Austin Real Estate News

You might think we spend all of our time reading the Austin American Statesman, but their reporters do a great job sifting through market data to to identify trends. In yet another recent article, reporter M.B. Taboada took a local look at the national story of accelerating foreclosure rates. As you may have seen in the news, economic pressures are causing increases in foreclosures, particularly among homeonwers who had utilized subprime lending options. (Typically for buyers with less-than-stellar credit ratings.) According to the article, more than 15-percent of the subprime loans nationwide were delinquent (a month or more overdue for payment) and more than three percent of residential properties are in foreclosure (both all-time highs.)

Fortunately, the picture is much more positive in the Austin area. With home resales continuing last year’s strong pace and sale prices up five-percent (versus drops in markets like Dallas), the delinquency and foreclosure rates are down and falling across the best Austin neighborhoods. According to the article, these factors actually make it more likely for homeowners who do experience financial trouble to sell their properties before they enter foreclosure.

Now, none of us like to think of words like delinquency or foreclosure, but they are a part of life. Fortunately, they’re less prevalent in Austin residential real estate, making it a great idea to look for Austin homes for sale. To make it easy for you, we have a unique search tool on our Web site, www.AustinHomeListings.com, which allows you to pick a neighborhood you’ve heard of and quickly search homes for sale. For example, if you’ve driven by the entrance to Falconhead or Circle C North, you can simply click our Neighborhood Listings Quick Search and find just homes in those neighborhoods. Or, as always, you can all us at 512.300.0928 so we can talk about the right Austin home for you.

According to the latest information from the Commerce Department, new home sales jumped nationwide in April, increasing the most in the South. Across the country, sales of new homes leapt 16.2 percent, the highest increase in fourteen years. Whereas the Midwest experienced a four percent drop, builders in southern states enjoyed a 27.8 percent increase. Some analysts cited an accompanying drop in the median price of those same homes (an 11.1 percent decrease) as the cause for this movement in the new home market. According to their math, builders are trying to unload inventory before prices depress much further.

So, it sounds to us like, nationwide, residential real estate is growing into a strong buyer’s market, especially with builders holding inventory. Here in Austin, however, the market appears a bit more balanced. There are still strong opportunities for both sellers and buyers as the overall inventory is relatively stable. However, since builders read the same reports and articles that we all do, there might be some opportunity for buyers interested in newly built Austin homes from new home communities such as Belterra, Circle C, Avery Rnch and more. If you’re interested in those neighborhoods, give us a call at 512.300.0928 if you’d like to meet some of the builders doing great work there. We’d love to help you turn a national trend into the home you’ve always wanted.

Search more Austin homes for sale at AustinHomeListings.com.

Over the past year or so we’ve seen a steady stream of news stories predicting a downturn in the economy in general and the real estate market in particular. Citing everything from rising fuel prices to the cost of wars overseas, economists have been foretelling gloom and doom with a consistency that could make the sunniest optimist retreat to their basement with a flashlight and some canned goods. Interestingly, the family down the street might not completely agree. In a recent L.A. Times survey of nearly 1,400 homeowners, researchers found that just about 1/3 of respondents expected their home values to increase and more than half were confident they’d at least hold steady.

Are they just optimists or are John & Jane Q. Public on to something? We can only speak about our own confidence in the strength of the Austin real estate market. Driving around the best Austin neighborhoods, from Round Rock to Kyle, we see ongoing commercial and residential development, we continually meet people arriving in Austin via corporate relocations and know even more locals who are well-employed and moving up-market.

If you would like to form your own impressions about Austin real estate, we’d love to show you around and buy you a cup of coffee in one of the countless places where new homes, offices and shopping are being built. Some might say “if it’s in the paper it must be true,” but we think you should see things with your own two eyes and come to your own conclusions. Give Great Austin Properties a call at 512-300-0928 and let us show you just how well things are going in Austin real estate.

Search Austin homes for sale at AustinHomeListings.com

Despite reports of a nationwide downturn in residential real estate, the Austin housing market was recently identified as one of a select number of U.S. cities that are still on the upswing. In a recent issue of the Wall Street Journal, Dean Treftz interpreted the results of a recent government report, praising Austin home options as “stable, low-cost and ‘homey.’” Our fair city’s steady appreciation in pricing was attributed to a rebounding tech industry, the stabilizing influence of the state government and the ongoing influx of fresh talent via the university system. Although concerns persist of a continued decline in home values nationwide, Austin looks prepared to stay on track as one of America’s best places to live.

We couldn’t agree more. As experts with strong experience in the Austin residential real estate market, we repeatedly see people arriving from across the country, first impressed with the area’s vibrant cultural scene, then amazed at just how much house one can get in Austin. The diversity of vibrant neighborhoods close to great attractions (downtown, the lakes or the Hill Country) gives people a great array of choices and a quality of life that’s hard to beat anywhere else. If you’re ready to get your own home in Austin, check out all homes for sale in Austin at our Austin Home Search tool or the realtors at Great Austin Properties at 512.600.1800.

From the AUSTIN REALTOR, February 2007. Published by the Austin Board of REALTORS

Austin Home Sales Show Steady Growth in 2006
Single-family home sales in December were higher than during the same period in 2005, capping another record year for the Austin-area housing market. Certain parts of the Austin metropolitan proved especially popular with buyers in 2006. Houses in Areas N and SW, which respectively border Hays and Williamson counties, sold particularly quickly. Homes in Area N decreased their average time on the market by 20 days, while the amount of time those in Area SW sat on the market dropped by 21 days.Hays County also posted notable gains, with Area HH’s record 1,125 home sales besting the previous year by 236. Average days on market for these homes was 69 days in 2006, a decrease of 8 days from 2005. 

Article published in Feb 2007 AUSTIN REALTOR, a publication of the Austin Board of REALTORS.

Economists Expect Healthy Market in 2007
The Local View
While the national real estate market suffered a downturn in 2006, single-family home sales in Central Texas remained strong, posting record numbers throughout the year. More homes were sold in the Austin-area during the first two quarters of 2006 than in the first six months of any other year. Between January and June, 13 percent more single-family homes were sold than in the first half of 2005. March marked the first recordbreaking month in 2006, a trend that continued through the end of the year. The 2,373 singlefamily homes sold in March remained on the market for an average of 68 days, which is 18 percent less time than in March 2005.In the second quarter more records were broken, with the number of single-family homes sold in June up 21 percent from the previous June. The total dollar volume of these sales increased 36 percent from one year ago.The fourth quarter of 2006 solidified the year’s record-breaking routine. The median price of single- family homes set a record for October. At $175,000, it was up 9 percent from the same period in 2005.

The Austin Board of Realtors reported another record year for single family home sales with a 10% increase in number sold for 2006 as compared to 2005, and a 6% median price increase to $174,500 at the end of 2006.
See all Austin Homes For Sale at Austin Home Listings.com.

The latest MLS report from the Austin Board of REALTORS indicates that the Austin real estate market continued to grow at a record pace in Nov 2006. Single family home sales increased six percent from one year ago, a record for the period. The median price for single family homes in the Austin area was $175,000, a 3% increase from last November. The $454,953,216 these sales contributed to the local economy reflects a 12% increase from last year. Current active listings increased by 3%, while new listings decreased by 3%.

This is what is known as a Seller’s Market. Plain and simple, seller’s are in better position to sell their home today than almost any other time in Austin’s history.  You may have heard that the nation is experiencing a housing slow down. Why is Austin different?  Well for one, the Austin housing market was hit pretty hard by the dot.com tech bust in 2000 which caused homes to drop significantly in value in a very short time period. In the subsequent years, the Austin housing market was slower to make a “come back” than other areas around the nation. So while cities on both coasts were experiencing one of the most rapid increases in home prices from 2002 – 2005, Austin housing price increases were much more moderate. Fast forward to 2006 and it appears that we have caught up the nation in the ‘mad dash’ run up in prices.  Are we now at the top and headed towards correction in Austin? No one knows for sure, but the economic indicators continue to point towards another banner year in 2007.  Attached below is a link to the City’s short term economic forecast.  In summary, the city economists are saying the following…

• All aggregate indicators of the Austin economy are very positive at this point – job growth, tax revenue, retail sales, building activity, etc. 

• Virtually every sector is growing, with the exception of manufacturing – should change in the near future. 

• In-migration and economic recovery have combined to create record levels of activity –reminiscent of several past booms.    

• Real estate and construction are especially hot…      

 Source: www.ci.austin.tx.us/budget/06-07/downloads/20060427_budgetpres_2007_forecast_realestate.pdf