Austin Real Estate News

Further confirmation that Austin is a great place to live during these uncertain economic times is the recent release of the 2009 Best Big Cities for Jobs list (Forbes.com). Austin ranks #1 in the big cities list and #6 overall.

Texas fares extremely well in the rankings holding the #1 spot overall (Odessa, TX) as well as the top 5 spots for big cities!  Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Ft. Worth, and Dallas are the top 5 Best Big Cities for Jobs.

Forbes.com published this information along with NewGeography.com, though the NewGeography.com site (2009 Best Cities for Job Growth) provides a bit more detailed information about the methodology.

We are convinced Austin is a great place to call home. We hope you will call Great Austin Properties at 512.600.1800 if you agree – we would love to help you with your Austin Real Estate needs!

Forbes.com recently ranked Austin #8 in it’s list of “The Best Places for Business and Careers.” Why did Austin fare so well? Here’s a bit of the story direct from Forbes:

“In a nod to the current economic climate, we added two new categories this year: projected job growth and subprime mortgages as a percentage of total originations over a three-year period. This change helped boost several metros in the rankings, most notably Austin, Texas, which ranked eighth this year, up from 47th last year. Austin’s projected annual job growth rate of 2.3% is fifth fastest in the country, and its subprime mortgage exposure clocked in at 13th.”

That’s the kind of news we like to hear!

We’ve blogged about it before, but it’s always fun when we hear Austin is one of the top 10 places to live in the U.S., so we are blogging about it again!  MSNBC released their top 10 on January 4th and put Austin on the list at #8.  They created their list by looking at rankings released by Forbes magazine, Kiplinger.com, Money magazine, Fortune Small Business magazine and Relocate-America.com, and quoted Kiplinger.com as the reason Austin made the list: the Austin area offers “a strong economy, a solid, moderately priced housing market, a growing population and enough natural beauty to justify staying outside.” Got that right. Austin is an incredible place to live and work – we know – we live here!

Seems MSNBC is fond of Texas – Houston and San Antonio also made their list. You can read the full MSNBC Best Cities list here.

If you are ready to call Austin home, or already call Austin home and are ready to find a new home in our great city, be sure to call us. We are eager to assist you with your Austin real estate needs. Contact Great Austin Properties at 512.600.1800 today!

The Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABOR) compiles monthly home sales statistics. Here is a snapshot from ABOR showing just released sales data comparing October 2007 to October 2008.

Home sales have declined about 25% from October 2007 to October 2008, but the median home price has gone up 7% since last year indicating that Austin homes are still a sound investment, even in the midst of economic uncertainty.

With interest rates declining and 5% more homes on the market now than at this same time last year, it’s a good time to buy Austin real estate.

Nationally, mortgage interest rates are down substantially in the last week thanks to the Federal Reserve’s announcement on November 25th to buy up to $500 billion of securitized home loans. According to Bankrate.com, ”the average rate on the 30-year fixed was 6.33 percent Nov. 19.” Today, Bankrate.com is reporting that rate at 5.92%, the lowest it has been since February of this year. An online search for rates for an individual with good credit seeking a 30-year fixed for an Austin area home purchase shows rates close to 5.5%. With low interest rates and sellers who need to sell, it’s a great time to buy an Austin home.

Call us at 512.600.1800 – we have REALTORS ready to help you find an Austin home today!

The Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABOR) compiles monthly home sales statistics. Here is a snapshot from ABOR showing just released sales data comparing September 2007 to September 2008.

This data shows a slowdown in the Austin housing market, with a decrease in homes sold of 8% and a 2.4% increase in active listings. Fewer homes are pending as compared to this same time last year (a 10% decrease), an indicator that sales data for October will likely be down as well.

The good news for those interested in purchasing a home is that it’s a buyer’s market – more homes from which to choose with fewer buyers. And for everyone, the good news is the Austin housing market is more stable than most parts of the country, and considering the economic uncertainty around the globe, that’s good news indeed.

These are crazy economic times - leaving many reconsidering thoughts of buying Austin real estate. We’ve got good news for those of you on the fence: money is out there, and Austin is the place to buy.

It’s true that subprime Austin home loans are now nearly impossible to get and expensive when they are offered. In addition, banks are scrutinizing all loans these days to mitigate risk. That means even prime borrowers (people with good credit and an income and loan-to-value (LTV) ratio lenders like to see) will have to show more documentation on their income and appraised property value.  The good news is banks are still lending for Austin home purchases. In addition, rates appear to be coming down (at least in the short term according to some experts – rates are quite volatile overall). Today, a 30 year fixed rate mortgage for an Austin home purchase is around 6.35% and a conforming 5/1 ARM is at 6.06% (source: kxan.com). These are still historically low rates - in the 1980’s rates were in the double digits.

So you may just be able to get a loan after all, and the rate may look great but the question remains, should you buy an Austin home?  Here are a few reasons to buy:

1. Austin is ranked #1 by Forbes for Best Bang for the Buck.

2. Deals are out there!  The Austin Board of Realtors reported slight increases in the average sales price for the Austin area in July and August, but September saw a 3.2% sales price drop, indicating a good time to purchase an Austin home.

3. Austin is seeing job growth.  The Austin economy is faring well with a 2.4% job growth increase in August since the same time last year, and only a small rise in unemployment (up from 4.4% to 4.5%). Read more about Austin’s job growth on our recent blog post:  Austin Job Growth – 2nd Nationwide.

These are good reasons to buy, but if you are new to the area, you also need to know that Austin is simply a great city to call home. Ask around and you’ll find that the weather is sunny practically year round, we boast an affordable cost of living, the music scene is second to none, recreation opportunities abound, our workforce is well educated and highly skilled, and the city itself is vibrant and beautiful!

Ready to move? Give us a call at 512.600.1800 and we’ll help you find great Austin real estate today!

The #1 hits just keep coming for Austin, Texas.   Forbes.com recently ranked Austin #1 in it’s America’s ‘Best Bang for the Buck’ Cities list. Forbes analyzed the country’s forty largest metropolitan areas and calculated the ratios of a cities median homes prices and median income while factoring in cost of living and job growth using data from the US census, National Association of Realtors and Moody’s Economy.com.  Based on Forbes calculations, Austin ranked number one overall as the city where your money went the furthest.  Other Texas cities appearing on the list were #2 San Antonio, #4 Houston, and #7 Dallas. Loyal readers of the Austin Real Estate News Blog know we always report on these city rankings. Based on our rough estimate, Austin is also #1 for appearing on the most lists from best place to live, best place to start a business, and more great rankings.  Let Great Austin Properties help YOU get more bang for YOUR buck. Call us to see homes at 512-600-1800.

The Austin Business Journal (ABJ) reported this week that Austin came in second nationwide in a study conducted by the American City Business Journals. In fact, Texas held the top three spots with Houston coming in first and Dallas-Fort Worth rounding up third. Specifically, Austin posted an annual employment growth rate of 6.4% since June of 2008.  The study utilized a formula that analyzed employment in the nations 100 largest labor markets which held over 116 million private sector jobs as of June 2008.  The study continued to report that Austin has seen 22% job growth in the last five years which puts Austin on par with Las Vegas which ABJ said, “is often heralded as the fastest growing American city”.  As the rest of the nation falters economically, Austin continues to buck the trend and hopefully side step the worst effects of the national housing downturn. 

Visit www.austinhomelistings.com for more information on Austin Real Estate including a map based search tool.

Today, Forbes ranked Austin #5 in a list of cities where home prices are likely to rise. To calculate their rankings, Forbes.com analyzed statistics such as Moody’s job growth (4.7% for Austin), the National Association of Home Builders record of housing starts (down 28.2% in 2008 for Austin) and their own projections for the increase in number of families moving to particular cities (5% for Austin).  Although Austin is still doing relatively well compared to the rest of the nation, they noted that large builder’s bearish attitudes about the whole economy has caused them to slow down on new home starts everywhere, including Austin. Additionally, Forbes.com specifically cited Austin as one of the rare cities that have “largely avoided the real estate crash” pointing out homes price increases of 4.1% for Austin since last year. They concluded that Austin home prices would likely continue to rise due to the reduction in new home starts while job growth increases and people continue to move to Austin.  

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