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I attended the luncheon at the AT&T Hotel & Conference Center on Tuesday, February 10th by RECA (Real Estate Council of Austin). It was informative and eye opening…

For most of the past decade, Austin’s growth story has been: tech talent, population inflows, rising rents, and relentless demand for housing and commercial space.

(And of course my personal favourite of podcasters, martial artists, biohackers and entrepreneurs).

Now we are expanding more into medical and research infrastructure that turns a fast-growing city into even more diverse one.

Until recently, Austin was the largest major US city without a true academic medical center. That gap mattered more than most people realized.

While the city attracted talent and capital, it lacked the healthcare backbone required to support complex care, advanced research, and long-term institutional gravity.

A few of my friends have even pointed out that there’s “no one over 70 in Austin”…

As a result, a meaningful share of Central Texans left the region for serious medical treatment, often traveling to Houston or Dallas.

That is beginning to change.

The emerging academic medical center led by University of Texas at Austin, anchored by Dell Medical School and partnered with MD Anderson Cancer Center, represents a structural shift in how Austin functions as a city.

This is not just the addition of a hospital.

Academic medical centers operate differently from traditional healthcare systems. They integrate patient care, research, and medical education into a single operating model.

Physicians work in coordinated teams rather than disconnected specialties. Research and clinical practice inform each other in real time. Data, AI, and advanced diagnostics are native to the system, not layered on afterward.

For patients, this means less fragmentation and closer to home. For cities, it means permanence.

Cities with academic medical centers tend to attract and retain high-wage talent, generate steady employment across economic cycles, and anchor long-term institutional investment.

These systems are difficult to replicate and nearly impossible to move once established.

Austin is now entering that category.

The implications extend well beyond healthcare. Large-scale medical and research ecosystems create sustained demand for medical-adjacent office, lab space, workforce housing, and transit-oriented development.

They support jobs across income levels, from physicians and researchers to technicians, administrators, and support staff. They also provide stability during downturns, when other sectors may contract.

This shift also signals a maturation of Austin’s growth profile.

The city has already proven it can scale quickly. What it is proving now is that it can support complexity. That matters for families deciding whether to stay long-term, for employers weighing expansion, and for investors looking for markets with staying power rather than short-term momentum.

Importantly, this growth is unfolding on a long timeline. The UT medical center is expected to open around 2030, with development and expansion occurring in phases. That makes this less about speculation and more about positioning.

The opportunity is not to chase headlines, but to understand where institutional gravity is forming and how it will influence land use, infrastructure, and demand over decades.

Austin’s next chapter will still include cranes, capital, and new residents. But increasingly, it will also be shaped by research labs, clinical teams, and the kind of healthcare infrastructure that signals a city built to last.

For those paying attention to how cities evolve, this is one of the most important developments happening in Austin right now.

What was the moment you knew real estate was the path for you?

Real estate became clear for me when I realized I wanted control over my time, my income, and my nervous system.

On paper, I was doing everything right. I moved to the U.S. from Belarus with $300, worked multiple jobs, went to UC Berkeley, and built a strong career across startups, crypto, and corporate roles. I had good titles, good income, and what looked like success.

But twice, I watched entire companies collapse due to forces completely outside my control. Almost overnight, value and careers disappeared.

Around that same time, my body started sending clearer signals. The energy of the city and the pace of my work no longer matched who I was becoming, and I realized I had been living expectations that weren’t fully mine.

Real estate felt different immediately.

It was grounded, slower by design, and rewarded discipline over hype. Buying my first property changed my life when I knew this wasn’t just an investment strategy. It was infrastructure for the life I wanted.

Is there anything you'd do differently if you were starting today?

I would invest in mentorship much earlier and much more intentionally.

Early on, I believed I had to figure everything out myself. As an immigrant, self-reliance was ingrained in me, so I saw paying for mentors as unnecessary and tried to do everything the hard way.

Looking back, that mindset cost me far more time than money.

Every major leap in my life came after learning directly from people who had already done what I wanted to do.

The real value of mentorship compounds through better judgment, faster decisions, and the confidence to trust yourself. If I could do it again, I’d stop trying to be the smartest person in the room and start paying to be in rooms where I had the most to learn.

Case Study

I purchased a new-construction townhome in Milpitas in 2019 for $650,000 with 5% down. Because it was a new build, I received a $17,500 builder credit toward closing costs and approximately $20,000–$30,000 in upgrades, reducing my effective basis.

I like this deal because it has required minimal capital expenditures to date and has been very straightforward to operate. I initially house-hacked the property and later converted it into a long-term rental. 

In 2021, I refinanced into a $588,000 loan, eliminated PMI, and reduced carrying costs by roughly $1,800 per year.

Today, the property is worth approximately $850,000, representing about $200,000 in appreciation and over $250,000 in equity created, while maintaining long-term ownership and flexibility.

What's the one thing you'd tell your younger self starting out?

Stop optimizing for effort and start optimizing for leverage.

Early on, I believed success meant working harder, taking on more responsibility, and earning better titles. And it worked - I moved up quickly. But titles don’t give you control. They create dependency.

Ownership is different. Ownership gives you leverage over your time, your income, and your decisions. Once I internalized that, my decisions changed. I stopped optimizing for how things looked and started optimizing for how much control they gave me. Real estate clicked for that reason - not because it was glamorous, but because it created durable, compounding ownership.

Control over your time and income matters more than any role or recognition.

Anything else you'd like to share?

“A note on wellness…Over the years, I’ve worked across multiple real estate strategies - long-term rentals, mid-term rentals, BRRRR, rental arbitrage, co-living, and now new construction. Seeing these different asset classes side by side changed how I think about wealth.

I also make a point to spend time living in my properties - even if only for a short period - to understand how the space actually functions day to day. That firsthand experience gives me insight you can’t get from spreadsheets alone.

Across all of these models and across the homes I’ve lived in myself I realized that wealth isn’t just financial. It’s physical, mental, and environmental. The places we live quietly shape our health, stress levels, and ability to think long-term.

That’s why I think about real estate as more than cash flow. I’m intentional about light, air, noise, layouts, and how spaces are actually lived in. A well-designed environment reduces friction, supports nervous-system regulation, and makes it easier for people to show up consistently in their lives.

Longevity isn’t about extreme optimization - it’s about sustainability. Real estate, when done thoughtfully, creates stable income and stable environments. That alignment is what allows me to build wealth without burning out, and it’s the same principle I use when evaluating investments, operations, and life decisions.”

Dealmakers by Romney Navarro

Texas Mortgage Roundup — Austin

NAIOP Austin Legislative Update Luncheon

BuiltWorlds AI and Machine Learning Summit

Texas Energy Policy & Emerging Legislation

First Time Home Buyer Workshop: Taco (and Marg) Tuesday Edition

Real Estate Networking | REAL Café

ULI MONTHLY BREAKFAST SERIES

RECA KNOCKOUT NIGHT 2026

I am so grateful to be in Austin. It’s a truly special city.

The Austin real estate market rewards those who show up prepared, stay connected, and see opportunity where others see obstacles.

The future belongs to those who plan for it and to those who take action on those plans. See what's happening in Austin's real estate scene this week

See you at the events.

Lots of love,

Alice