July 2006

Austin Housing Starts Are Up

July 31, 2006

Austin continues its counter-cyclical real estate market. While National News is about increasing inventories, slower new home starts and slumping prices, we continue to march ahead with a very robust real estate market. This news clip below is from today’s Austin Business Journal. Source: Austin Business Journal Housing starts in the Austin market increased 24 [...]

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Overpriced Listings and Discount Brokers

July 31, 2006

I’ve encountered this scenario on repeated occasions now. My Buyer is interested in an over-priced listing. It’s WAY over-priced – by about $20 per square foot, or about 15%. I am unable to find sales comps that even come close to justifying the list price, but my Buyer likes the place so I try to [...]

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More About Austin Discount Realtors and How Commissions Work

July 27, 2006

Sylvia received a call today from an Austin home owner she met with last week. He called to thank her for coming out to discuss selling his house, and told her he has decided to go with another agent – one who is going to list the home for a 1% commission and offer a [...]

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The Discount Realtor Debate

July 27, 2006

Below is an article I saw on CNN/Money. The debate is whether Realtors fix commissions and lobby for laws that make it harder for Discount Brokers to offer services. I’m not happy to see politicians involved in this debate. It is humorous that politicians, who perform shameful funny-business with money more than any other class [...]

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Realtor Ethics, Dilemmas and Screw-ups

July 26, 2006

When representing a Buyer or a Seller in a real estate transaction, REALTORS® must, among other things, abide by the Realtor Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. Article I of the code begins with: “When representing a buyer, seller, landlord, tenant, or other client as an agent, REALTORS® pledge themselves to protect and promote [...]

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Staging an Austin Home for Sale – Sylvia’s Tips

July 21, 2006

In the mid-1980’s I worked as an Interior Designer. Every once in awhile I run into designers I knew when I was in that business. Last week I decided to add a few window treatments to my home and called a designer that was referred to me by a sales agent at a model home. [...]

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Austin Family Restaurants and Men Fighting in Underwear

July 20, 2006

My oldest daughter and I were out running errands a few days ago and decided to stop and eat dinner at the Green Mesquite restaurant in Oak Hill, near our home. Green Mesquite has always been a good place to grab a quick meal, and we’ve eaten there as a family many times over the [...]

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Aggie Real Estate Expert Shares His Thoughts

July 20, 2006

Source: The Dallas Morning News, 07/19/06 Mark Dotzour, chief economist at the Texas A&M Real Estate Center, is celebrating his 10th year on the job. Here are two of his opinions on the real estate market: On housing appreciation: “The average rate of annual appreciation nationwide is still running at 12 1/2 percent. It’s unbelievable [...]

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Real Estate Speculation vs. Investing – Does Cash Flow Matter?

July 19, 2006

There is debate among real estate investors regarding the difference between “Investing” and “Speculating” in real estate. Generally, the tone and context in which the word “speculation” is used tends to be negative. i.e. “That’s not investing in real estate, it’s {sneer – with furrowed eyebrow and spittle flying from lips} SPECULATING in real estate”. [...]

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Austin Homes Sales Continue Rise in June

July 19, 2006

Austin Residential Home Sales continue to be very strong. The number of homes sold increased 21% from 2,462 last June to 2,980 June 2006. At the same time, the number of active listings fell 2% from 8,637 to 8,477. The number of Pending Sales in June is up 31% from a year ago, from 2,506 [...]

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