a vacation home

For those in the market to buy a va-cation home, Kelly offers the followingtips for where to buy, what to considerand how to maximize rental income.

1. Carefully review the destinationswhere you enjoy vacationing, and beforeyoubuy, consider theareaswhereconsumerdemand for vacation rentals is high.

2.Talk toanaccountantabout the taxad-vantages of owning and renting out a sec-ond home.

3.Whenyou're ready torentout theprop-erty,besure tomarket theavailabilityof thevacationrental to travelersbyadvertising iton sites likeHomeAway.comorVRBO.com.

4. Check out other similar vacationrentals in the area to determine what ratesthey're charging, andpriceyourhomecom-petitively.

For more information on buying a sec-ond home and effective strategies formaxi-mizing rental income, visit HomeAway'sonline community for vacation rental own-ers atwww.ownercommunity.com.

AUSTIN DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2011 3

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Hardwoods in unlikely places

ARA CONTENTA walnut vanity is the focal point in this bathroom makeovercaptured by Tripp Smith.

ARA CONTENT

The no-no's about using hardwoodnear a water source are vanishing.And while allowing water to rest ona wooden surface for extended peri-ods will always be a no-no, the Amer-ican Hardwood Information Center,finds that more design professionalsare saying yes to client requests forthe warmth, charm and richness ofnatural wood no matter where it'sused — in the bath, the kitchen andeven the basement.

“I recently designed a bathroomthat was all hardwood,” reports Dou-glas Wright of Miller & Wright Ar-chitects in New York City. “The onlyplace we used stone was in theshower. Everything else was maple -floor, walls, ceiling.” What about theinevitable splashing that baths areprone to?

But remember — it's important toalways dry splashes immediately.With normal use and proper clean-ing, these surfaces should last indef-

initely. Wright adds that for greaterdampness protection, “We appliedseveral coats of matte polyurethane.If water splatters out of the sink orshower, it doesn't stain anything andwith that low-luster finish, the woodlooks completely natural.”

For a New Hampshire kitchen,Wright designed a maple backsplashand counter. Wood as a kitchen worksurface “seemed kind of crazy at thetime,” he says, “but it turned outbeautifully.” His only caveat: Use acutting board to avoid possiblescratches or scars.

To extend the durability of anywork surface, a protective sealer isalways wise. “Applying three coats ofpolyurethane to hardwood allows therich, warm color to come throughand you don't have to worry aboutthe surface,” Wright says. “It resistswater and cleans easily — just wipeup the splashes and spills.” Otherpros agree.

Indianapolis kitchen and interiordesigner Janice Pattee had no

qualms about specifying a walnutcountertop for the peninsula in akitchen makeover. “The cabinetswere white-painted maple. For con-trast, the client chose grained wood.”She particularly loved the double-ogee edge that made the peninsulalook like fine furniture. Though it'smainly a breakfast bar, it oftenserves as auxiliary work space.

In another kitchen remodel, MarkT. White of Kitchen Encounters inAnnapolis, used another eleganthardwood to create the circular ex-tension to a stone countertop and thetop of a rectangular island. “Theclients chose cherry because of itscolor and grain,” he says. “The sur-faces were lightly stained for coloruniformity, then a top coat and sealerwere applied — four coats in all.

Of course we urged using cuttingboards and trivets, to prevent possi-ble damage from sharp knives or hotpots.”