The number of closed sales and new listings were down in February compared to the previous year for the Lake Travis-Westlake areas, according to data released March 11 by Unlock MLS. 

This marks the second consecutive month that home sales were down year over year in the area, according to previous Community Impact reporting.

The details: The number of closed sales decreased 26.3% in February compared to the previous year, while the number of new listings dropped 9.6%. 

The largest decline in home sales was seen in the 78669 ZIP code, or the Spicewood area, with a decline of 50%. The second-highest decline was seen in ZIP code 78738, or the Bee Cave area. Home sales increased 12.5% in the Westlake area’s 78746 ZIP code.

What else? The number of days spent on market varied by ZIP code, with the largest increases seen in ZIP code 78746 and ZIP code 78735, or the Barton Creek area.

The Cosmic Cup opened at Fetch Food Park off Hamilton Pool Road in January, offering up coffee and tarot readings to the community. 

The details: The business uses coffee grown by women in Oaxaca, Mexico, with tarot readings offered as part of the overall experience, according to the business. 

Menu items include more traditional options such as cappuccinos and espressos alongside mazapan candy-flavored lattes, matcha, pumpkin lattes and more.

“Similar to sharing a cup of coffee, tarot is presented as a conversational and reflective experience for visitors,” information from the business states. “The Cosmic Cup aims to provide the Austin community with a welcoming space to slow down, connect, and enjoy coffee in a different way.”

• 17499 Hamilton Pool Road, Austin

The developer behind a new resort planned at Circuit of the Americas is seeking to reduce its required public parkland contributions and other environmental enhancements around the project.

Expansion at COTA has taken place in recent years under a planned unit development, or PUD, covering over 1,000 acres in far East Austin. That city zoning designation applies to larger, more complicated mixed-use projects and can grant broad building flexibility in exchange for "superior" improvements on site. While hotel elements were envisioned in the original PUD outline passed in 2020, an expanded $925 million project from RIDA Development is now moving through city review.

The PUD states that any hotel development at COTA wouldn't be allowed to open its doors until an 11.38-acre park and soccer fields were dedicated to the city. However, developers are now seeking to revise that requirement to allow them to donate an off-site park, or a fee payment city staff have graded at a lower value.