Thanks to the excesses of paper millionaires in high-tech centers across the nation, thousands of high-end residential and commercial properties now can be bought for a song.

It's the domino effect come to life. First, a burgeoning industry booms. Companies award generous stock option packages, go public and create paper millionaires. They decide to build their own office buildings and manufacturing plants, which suddenly creates new inventory in these real estate sectors. And their employees buy expensive houses, driving demand for new construction in the high-end residential sector.

Case in point: Austin, Texas. Until about a year ago, this high-tech city was booming. Real estate development across all sectors was hitting all-time highs. Dell Computer Corp. and other tech-centric companies pumped out millionaires by the hundreds, most of them wealthy only when accounting for their stock and options.

These nouveau riche went wild, buying shiny sports cars and opulent estates. In this Central Texas city, a few hundred thousand dollars can purchase a large, impressive house. And millions can buy opulent mansions.

Then, suddenly, the boom was off. Stock options lost their value and layoffs became the norm, leaving paper millionaires unable to make their mortgage payments. And corporations could no longer afford their sleek high-tech facilities, which resulted in a litter of half-built edifices filling the landscape.

Now literally hundreds of expensive Austin homes are on the market. High-end residential real estate is at its lowest point ever. Last year, more than 330 homes in the $1 million-plus range sold in the Austin metro area. In December, more than 175 were on the market. Now, that number has skyrocketed to more than 240 -- many of which have been in their owners' hands for fewer than 12 months.

Commercial projects also have been abandoned. Intel Corp. has scrapped development of a $124 million project, leaving a six-story concrete skeleton silent behind a chain link fence in Austin's downtown area. The semiconductor manufacturer has no plans to complete construction any time soon, making the property a ripe target for a fire sale.

Meanwhile, on the West Coast, a glut of million-dollar homes contrasts with an extreme shortage of low- and mid-priced houses. In San Francisco, the median price of a home is $551,000, while the Bay Area averages $310,000. These prices are among the highest in the country.

Now unemployed or underemployed, many dot-com millionaires are having a tough time making their mortgage payments. This has forced some to sell at large losses -- up to 25 percent.

In Northern California, the fastest-growing number of homes available for sale is in the $ 1 million-plus category. According to an industry report this spring, during March the Bay Area had between eight and 10 months' worth of $ 1 million-plus homes on the market, more than double the inventory last year.

Yet the pickings are still slim in the $500,000 and under price range, where inventory runs only three to four months.

On the commercial front, vacancies still run low on the West Coast, with San Francisco claiming some of the highest-performing properties in the country. But some new tenants are paying only a fraction of their now-defunct dot-com predecessors, who accepted over-inflated rental rates in the name of cool space.

A brief era of excess may have come to a screeching halt. But those with cash on hand still stand to reap the rewards as relics like luxury homes and funky new office buildings hit the bargain basement.

For more articles by Lesley Hensell, please press here.

Published: June 21, 2001

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Lesley Hensell covers commercial real estate and financial issues for Realty Times. Based outside of Dallas, Lesley works with high-tech and real estate clients as an independent marketing and public relations consultant. She also writes for several publications, including the Dallas Morning News. E-mail Lesley at: lhensell@earthlink.net