Too many choices. Too much noise.

Austin is the rental capital of the world, the birthplace of STR's, and even the strange phenomenon of campus pre-leasing. So, in Austin, there are many considerations on how to best rent. where? how long? best deals? hidden locals only spots? Duplex? Apartment? Condo? house? What's the difference?
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Renting, especially in Austin takes a large amount of time from the sheer amount of rental options available but since the days of Antone’s being on 5th, and when there was only one Jo's coffee in the whole city, and before Oracle was on Riverside we've connected ne and old Austinites with secret rental spots, as well as all mainstream places with discounts and move-in specials.
* Utilize our exclusive IP the Urban Index Score ™ and get your free apartment appraisal to help you navigate the when and where of all aspects and areas of the Austin public, and private rental markets.
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>>> connect

RENTERS

better educated sellers make more money

Some normal real estate listings and successful sales can be easy, if you're in a subdivision or dealing with condos, a deal with few details but that's not the norm. Real estate quietly laughs at the inexperienced, and is a theater for the chaos agent, and woes are multiplies when you don't pay attention to the details, and even their rhythm. Whether it’s a high-profile listing, a well-known address, or a brand tied to your own name, the difference shows in the prep, the pricing, and the presentation.Today, many listings are media and branding efforts in their own right. Understanding how media, marketing, and price intersect with the market are basics now — especially with larger (6500 SF and up) more complex homes or work/live/retail multi-use residential construction. In these cases, selling isn’t just about square footage; it’s about storytelling, strategy, and getting every detail right.
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>>> connect with seasoned, local listing agents who has 15+ years experience with all levels of complexity of real estate in Austin, Texas.

SELLERS

better information than local experts

Anyone can open a door, or email a link to a listing. But understanding when a neighborhood is about to tip, what's locally relevant with legacy, or which block will matter five years from now — that’s difference that reverberates in the wallet and all the emotion.
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/Our background as leasing pioneers didn’t just put us in thousands of living rooms; it put us years ahead on the map. We were helping clients buy condos and townhomes on streets like Cesar Chavez and Austin’s East Side over in the early oughts, a decade before the rest of the development and real estate construction world would tip toe east of I-35, Austin's east side.///
Many of those buyers started as renters who hadn’t even considered owning a home until we ran the numbers with them and switched gears, now buyers in the buyers market. Knowing the next big area is typically where new first-time home buyers can start.For us, it’s never been just about the purchase. It’s about price structuring, future positioning for you, and opening the discussion on what short-term leasing potential or needs a real estate or home purchase is and what role could this property play say year, 8? Cap rates and with long-term appreciation are considered when making a purchase and sometimes it's simply to get in a better situation or even move money. We've been there too. We were in the east side before the 2010's, we know where and how Austin grows, how purchases are made, how all sized portfolios are built.
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>>> connect to discuss your particular style, design, and home story.

BUYERS

rent rolls mean everything

Strategy leads production, and design and research lead creativity, while all must always direct revenue upwards.
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This is our strategy for apartment acquisitions, commercial spaces, mixed-use developments, and branded real estate strategies that speak to what makes a place matter. We’ve worked with both high-profile names and quiet local legends, always driven by the idea that real estate is more than an address — it’s an asset class that carries story, reputation, and opportunity.For investors and developers that means thinking past the quick flip or the rent roll and into bigger questions: Can design create loyalty? Can branding raise NOI? Can we package or reposition entire complexes or submarkets to speak to shifting demand?We believe it can. And our history in leasing, acquisition strategy, and price structuring has always kept us ahead of that curve — not because we chase trends, but because we see the story before it’s obvious. In the end, markets reward discipline, creativity, and timing. That’s where we’ve built our edge — and where the returns come from.>>> connect with a seasoned local agent that specializes with urban infill development, apartment asset acquisitions, multi-property, 1031's, cross-sector purchases + client/celebrity & high-security representation, bi-coastal.
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nothing happens without the money or the strategy.

We have local lending and legal services bundled with vetted professionals who live in the community
>>> connect below for local lending and legal
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your full stack is here

today, most companies rely on fractional teams to handle marketing, coaching, brand strategy, and career growth. As an agent, you may find that your brokerage doesn’t always offer consistent live support, training, mentorship, or accountability—especially in today’s media-driven real estate market, where personal brand and content now matter more than brokerage name. With no leads provided and office culture no longer carrying weight, the old neighborhood brokerage (whether good of bad) is no longer the driving power in real estate, and since the real estate industry syndicated listings, the brokerage doesn't control inventory and now isn't a built-in driving force that produces leads.
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BAR NONE, WE PROVIDE THE BEST, EXCL. URBAN REAL ESTATE TRAINING & GUIDANCE IN: media, beginner & advanced RE training, speech, NLP, and excl. apex market technique in urban leasing, residential, sales and commerical real estate.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
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$80 a month, excl. syllabus, support, speaking, vocal, media, and classic sales training. Market-unique apex system in leasing, sales, and commerical real estate.Also, with Ghost Brokering we have options to help Co-pilot deals too if you feel like white labeling theurbansquared team will get a complex, multi-faceted deal done ( but you need to stay at your brokerage).
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With your $80 membership with benefits property mangers (showing them leasing and closing skills) and agents with full access to our exclusive training syllabus Real Talk™
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BAR NONE, WE PROVIDE THE BEST, EXCL. URBAN REAL ESTATE TRAINING & GUIDANCE IN: media, beginner & advanced, RE training, speech & vocal training, public speaking, closing, NLP, real estate contract and negotiation syntax, production training systems, and excl. apex literature, access, graphics of agency and market tips, tricks, hacks, and techniques in urban leasing, residential, sales and commerical real estate and property management and Airbnb super hosting and STR vacation stays.>>> connect below to grow your business, build a modern career path in real estate, and lock into a future-proof real estate framework that gives you the roadmap that fast-tracks your knowledge base in urban real estate to expand your production or portfolio.
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Ghost Broker. Stay at your current brokerage, get the rest here . . .

since the oughts

What seemed like yesterday is now history. The rock bands and live music bravado that once filled the streets of Austin still linger, but the rhythm has shifted; more luxe, more options, and further from local gem that have GREAT price, location and build out. Once a college town, Austin has transformed into a major city, and now it's midway in its story of becoming one of the world’s most fascinating, talked-about metropolitan areas, boasting a uniquely dynamic economy and real estate landscape that's sought after by the globe.
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James hill started the urban squared realty concept in 2007 with one of the nation's first brokerages in a high-visibility retail space concepts. this allowed the brand to flourish during the economic downturn, growing unusually diverse and strong in all sectors of real estate in the urban core—leasing, residential sales, and commercial (leasing and sales).
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the brokerage became known for well-known, highly-style, hi-vis locations that were convenient and fun to meet and park at. Also the brand became experts at fixing all the typical pain points that plague renters, buyers, sellers, and investors in urban markets where options and opportunities move fast.
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Hill got his license January 1st 2003 after a bar shift buddy told him how leasing paid well and got your foot in the door of real estate. Hill surveyed the industry and Austin market for 3 years, gaining intense experience in leasing and sale, listening to client complaints and then using clients feedback to eliminate the manifold paint points in the real estate process. He saw two things: a poorly designed industry and two; clients didn't like the real estate process and this was mostly due to agent. Hill began conceptualizing a high design, client-story driven brand, and named it urban squared realty after he and his ex-partner were simply tired of trying to come up with names (and picked the most ridiculous one). Hill purchased a condo on Austin's, east side, on the water in 2008. Austin's east side was still untouched by developers and agents at this time, but Hill saw this was the only direction in the the city where it could expand to, everything else in the urban core was simply already developed. Hill contemplated a new design & tech forward, high-visibility HQ brand in Austin that helped clients not just in residential real estate, but leasing and commerical as well, moving many beloved local businesses. \\\\\\
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Austin is even quicker now with more production and packaging and the new rock stars beginning, the tech guys, the A.I. guys, the new developers, and still the coffee, bands, and musicians. Like the cosmic cowboy era of the World Armadillo Headquarters 70's era went 80's and digital, giving way to the SRV era, and then the Electric Lounge era—SXSW and ACL feeding the whole jam session. Now Austin is the shinning eclectic, tech city on the hill, still with style, music, and even cheap tacos legendary tacos when you know where to look.

founder james hill

Real estate never felt like enough so James built theurbansquared.At the turn of the century, after playing every stage in Austin more than once Hill noticed after 15 years that he couldn't write music that paid the bills. Hill then found unexpected traction in real estate — turning a few urban leases and sales into growing Austin's largest, full-service real estate brokerage.By 2006, Hill launched Austin’s first high-visibility, full-service brokerage in a retail center on 515 South Congress — before the “SoCo” portmanteau existed. Hill and his teams connected over 3,500 clients with home and HQ's, from first-time buyers to #1-in-class global companies and high-profile, high-security clients needing apex market strategy, planning, and positioning.Tapped by the Austin Board of Realtors in 2015 to consult on MLS design after helping place most of Greystar’s public apartments on the private MLS, Hill shaped programs and IP that raised citywide leasing commissions and continue to influence the market.
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In 2016, he opened Dwellstronger — a creative space in a 130-year-old east side mansion, complete with mini ramp and Bowie mural — an unofficial link between downtown and Nland’s short-lived surf park.
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Then in early 2020, as COVID just started to become understood, Hill unplugged from Austin, relocating to LA - Point Dume, Malibu, and then later, Venice Beach.///////////////////////////////
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est. 2007

between the shingles of real estate

What if Fred Flintstone and Anthony Bourdain did Real Estate?
James Hill — surfer/skater with LA bloodline, Austin real estate whisperer, former frontman, multi-hyphenate creative, and unapologetically frank — has lived more lives than most brokers have listings. He began in the early 2000s, splitting duties as a frontman and rhythm guitarist while helping bandmates and friends find cheap apartments around town. That early grind laid the foundation for a rare combination of skills: deep leasing expertise, sharp instincts in residential sales, and a hands-on track record helping beloved local businesses secure the right commercial spaces
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Hill went on to build Urban Squared Realty into the largest full-service brokerage in Austin — with landmark retail offices, a hyper-local approach, and a reputation for bridging real estate, culture, and community. Over the years, he’s represented #1-in-class global clients, consulted on high-security residential moves, and advised on film and television location strategy across Texas and California. As a brand and systems builder, he helped define how modern brokerages operate — combining operational rigor with cultural fluency and executive-level insight.After scaling the business, Hill relocated to Point Dume, Malibu to write books and step away from the Austin grind. When COVID hit, that break became a full reset — and a return with a sharper voice.What’s Wrong with Real Estate is the result: a walk-thru-walls real estate raconteur, rocker, surfer/shellback merchant marine, that somehow found fair waters via a career of selling land, in the urban tech girl-on-fire, Austin, Texas, where the estuary of culture, startup, real estate and the next big purchase or big things shapes Austin, the new Metropolitan than knows few limits.

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What's Wrong With Real Estate?