| Home Contact Us Blog | |
|
The Crossland Team
Sylvia Crossland, Broker Steve Crossland, MPM (512) 301-5811 |
-
Featured Listings
Forecast: Austin Real estate boom to continue in 2007
October 26, 2006
From today’s Austin Business Journal email newsletter. The report doesn’t contain info about residential sales and is focued on the commercial side. But as commercial goes so does residential. The new jobs filling the commercial space are the same people moving into Austin and buying homes.
Source: Austin Business Journal
With rents and occupancy rising across different product types and economic indicators pointing toward further population and job growth in Austin, local commercial real estate professionals say the industry’s high times are likely to continue into next year.The Institute of Real Estate Management sponsored its annual forecasting forum today at the Hyatt Regency on Town Lake. A panel of experts from different sectors offered their assessment of the market and their predictions for 2007.
Questions Families Should Ask Before Buying
October 26, 2006
Here is a snippet I got from Realtor Magazine. It’s a pretty good list, but I would add to it “How are the schools in the neighborhood”? Good schools are a very important factor for most families with kids.
Family real estate specialist Elena Thurston, an associate with Keller Williams Realty in Phoenix, tells buyers that while gourmet kitchens are nice, picking a home that meets the whole family’s needs is more important.
Here are the questions she urges her clients to ask about the homes they are considering.
• Is there neighborhood pool or a covered tot lot? Are there walking trails or other safe places to exercise?
• Is the backyard safe for pets and children?
• Is there adequate storage in the garage for lawn care and play equipment?
• Whose bedroom is over the garage? Will you be able to open the garage without waking up the baby?
• Does the garage open into the kitchen for ease with groceries or do you have to trek through the entire house?
• How invasive are the homeowner association’s rules? Will the association allow you to put up a basketball hoop or install a swing set? Where can you park extra cars?
• How far away are the grocery store, post office, bank, park, gas station, and schools?
• Where are the washer and dryer located? Will operating them during naptime or evening hours disturb sleepers?
• Does the area have good Internet access?
• What is the ratio of adults to children and how many older children are there vs. younger ones?
California Home Prices Decline in 8 Counties
October 25, 2006
Why do we care about California Home prices in Texas? A large number of Austin area buyers, especially investors, are from California. Many of these buyers have either cashed out of homes in California and moved to Austin, or they have used equity in California real estate to finance investments in Austin.
This is not to say Austin relies on California buyers to keep our real estate market moving, but there is no doubt that California buyers/investors have affected our market and contributed to the upward swing in prices, especially over the past year. As California slows down, and people start feeling nervous about real estate, that should stem the flow of California Buyers and Investors at least somewhat.
Story is below
Eight counties in California experienced year-over-year home price declines in September, according to DataQuick Information Systems.
Six of the eight counties are in the San Francisco Bay area. Prices in Sonoma County fell the most, at 7.7 percent.
Despite Warnings, Consumers Opt for Riskier Loans
October 24, 2006
Source: The Washington Post, (10/24/06)
Borrowers continue to choose risky nontraditional mortgages, even after state and federal regulators have issued widespread warnings about the unstable and rapidly rising payments associated with this kind of financing.
About 26 percent of mortgage loan originations by dollar volume in the first six months of 2006 were interest-only loans, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Another 13 percent were “option” adjustable-rate loans, which allow customers to pick their payment amount, including a low-cost choice that covers neither the full interest nor the principal.
The loans have been marketed aggressively by lenders to consumers who find them an attractive way to cope with rapidly rising home prices. Payments on the loans can double or even triple as rates adjust and reflect unpaid principal. Most home owners are making only the minimum payments, according to banking data.
Consumer demand is behind the growth in these loans, Doug Duncan, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association, said in a statement. “As expected, consumers respond to changing opportunities in the marketplace, but it looks like these products serve an important need.”
Austin Real Estate Market Update - September 2006 Sales
October 19, 2006
Below are the sales stats for September in Austin, houses only (no condos or townhomes).
The average sales price across all MLS areas in Austin is up 5.89% over September of 2005.
The most important factors in Austin’s real estate market at this time are shrinking inventory and continued strong demand. Overall, Austin has less than a 4 month supply of homes, which is a Seller’s Market. Equalibrium is about 6 months inventory. Of course there are submarkets and neighborhoods in and around Austin that are doing better or worse than the overall average, but we are chugging along at a healthy pace here.
|
August 2006
|
September 2006
|
September 2005
|
Yr % Change
|
|
| # Sold |
2529
|
2150
|
2198
|
-2%
|
| Avg List Price |
$256,508
|
$238,143
|
$226,174
|
+5.3%
|
| Median List Price |
$189,000
|
$174,900
|
$169,000
|
+3%
|
| Avg Sold Price |
$249,472
|
$232,128
|
$219,212
|
+5.89%
|
| Med Sold Price |
$185,000
|
$169,802
|
$164,750
|
+3.1%
|
| Avg Size SQFT |
2144
|
2069
|
2082
|
-0.6%
|
| Median SQFT |
1948
|
1866
|
1887
|
-1%
|
| Avg $ per SQFT |
$116
|
$112
|
$105
|
+6.67%
|
| Avg Days on Mkt |
60
|
57
|
66
|
-13%
|
| Median Days on Mkt |
36
|
37
|
46
|
-20%
|
Below is the breakout by Austin MLS Area.
Read more
Austin “Just Sold” Marketing Allowed to Show List Price Again
October 12, 2006
Austin Realtors may now advertise a sold property’s list price in marketing pieces and on Web sites again. This has been disallowed in recent past, for reasons which I never completely understood or agreed with.
The rule change does require that marketing materials have the words “List Price” next to the list price, lest a member of the public confuse it with the Sold Price. The Sold Price and Sold Price Per Square Foot of particular properties are still not allowed to be disclosed in marketing materials used by Realtors.
Pretty Kitchens not Great Layout
October 10, 2006
When you are looking at new homes for yourself, pay very close attention to the arrangement of the kitchen. Builders know that a beautiful kitchen will sell a house, so they will dress it up to look especially appealing. This beautiful kitchen could be a pain if you are not careful to notice the efficiency of the “work triangle”.
The ideal kitchen has the stove, sink and refrigerator laid out so they are all three no more that 4 steps away from each other. When Steve and I were building the house we live in today, I noticed the plans had the refrigerator too far away from the stove and sink. I quickly penciled in the refrigerator to go in a better location and I enjoy this vital decision every day when I am in the kitchen. My work triangle is a very nice 2 step triangle and meals are easy to prepare!
Another point to consider is countertop work space. You want to have enough counter space so you can chop vegetables and have additional space to prepare at least two items at a time. The chopping area is ideally next to the sink, so it is nice to have counter space next to both sides of the sink. It is also nice to have the countertops at a height that is easy to work with. Some people adjust the height if they are taller or shorter than average people. You may want to think this over carefully especially if you consider resale…but that’s another blog.
Here is a link to Lowe’s website which includes kitchen design and has a bit about the “work triangle” and info about about storage which I didn’t go into.
Sylvia
Austin Rental Market - September 2006 Update
October 7, 2006
Below are the stats for the Austin Rental Market for September 2006 and for 2006 year-to-date.
We are now in the slower rental season in Austin. From September through around March is not the ideal time to rent a home in Austin. It’s not a disaster to have a vacancy during this time frame, but the last time I ran stats for it (about a year ago), a typical home in Austin rents for about $50/mo less and takes an average of 10 days longer to rent in the fall/winter than it does in the spring/summer. You can see the fall-off in averages by looking at the August to September comparison below, as school has started and families and students have already settled in by August. (Renters - you can get better deals this time of year, but you have fewer homes to choose from)
As a landlord in Austin, it’s always best to keep your leases ending in the summer cycle if possible, with move-in date after and before school starts. This isn’t always easy to do. We just rented a home with a 12 month lease because that’s what the tenants really needed. In that case, the renewal would be the time to reset the turnover cycle if they decide to renew after 12 months. Another one we just rented we were able to lease it through June 2008, thus giving the owner a longer occupancy and setting the lease ending date back to a summer cycle. A rent increase was written in at the 12 month point.
The other option when you have vacant rent properties during this time of year is to do a shorter 6 to 9 month lease, but that can result in more than one turnover in a 12 month period, which isn’t good either.
OK, to the stats below. There is virtually no change from September 2005, although it looks like homes are renting a bit faster than this time last year. I sound like a broken record, but the story is the same - we have so much new inventory being supplied by investors that it’s making it hard for rental rates to move up. When investment activity slows down, and supply diminishes relative to demand, rental rates will be able to increase. Homes in Austin still rent for less today, on average, than they they did in 1999.
|
August 2006
|
Sept 2006
|
Sept 2005
|
Yr % Change
|
|
| # Leased |
773
|
606
|
559
|
+8%
|
| Avg List Price |
$1363
|
$1270
|
$1271
|
0%
|
| Median List Price |
$1200
|
$1185
|
$1150
|
-3%
|
| Avg Leased Price |
$1352
|
$1255
|
$1256
|
0%
|
| Med Leased Price |
$1200
|
$1175
|
$1150
|
+2%
|
| Avg Size SQFT |
1887
|
1842
|
1827
|
+1%
|
| Median SQFT |
1753
|
1734
|
1743
|
-1%
|
| Avg $ per SQFT |
$0.72
|
$0.68
|
$0.69
|
-1%
|
| Avg Days on Mkt |
44
|
51
|
57
|
-11%
|
| Median Days on Mkt |
34
|
42
|
47
|
-11%
|
Below is the year-to-date stats for the Austin Rental Market. We are just slightly ahead of last years’ pace, which means we might be at the bottoming out point in this 5 year downward slide in rental rates, but we still have three slow months ahead and a lot of inventory on the market. As of this morning (Oct 7, 2006), there are 1470 single family homes listed for rent in the Austin MLS. We can expect 600 to 700 of those to lease by next month. That’s a lot of unrented homes to roll into next month’s inventory.
Read more
Austin Central Texas new home market stays hot
October 3, 2006
This is from this morning’s Austin American Statesman. Pretty good article overall, with some good info. I was especially interested in the comments about investors inflating the new home sales in Austin. We sell very few brand new homes to Buyers because I worry about exactly what the article mentions, among other things.
My personal test for new home areas is to see how the new home prices compare to resale homes. Unless the new homes are selling for more than the comparable resale homes in the surrounding areas, I wouldn’t purchase there myself unless I planned on remaining for a very long time (5 to 10 years). The reason is that I don’t think it’s a good idea to invest in a home which has a resale value, the day you move in, which is less than you just paid. This, combined with small or zero downpayment loans is how peolpe get into trouble and become “upside down” in the property they own. It’s better, in my opinion, to stick to developed neighborhoods that cannot experience downward pricing pressure from nearby new home neighborhoods.
AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Tuesday, October 03, 2006Austin Central Texas new home market stays hot
Experts raise caution about investor sales.Central Texas continues to buck signs of a cooling housing market seen elsewhere in the country.
Area builders started 4,266 homes in the third quarter, up about 8 percent from the same quarter of 2005, and closed on 4,518: a record, according to Residential Strategies Inc., a Dallas-based firm that tracks new home activity.
Thanks to strong job growth and moderating mortgage rates, Austin’s housing market has been healthy all year. In contrast, markets are cooling rapidly in many other parts of the country.
“It seems to be the rest of the nation is doing poorly, and we tend to go against that,” said Mark Sprague, Austin partner with Residential Strategies.