Austin real estate prices are still not exactly on fire. But they are rising and inventory is shrinking while the number sales increase. This is a recipe for better appreciation, but as the report below outlines, Austin is still seeing modest real estate price gains relative to other parts of Texas and the U.S.
Month: August 2005
No Signs of a Slowdown in Real Estate
Reported by Realtor.org NAR Chief Economist David Lereah expects U. S. home sales to hit another record high in 2005, with price gains slower, but still above historical norms. Mortgage rates will reach 6.1 percent by the end of the year and move to 6.5 percent by 2006, still an historical low. “Relative to inflation, … Read more
Wall Street Journal delivers scathing attack on Real Estate commissions.
A recent Wall Street Journal Editorial (entire text below) takes Realtors to task for what the WSJ claims is “a price-fixing scheme” made possible by bad politics and a protectionist Realtor industry.
The article claims that commissions should be much lower than those that consumers currently pay in the US. Are consumers trapped in a locked pricing scheme as the WSJ suggests? Well, last time I checked, Discount Brokers are an ever-growing segment of the real estate services industry, and real estate consumers have more choices than ever with regard to the level of service and fee structures available when buying and selling real estate.
Always Have Your New Builder Home Inspected, Always!
This morning I met with the Buyer’s inspector and Builder’s rep at a new home being purchased by one of my out of state buyers. I strongly believe that it’s always a good idea to have your new builder home inspected before closing, and I would never let one of my buyers make the mistake of simply trusting the new home builder to deliver a properly built home.
South Austin Area 10 Prices Rising, Finally
Austin Area 10 (South Austin) is finally starting to see price increases after 3 flat years.
Today one of my investors closed on a home in South Austin. The sales price was exactly the same price the sellers paid when they purchased the home in 2002. This made me wonder if South Austin real estate prices were still flat across the board, as this sale would suggest, or if there were signs that the market may be starting to improve. I suspected this sale was not an anomaly, but wanted to look at some actual Austin MLS sales stats to confirm. Read further to find out what I learned.
Investor Says Austin in Top 5 of places to Invest in Rentals.
Reading this week’s Austin Business Journal (Aug 5-11, 2005, Vol 25, Num 20), there was an article “Colonial investing $87M in Austin”.
Often, when talking to investors as well as regular buyers and sellers in Austin, I am asked questions about the Austin economy and the Austin real estate market. My response will usually start with something like “well, based on everything I’ve been reading, hearing and seeing…” This ABJ story is an example of the “everything I’ve been reading” category.