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Austin Real Estate Stats You Won’t Get Anywhere Else

March 15, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 

(To skip straight to the market report, scroll to the bottom of this post.)

Can you believe that it’s mid-March already?!

March, for real estate, marks the beginning of the Spring selling season. More and more people will be listing their homes for sale–trying to time the market to sell in the least amount of time for the most amount of money.

The question I have is… what do we do with all the homes that are already on the market now?

Surely someone will buy them, right??

If they just stay on the market a little longer, the Spring buyers will scoop them up, right??

===> My answer to this question is a little more complicated than just YES or NO.

1. I want to know how many homes are currently for sale today.

8,238 Homes For Sale

2. I want to make this number relevant. Simply, is this a lot of homes for sale?

If we compare the last  six years of homes for sale, it doesn’t seem that bad. The number of homes for sale is down from 2008-2010 and up from 2006-2007.

3. How does this compare to the number of homes actually selling?

Sale are about even with the last two years. Sales are significantly lower than 2006-2008.

4. This leaves us with a big gap between homes for sale and homes sold. Where does all this excess inventory of homes come from and what do we do with it?

I hope it wasn’t too obvious that I was building up to this question.

If you apply the basic principles of supply and demand, the market should naturally correct itself. Since there is a low demand, wouldn’t you think supply would diminish along side it? The outlining factors are infinitely more complicated…

There is:

  • Relocation–people need to move to where the jobs are. They have to sell.
  • Can’t afford it–The mortgage is too much to handle due to job loss, an ARM resetting, etc, etc, etc.
  • Downsize or Upgrade– the home is either too big or too small to accommodate the sellers needs.
  • The list can keep going on and on.

Still, I wanted to dig deeper to answer this question. I did an extensive study on the homes that are currently for sale.

I came up with a few things:

  • The average days on market for active listings is… 113 days! (The average days on market for SOLD homes is 87 days)
  • Of the active homes for sale, 27.9% of them were purchased in the last 7 years.

Everyone has heard the saying, “buy low, sell high”.
Unfortunately, for nearly 30% of homes on the market, the opposite is true.

The worst part about this statistic is that this about a home, not just an investment. This is the American dream. It is the place that children will be raised, families will be made and lives will be lived. It is nothing like the stock market where money is gained and lost on a regular basis. This is the front lines, where it doesn’t get any more real.

If you find yourself on the market and you cannot figure out why you can’t sell your home, see if any if the above is true for you. Also, ask your Realtor if they know any of this.

To learn more about the Austin Real Estate Market, see our market report below.

Thanks for reading,
Laura

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Foreclosed Homes up for Auction

March 11, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 

The next Austin foreclosure auction is coming up soon.

The banks are set to liquidate some great properties and if you are thinking of investing, this is the perfect opportunity to pick up some properties at a fraction of their true value.

There are a few things that you should consider before running out and bidding on these properties:

1. Read my blog post on how the auction process works.
Buying Real Estate at Auction in Austin
2. Read this if you want to buy a primary residence at auction.
The Move-Up Investor
3. Review our Investing in real estate webinar replay.
Investing in Real Estate Webinar
4. Take a look at the list and see if there is anything of interest.

5. The final step before bidding on these properties is the analysis. The chart below is an example of the research that I have done on these properties. I have set my own reserve prices on these homes of what you should pay.  I am happy to share this with you via email.  Fill out the form below and I will forward the information to you.

Well… what are you waiting for? Sign up to receive the information now.
(Two promises: We will not share your information with anyone else. We will not spam you.)
Email Marketing You Can Trust

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Austin Real Estate Market on the Rise! Download our February 2011 report here.

February 15, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 

The positive vibes in the economy have finally landed in Austin. Home sales are up for the second month in a row. There is also a strong number of homes under contract, which shows us that sales will continue to be strong through February and into March.

The number of homes coming on the market is also on the rise—this is a good thing. There is a lot of pent up demand for new listings . More homes on the market will only continue to drive the market forward.

Distressed property sales are also on the rise. Last year, nearly 15% of all sales were either a short sale or foreclosure. Last month, 21% of all sales were a distressed sale. We are still waiting to see how many distressed properties will come on the market this Spring. Many experts are expecting a large number of distressed properties to be released into the market this year, following the “foreclosure freeze” over the holidays.

Cash Buyers played a huge role in sales last year and continue to be a strong presence in our market this year. Last year, nearly 1 in 5 sales were for CASH. Last month (January 2011), almost 1 in 3 sales were for CASH. That’s 30% of the market selling for CASH.

Sales over $500,000 have stalled in Austin. Lat month, 54 homes out of 1,247 homes on the market, sold over $500K. That is an inventory of 23 months. This is the highest this number has been since the bubble burst in October 2007.  The two factors that contribute to this halt in sales are financing and unrealistic sellers. Loans over $417,000 are considerably harder to qualify for and banks are hesitant to originate these loans. Sorry over $500K sellers, but with a strong majority of you on the market having purchased your property within the last 5 years—getting your money back is not very likely.

The biggest factor that may change the growth we are seeing are interest rates. Last month, interest rates climbed nearly half a point from 4.5% to 5%. When money gets more expensive, sales slow down significantly.

See the rest of our extensive report for an in-depth look at the Austin real estate market by clicking here.

Best,
Laura

Download Market Report

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Coming Soon! Featured Property – Avery Ranch Custom Golf Course Home

January 26, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 

Coming Soon! Avery Ranch Custom Golf Course Home

Catch the video, see the website for the home and let us know if you know anyone looking to buy this beautiful home.

We have an incredible single-story custom home in Avery Ranch coming on the market soon. This Partners in Building home has a custom-built luxury pool and stand alone jacuzzi that looks over the 5th hole of the golf course. It is also entirely handicap accessible for any special needs clients that you may have.

The family room, kitchen and dining rooms flow nicely together. The focus of the home is to the backyard that sits on the fifth hole of Avery Ranch Golf Course.

The fantastic neighborhood of Avery Ranch with all its amenities makes this a wonderful place to call home. Located in the Round Rock school district and very close to the new Round Rock ISD stadium and Cedar Park events center as well as shopping, movie theaters and many nearby parks makes life both pleasant and convenient.

This home is entirely handicap accessible for any special needs clients that you may have. This even includes the pool!

For more photos and information, visit www.9512Palmbrook.com.

The curb appeal is unmatched with beautiful landscaping and trees that look just as amazing during the day as at night with the custom down lighting on the home. Whether it be a quick dip in the pool or a long soak in the jacuzzi; this backyard is meant for relaxing. The master bedroom is light and bright with large windows, high ceiling, sitting room and the attached bath with its separate his and hers vanities and garden tub plus shower is the ultimate in style and comfort.

The fantastic neighborhood of Avery Ranch with all its amenities makes this a wonderful place to call home. Located in the Round Rock school district and very close to the new Round Rock ISD stadium and Cedar Park events center as well as shopping, movie theaters and many nearby parks makes life both pleasant and convenient.

This home is entirely handicap accessible for any special needs clients that you may have. This even includes the pool!

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Buy a house in 2010? Don’t forget to file your homestead exemption!

January 20, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 

Buy a house in 2010? Don’t forget to file your homestead exemption!

It’s a very simple -FREE- process that a lot of homeowners forget all about.

That’s right; the county wants to reward you for being a homeowner. They will lower the valuation of the property (the exact amount varies from county-to-county) for you so that you when they apply their tax rate formula to it, you save some money.

And don’t pay anyone to do this for you either. There a lot of companies who will fill out and send in this document for you. They only charge you $50-150 to do something that you can do for yourself for FREE.

Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Download one of the three forms below. (The forms are all different for each county)

Travis County Homestead Exemption Form

Williamson County Homestead Exemption Form

Hays County Homestead Exemption Form

Step 2: Fill out the form and send it in.

That’s it!

Have more questions? Travis County’s Frequently Asked Questions section is outstanding!

Consult your closing documents if you need any specific information about the property. Or, shoot us an email at homes@westaustin.com or call us at (512) 345-1252 if you need any more help.

Best,
Laura

P.S. Want to learn more about property taxes? Catch Laura Duggan’s post–Calculating Your Property Tax.

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