theurbansquared

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 nuggets? Duplex? Apartment? 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 to choose from but since the days of Antone’s being on 5th Street, 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 the Austin public, and private rental markets.
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>>> connect below with a local Austin leasing specialist that can open all apartments and private Austin MLC rentals, as well as shadow and short-term (STR) opportunities too for: normal peeps, and corporate relo needs.

RENTERS

better educated sellers make more money

Sellers who know their market, know their neighborhood, and truly know their city — and who trust and work closely with their agent’s team — win every time.Real estate quietly laughs at the inexperienced, and when you don't pay attention to the details. 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. And yes — buyers can spot it, too.Today, many listings are media and branding efforts in their own right. Understanding how media, marketing, and price intersect with the market becomes essential — especially with complex, multi-layered properties that often have intricate legal histories, creative ownership structures, and unique backstories. 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 a seasoned, local listing agent who has experience with all levels of complexity of property and understanding of locality 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 different than the standard smiles and emails.
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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 before Oracle had even broken ground — and long before the cranes and coffee shops moved in.Many of those buyers started as renters who hadn’t even considered ownership until we ran the numbers with them — and years later, they still thank us. That’s why we’ve quietly become known more as buyer reps than sellers: we know how to see what’s next, and how to get in before everyone else sees it too.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

Real estate quietly laughs at the inexperienced — and at anyone who doesn’t sweat the details. Over the years, our background as leasing pioneers taught us that it isn’t just about listing or selling; it’s about understanding how design, pricing, and market timing work together to create value.
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That same discipline and creativity have shaped our approach to larger projects: 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 seasoned with investments, and multi-property, cross-sector purchases + client/celebrity & high-security representation, bi-coastal.
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Projects & Investors

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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Local Legal & Lending Bundled

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.
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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.
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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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Have a lead you can't work? We can sell it to our agent network and split the fee. Fast money. Clean process.
>>> connect below to grow your business, build a modern career path, and lock into a future-proof real estate framework built for today’s client-first, content-heavy market.
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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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During COVID, Hill unplugged from Austin, relocating to Point Dume and Venice Beach. Between surf and skate sessions, he directed reality and episodic TV, took on creative director roles, and helped brands refine their branding, media, and messaging across industries including apparel, e-commerce, athletic, and medical.A multi-hyphenate — comic book, music, science, history, graphics, tech, and apologetics nerd — Hill once played nearly every stage in Austin, even CBGB’s in New York. Today, he splits time between Austin and LA, writing, working real estate deals and IP, and carving out time to skate and surf whenever he can.
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During that time, he directed episodic and reality-style television, and helped brands as a creative director and CMO—refining media and messaging across diverse projects and channel stacks.

est. 2007

between the shingles of real estate

What if Fred Flintstone and Anthony Bourdain did Real Estate?
Hosted by James Hill — Austin real estate whisperer, ex-frontman, former CEO, media creative, and unapologetically frank.
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From that bass player neighbor next door getting an apartment, to high-stakes closings for #1-in-class global clients —Hill platforms off his unique Austin real estate story, reinventing what it means to work at the intersection of real estate, technology, media, and culture on more than one coast..

What's Wrong With Real Estate?