DOWNTOWN WACO, TX — The Waco real estate boom has legs.
As one of the last prime downtown Waco buildings went up for sale recently along Austin Avenue's busiest commercial strip, some started to wonder how long the Central Texas real estate boom can last.
A top Waco real estate agent says, in the case of his downtown, he thinks growth will continue longer than we expect.
”It's hard to buy property downtown right now. You know, you've got the Magnolia effect, what Chip and Joanna are doin'. The river, all the events that are coming, it's really put Waco in the spotlight," said Coldwell Banker Real Estate Agent Greg Glime.
That spotlight he talks about continues burning bright and is bringing lots of property owners to the negotiating table to sell properties they'd sat on for years.
Next to the Suit City Men's shop, the old Clemons building recently went up for sale at Austin and 7th, right in the middle of this revitalized commercial strip.
Suit City owner Jonas Theill doesn't expect his neighbor to stay on the market for long.
"Downtown is clamoring for, for action, and this is a prime location," he said.
'Prime' because of the renovation and investment that's already taken place here.
Names like Woolworth, and Kress, have transformed from retail space to residential and other uses. They are keeping Waco's main street just as busy as ever even as the Clemons building remains unchanged.
"You go up and down Austin Avenue right now and you could point to buildings that were in this condition. They've been vacant for years and now they're full of life, with bars and restaurants and entertainment. So, it's an exciting process," said Glime.
What kind of money does Glime think he can get for the old 1929 Clemons building? The listing price: $1,750,000.
Glime doesn't see interest in downtown slowing down in the next ten years. As developers buy up existing buildings they might next set their sights on parking lots.
He says smart decisions can keep this area vital and livable.
"That's a continuing conversation down here. There's opinions on both sides of the fence, and I think as we continue to evolve as a city, and grow and some of these old buildings do get occupied, there are challenges we're going to face, but other cities have faced them and made it work out just fine," said Glime.
And the footprint downtown Waco continues expanding across the Brazos River into East Waco. New hotels and condos are now going up and down Austin Ave.
New entertainment options keep coming too, fueling further change.
”As these hotels and entertainment centers keep comin', I just foresee growth, exciting growth,” said Glime.
And as for prices, he expects them to still rise, but not at the unbelievable rate we've seen lately.
"I would expect they're stabilizing right now. I think we're in a place where we're growing but we're growing healthy. I think our real estate values have escalated quickly for the last three years, but I think we're at a point where they're gonna start stabilizing," Glime said.
