Austin, the capital city of Texas, is one of my favorite places to live in. And not only is mine, the city is at top of many people's list of the best places to live in, which has made every inch of Austin real estate a hot cake among realtors. In 2009, Money magazine selected the city as the No. 3 Best Big City in "Best Places to Live", and it was at No. 2 position in 2006. Other accolades that Austin has received include:

• Greenest city in America, MSN

• No.2 city with the best people, CNN Headline News and Travel & Leisure magazine

• America's No. 1 college town, Travel Channel

• 5th safest city

• The least stressful large metro area, Forbes magazine.

Now can you see why the houses in the capital city of Texas are sold long before "Austin Homes for Sale" placards are placed before them? Not only that, the rub-off effect of Austin's real estate success can be seen on homes in Kyle as well, a city 21 miles southwest of Austin. Call it Austin phenomenon that even "Kyle homes for Sale" placards do not have to wait longer before it is shoved inside the already crowded stowage.

The Silicon Hills not the Silicon Valley

Austin also goes by the name of the "Silicon Hills" because of the high concentration of high-tech firms operating in the city. 3M, AMD, Apple Inc., Applied Materials, Cirrus Logic, Cisco Systems, Dell, eBay/PayPal, Freescale Semiconductor (spun off from Motorola in 2004), Google, Hewlett-Packard, Hoover's, IBM, Intel Corporation, National Instruments, Samsung Group, Silicon Laboratories, Sun Microsystems, and United Devices are the names of the high-tech companies running their from Austin.

These companies have made the price of local real estate go through the roof compared to the real estate prices in many parts of rural Texas. But still it is much cheaper than the housing cost in the Silicon Valley. That is why many tech giants are flocking to the city making "Austin Homes for Sale" placards disappear much more quickly than it should.

It is not only the high-tech companies that are coming to the city; it is pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies as well. 85 companies from the industry operate out of Austin.

These companies along with the state agencies, colleges, and universities produce so much of employment that it makes the city a place where a person can allow its dream to fly. The city is up for a dream run, and so are the people living here.

But, what about those who do not live in Austin? How can they take advantage of opportunities presented by this city? Well, they need to settle down in the city and for that they will need a home in the city. The following paragraphs will help them find a perfect nest I (almost) for themselves in the city.

5 Austin real estate buying tips

Research the neighborhood: This is something anyone will ask you to do. It is an absolute must because you are going to spend time with people there. See if the neighborhood is suitable for you or not, and if it can meet your needs or not. Check the following:

• Crime rate

• Schools

• Grocery stores

• Departmental stores

• Park

• Sports club & gym

• Doctors and hospitals

• Police and fire department

Find a real estate agent you can trust: Finding a reliable Austin real estate agent is as important as finding a good neighborhood. A real estate agent will not only find a good home at the best price for you, but he will also help you settle in the locality. He will assist you in finding shops of daily requirement, and will also use his knowledge of the community to help you settle down. I have heard of many stories where Austin realtors have turned into a lifelong friend for their customers.

See a handful of houses: Do not commit a mistake of settling down for the house shown to you in the first go. Austin has many good houses in every neighborhood. Look at minimum 4-5 houses before deciding on any. Click pictures of each home that you visit, and ask for the benefits each has to offer.

Pay your Austin real estate agent well: Bargaining with an estate agent on his commission is not that good an idea. After all, it is on him that your property-search depends. A grumpy real estate agent may get you a bad deal, whereas, a happy agent will get you the house at the best possible price.

Hire a home inspector: A home inspector will help you evaluate the worth of the house you are considering. He will also tell you about things that will need immediate fixing, and things that can wait. He will spend a whole day in the house and will produce house audit report, which will cover every aspect of the ownership.

Follow these steps and you will get a good deal on an Austin home. It doesn't matter if it has "Austin Home for Sale" placard or not.