Austin Texas Real Estate Blog

A good friend of mine in California emailed this story to me today.  In yet another vote of confidence for the Austin, Texas real estate market, HousingPredictor.com has ranked Austin #6 on its list of Top 25 Appreciating Markets!

I hadn't actually heard of this site before, but here's the description I found there for their service/research: 

"We examine more than 20 micro market characteristics in each market place, including income levels, employment trends and changes, school enrollment, business trends, regional political influences, real estate sales history and current housing market velocity. The factors are all considered to come up with each local market forecast."

They are predicting that Austin will experience 4.0% appreciation in 2008.  This may prove to be an optimistic estimate, but we did get about 2.0% or so when many other markets around the country were dropping precipitously. 

I was speaking with someone today at lunch about the fact that sales activity was down overall, yet prices went up.  I guess the averages can be a little deceptive sometimes.  Either way, I feel that Austin is poised for great things in the upcoming years.  Here's a recent post that I wrote on this topic:

"How IS the Austin Real Estate Market these days?"

Interestingly, they noted in the article that no one area of the country contained the lion's share of good potential markets.  Rather, they are just sort of spread out across the U.S.  If you are interested in seeing the entire list of the top cities, visit http://www.housingpredictor.com/top2008.html. 

I would love the opportunity to speak with you if you are sincerely considering a move to or from Austin.  Please feel free to give me a call anytime on my cell phone at 512-796-7653 or email me - Jason@austintexashomes.com.  I look forward to hearing from you soon!  You can also search the entire database of available Austin homes at our website, www.austintexashomes.com.   

According to an article released on Forbes.com yesterday, Austin, Texas was named #1 on its list of cities around the U.S. with "Best Bang for the Buck".  Not surprisingly, Texas managed to capture three of the top four spots, with San Antonio and Houston placing third and fourth, respectively.  Dallas was 7th on the list.

The picture to the right shows one of the least affordable areas of town, frankly, but it's a cool shot, and it gives some idea of the natural beauty that we have here.

So what did they use to determine this list?

• Job Growth Projections
• Inflation Rank
• Median Income/Cost of Living Index Rank
• Gas Prices Rank

• Median House Price/Median Household Income Rank

Austin placed first for job growth, and was in the top ten for every category except for inflation.

Here's one great quote from the article:

"Texas, as a whole, is one of the few economies that's performing extremely well because of the energy and technology sectors," says Andrew Gledhill, an economist at Moody's Economy.com.

This is in line with everything that we have told our clients for years.  If Austin is an option or a consideration, there is ample data to back up the soundness of purchasing in this area.  We experienced some appreciation over the past year, despite the fact that many markets around the country have dropped precipitously. 

If you are looking to relocate to a town that allow your dollar to stretch a bit further, maybe you should look at Austin as a great potential option.

I would love the opportunity to speak with you if you are sincerely considering a move to or from Austin.  Please feel free to give me a call anytime on my cell phone at 512-796-7653 or email me - Jason@austintexashomes.com.  I look forward to hearing from you soon!  You can also search the entire database of available Austin homes at our website, www.austintexashomes.com.  

I get asked this question quite a bit.  It comes from friends, acquaintances, clients, potential buyers, sellers, random strangers (well, maybe those those as much).  Everyone wants to know how the market is doing.

Last night, while I was at church, I was speaking to three people who seemed enthralled with my response to the following:

"Jason, how's business for you?  Is it pretty tough right now?"

First, let me explain that I can't bring myself to use an easy canned response with the current economic climate.  When things were truly great, I said so.  Now that things are....well, less great, I have a far longer answer, and it goes something like this:

The market here is okay, but it's not as strong as it was two or three years ago.  We are still making a good living, but not as much money as in 2005 and 2006.  Austin, and Texas in general, have been largely insulated from the serious real estate problems that you hear about, because prices went up at a more normal pace here, rather than skyrocketing.  We never had a "bubble" to pop.  

What I have noticed lately is that the overall national economy is catching up with us, and we have seen less activity because people who want to move here are having trouble selling their homes in other markets around the country, so many times they must rent instead while they wait for the other place to sell.  They have to determine if they can take a loss, and how much loss is acceptable. 

Our local economy is fundamentally strong, however, and prices did increase by about 2% this past year, but with fewer sales.  Whenever the national economy makes a turn, we are poised for some terrific times here in Austin.

If they are still awake at the end of my spiel, they may have questions about their particular circumstance or needs.

If you are thinking of making a move in the Austin real estate market, here are my responses for you:

 IF YOU ARE THINKING OF BUYING A HOME

 I can't remember a time in my own career that has provided better buying conditions.  Inventory is high, interest rates remain relatively low, and many sellers are ready to deal in order to sell their properties.  There are also opportunities to find short sales and foreclosure homes available, and banks will often heavily discount these in order to get them "off the books". 

IF YOU ARE THINKING OF SELLING YOUR HOME

 This is something that is far easier to evaluate on a case-by-case basis, rather than giving you a blanket statement about whether it will work today.  If you have a home that is affordable for most buyers, and it's in good condition, and priced correctly, it will likely sell reasonably quickly.  If your home would be considered expensive, you have a LOT of competition out there, so price is critical.

I would love the opportunity to speak with you if you are sincerely considering a move to or from Austin, please feel free to give me a call anytime on my cell phone at 512-796-7653 or email me - Jason@austintexashomes.com.  I look forward to hearing from you soon!  You can also search the database of Austin homes at our website, www.austintexashomes.com.