From the category archives:

Sales Market

Pre-Marketing a Listing Can Result in Quick Offers

February 7, 2010

When should a listing go “on the market”, and what constitutes being on the market? Often we’ll take a new listing with the understanding that it won’t be placed into the Austin MLS until the pre-sale checklist is complete. That checklist includes preparation that the seller needs to complete so that the home can be [...]

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Austin Real Estate Market Update – December 2009

January 25, 2010

The Austin real estate market ended 2009 on an up note, with both average and median sold prices up more than 5% over Dec 2008. Oh, but wait … December 2008 was a dismal month because we all still thought the financial world was falling off a cliff. But the stats are what they are [...]

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Austin Real Estate Market Update – Nov 2009

January 5, 2010

Maybe I should start terming my Austin real estate market update blogs “Austin Real Estate Market, as Influenced by the Federal Government”. Indeed, the word “market” does need an asterisk next to it for the Sept-Nov time frame in Austin. Instead of taking its natural course, whatever that might have been, the lower end of [...]

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Austin Real Estate Market Update – Oct 2009 Stats

November 16, 2009

October saw a huge 31% increase in the number of sales in Austin over the same month last year. Remember though, Oct 2008 took a 28% dip from the year prior, so while this October did see a good increase in sales volume, due in part to the $8,000 tax credit program, we’re comparing a [...]

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Austin Real Estate Sale Stats by MLS Area – Sept 2009 YTD

November 1, 2009

Austin’s real estate market is a “market of markets”, and thus the overall news reported about real estate activity in the Austin Metro area may or may not be reflective of conditions in the specific area in which you live, or the home you own, or the home you want to buy. Each quarter I [...]

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Austin Real Estate Market Update – Sept 2009 Stats

October 13, 2009

Austin Real Estate sales values for September 2009 are even (up 0.04%) with the same month last year. The number of homes sold is actually up 0.61% from the same month a year ago, no doubt due to a surge in the lower priced homes caused by the $8,000 home buyer tax rebate. More on [...]

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Who is Really Getting the $8,000 Tax Credit in Austin?

October 11, 2009

As the November 30 closing deadline for “first time” home buyers in Austin and across the U.S. approaches, buyers are creating price bubbles in South Austin in the sub-$200K range. Perhaps other areas as well, but I work South Austin mostly so it’s the area with which I’m most familiar. We have one buyer who [...]

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What you need to know vs. what you want to hear

September 30, 2009

If an investor or buyer wants to purchase a home and is ready to write up the offer and move forward, what should a good Realtor do? Unfortunately, many will of course write up the deal immediately and mentally deposit the commission, and perhaps already have it spent. This isn’t the type of Realtor you [...]

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Texas Economic and Real Estate Market Update Sept 2009

September 26, 2009

Here is Texas A&M’s Real Estate Center Chief Economist Mark Dotzour speaking at the TAR Convention in Dallas earlier this month (Sept 2009).
He explains the Texas Economy and real estate market in a funny yet informative way. The video is about 24 minutes long and well worth watching.
<http://recenter.tamu.edu/video/videoPlayer.asp?vid=71>

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Austin Subdivision Smackdown – Circle C vs. Avery Ranch

September 20, 2009

Buyers often want to know which areas of Austin are more likely to hold value and/or appreciate over time. Not just investors, but home owners who want build home equity. My standard answer to this question is usually “stay as close in to Austin’s core (downtown) as you can afford, in neighborhoods that are established [...]

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