Google Fiber’s Head of Austin Operations Makes Announcement to REALTORS®

Austin Board of REALTORS® Trade Show Draws Over 2,000 Attendees

AUSTIN, TX – October 21, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — The Austin Board of REALTORS®’ (ABoR) 2013 Realty Round Up brought 2,000 real estate professionals and 150 exhibiting companies to Central Texas’ largest—and sold out—real estate-oriented trade show. At this year’s event, the head of Google Fiber Austin, Mark Strama, presented his highly-anticipated update on the implementation of Fiberhoods throughout Austin and noted the important role that REALTORS® are playing in the process. Along with Strama’s update, the annual event featured keynote speakers, Formula One racing legend Derek Daly and economist Dr. Jim Gaines of the Texas A&M Real Estate Center, as well as demonstrations of the latest technology trends in real estate.

While Strama was tight-lipped on the specific details of the Google Fiberhoods implementation, he confirmed that the Gigabit Internet service will begin to rollout through Austin in mid-2014. The massive infrastructure upgrade required to implement the Fiberhoods is not a quick and easy task, but one, according to Strama, that “is going to make Austin one of the most technologically advanced cities in the world, and is going to be incredibly good for [Austin’s] economy and incredibly good for real estate.” He emphasized that Austin residents who want the service have the opportunity to directly drive demand for the service to their community. “You can have an impact on whether [your community] qualifies or not,” Strama said. “In Kansas City, the first city that [Google Fiber] has been deployed, people put signs out in their yards promoting the adoption of the service in their neighborhood, so that it can have the effect because they’re all in it collectively. You have to collectively drive demand in order to get the service. I would love to see Austin outpace Kansas City in those adoptions, and I suspect that we will. There’s a reason Google Fiber wanted to be in Austin. This is a market where we have seen an incredible appetite for this service.”

Dr. Gaines’ provided the crowd with an economic update on Austin, the state and the rest of the country. According to Dr. Gaines, Texas’s economy is continuing to outpace the rest of the country. The economic success has lead to a significant population increase in the past decades, and he projects that the total population of Texas will increase by 30 million people over the next 30 years. He stressed that the influx of Texas residents will continue to put a strain on the housing supply, which could potentially affect home affordability, particularly in Austin.

The presentations concluded with keynote speaker and world-renowned racing figure Derek Daly giving insight on how real estate professionals can take their business to the checkered flag. He emphasized that improving both yourself and your team is important to reach your goals. He noted that the best racers in his sport had the best teams behind them, and real estate is no different. The most successful racing teams also look for ways to change the game and think differently—something that can directly impact the success of a real estate agent.

Year after year, Realty Round Up brings a large crowd of real estate professionals and affiliates together, allowing hundreds of networking opportunities for attendees. This year’s event gave participants the exclusive first-glimpse of what to expect when Google Fiber arrives in Austin. If the event’s theme, Racing Into the Future, is any indication, there will be a lot to look forward to in 2014. As Daly said, “Stick it into a higher gear as you race into the future.”

Next year’s Realty Round Up will take attendees around the real estate world with an internationally themed event. It will return to the Palmer Events Center on October 15, 2014, for another day’s worth of education, networking, and important keynote discussions. Registration, exhibition, and sponsorship opportunities will be available in the spring of 2014.
The Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABoR) is a non-profit, voluntary organization dedicated to educating and supporting Central Texas REALTORS®. ABoR proudly serves over 9,000 members, promotes private property rights, and provides accurate, comprehensive property listing information for the Greater Austin area.For more information, please contact the ABoR Marketing Department at marketing (at) abor (dot) com or 512-454-7636. Visit AustinHomeSearch.com, a public resource on Austin real estate, for the latest news on the local housing market