On August 12, Shonda Novak wrote a piece for the Austin American-Statesman looking at what the headline called "soaring rents" and "occupancy rates" that make our apartment market the "hottest in [the] nation." I don't know about you, but those are the kinds of phrases that get my investment blood pumping. Essentially, our apartment market is right up there with big hitters like San Jose, California; San Francisco; Portland, Oregon; and Seattle. Those are all major "destination" cities and we're keeping pace. Why?

The short answer? Job and population growth. Pair that with a limited inventory of apartment units currently being built, and you're going to have some happy landlords who have every justification for reasonable rent increases. Note the use…

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Well, folks, if you've had the TV on for the last couple of days, or just follow the stocks on your phone, this won't come as a surprise. Mark Dotzour, chief economist and director of research at the Texas A&M Real Estate Center says the world is coming to an end. -- Sorry. Couldn't resist. -- Actually, he told the attendees at the Real Estate Council of Austin's annual economic forecast event last week that the U.S. is in serious trouble. Obviously, he's right. Does it mean "our world" is ending? Maybe, maybe not.

Using a ship at sea as his visual, Dotzour showed the U.S. firmly afloat in 1996, but taking on water and listing since 2003. He believes we'll capsize in 2012. Citing recent layoffs like those at Cisco Systems Inc., he said companies are…

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Over the past couple of months, we've been closing deals right and left with no end in sight. I'm certainly not complaining, and I suspect you aren't either. The real estate market in Austin isn't just bucking the national trend, it's operating in its own positive bubble. The time couldn't be better for smart investors, and we want to make sure we all stay smart. To that end, let's talk about cap rates.

I run into investors all the time who say, "I only want to see properties with a 10% cap or better." Their focus is so completely on "the cap rate" they've got laser beams coming out of their eyes. In the Austin market, you can certainly find cap rates upwards of 10%, -- Yet, at the end of the day, as I've said many times before, those investors who buy…

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