Austin Texas Picked as No. 1 Best City

Austin Texas and Real Estate news for the week . . .

Austin was picked as the No. 1 best city to live in for the next 10 years in Kiplinger's Personal Finance ranking Wednesday. The magazine cited the capital city's innovative thinking, plentiful music venues, lakes, parks, unique business climate and job-creation tendencies. The report said "arguably the country’s best crucible for small business, Austin has spawned many companies with unique twists that have gone nationwide." Kiplinger's chose cities with positive business climates, but also unique livability appeal.  Read more Austin Called Crucible for Small Business.

Austin was ranked among the top 20 Memorial Day vacation spots, according to a survey from Web booking engine Priceline.com.  The Texas capital took the No. 18 spot, ranked according to a survey of more than 30,000 hotel booking requests for May 29-31.  Austin top Memorial Day destination reflected in Americans' travel plans.

Austin home sales continued to rise last month, increasing 31 percent compared with April 2009, according to Austin Board of Realtors statistics released Thursday.  Home sales for the month totaled $486 million with 2,043 single-family homes sold, according to the Multiple Listing Service report. When compared to April 2009, the median price of real estate was unchanged in Austin at $190,700. Most promising, pending sales increased 47 percent to 2,813.  Austin Home Sales up 31% in April.

Continued instability in financial markets overseas drove U.S. fixed-rate mortgage rates lower this week, and Freddie Mac's chief economist on Thursday said the low rates could soften effects of the home-buyer tax credit's expiration. Fixed Rate mortgages continue to fall.