Welcome to the GoodLife! you have just found the most comprehensive internet-based real estate business with the most real estate savvy and service-oriented real estate agents in Austin.
KXAN reporter Catenya McHenry called the Goodlife team to get an update on the Austin housing market, and ended up talking to Senior Associate and Agent Jack Miller, and to Sue Kasun, a Goodlife team client, about the Austin market.
Our Friends are Guessing. One is Winning. Wine is Flowing
How many homes will sell in May? If your guess is closest to the actual sales, our friends atUncorked will give you a free bottle of wine to enjoy on their expansive outdoor patio. Submit your guess in the comments section below to win.
Single Family Monthly Graphs
2005, 2008, 2009….all have one thing in common: They posted lower sales in April than 2010. Preliminary results showed the number of single family homes to be around 1,875…but once Realtors finally input all their sales into the Austin MLS, we ended up with over 2,000 sales in April. This is a 31% increase over last year’s number of 1,579 sales. While the average prices remain steady, sales are skyrocketing. And inventory of homes available for sale are doing the same.
Keep reading for the written Wise Assessment and/or listen to our interpretations on our latest VLOG:
Overall Market Summary Report
Property Type
Sales
% Change Year Ago
Dollar Volume
% Change Year Ago
Average Price
% Change Year Ago
Single Family
2,043
31%
$485,772,282
33%
$237,774
2%
Townhouse/Condominium
213
63%
$37,395,771
64%
$175,567
1%
Farm/Ranches
37
118%
$11,300,059
261%
$305,407
66%
Multifamily
45
10%
$8,671,140
4%
$192,692
-6%
Lots
103
26%
$12,388,737
47%
$120,279
17%
Commercial
25
79%
$10,911,525
115%
$436,461
20%
Lease
1,173
14%
$1,543,668
14%
$1,316
0%
Commercial Lease
14
27%
$22,386
85%
$1,599
45%
The Wise Assessment
This is all great data, graphs and information, but what does it really mean? Upon deeper investigation, over 1,400 of the 2,043 sales (69% of sales) were for homes under $250,000. While it would be easy to attribute all these sales to the government’s tax credit….even further investigation is required. For example, in April of 2009, exactly 69.9% of sales were for homes under $250,000. So, if we cannot attribute these sales to the tax credit, what happened, and what does this MEAN to you?
SELLERS: Sales are surging, but so are the number of homes coming on the market on a daily basis. Sure, it is great to see that more homes are selling, faster, and for dollar amounts closer to the asking price. But, if you do not have a superior product to compete with in the market, your outcome will not be any better than it was last year. If you do not have a professional sales and marketing firm to promote your property, you likely will experience the same. And ultimately, if your home is overpriced, you may not have anyone show the home; if they do, prepare yourself for significant low-ball offers.
Interested in avoiding these pitfalls?
Find a great contractor – If there are improvements or repairs that need to be made to your home to compete…complete them before you put your home up for sale
Hire a professional stager – Ever walk into a model house and feel right at home? The builder hired a professional stager, and you should too!
Price competitively - ever wonder why homes sell in a few days, often for more than asking price? The home was priced correctly the very first day it went on the market.
Promote aggressively - Intercept buyers where they begin looking for homes, and give them what they want ~ great photos, and lots of them!
BUYERS: There are more homes available for your discerning tastes now than there have been since 2008. However, there is more competition for these homes now. So what? What do you do now?
Get pre-qualified with a COMPETENT Mortgage Bank – Make sure that your mortgage professional is tied directly to a bank. And please, save yourself unexpected costs, delays in closing, and major breakdowns ~ hire a local mortgage banker!
Hire a knowledgeable buyer’s agent - Make sure that your agent is knowledgeable in the area of town that you are interested in. If they specialize in Manor, they may not know Cedar Park.
Get educated - Ask your agent lots of questions. Not sure what to ask? Click here to get some great questions.
Average Sales Price
Yup, this is boring stuff. Average sales prices are remaining steady while Inventory and Sales are having a party. Let’s move away from this steady dud to the exciting stuff!
Sales Closed by Month (Demand)
Jack Miller, our Chief Technology Officer at The GoodLife Team predicted a total number of 2,100 sales for April (he made that projection in March). I really thought he was going to be off by a couple of hundred sales. I was wrong and he almost nailed it! A total of 2,043 single family homes sold in Austin last month. As noted above, this can easily be explained (erroneously) by giving all the credit to the governmentally-induced incentives. However, that is not the case. So, what is causing this increase in sales?
Perhaps the continued offer of historically-low interest rates, the continued affordability of homes in Austin, and the fact that unemployment is falling (locally) is contributing to the sales. Let’s face it, Austin: we have a great city, a strong economy, strong workforce, low unemployment (6.8%), and a great climate to enjoy. Don’t believe my claims about unemployment? No worries:
Active Listings (Supply)
Wow. I personally had 8 listing appointments this week alone (sellers meeting with me wanting us to market and sell their homes). And believe it or not, this is becoming a more common occurrence. While this is traditionally our busiest listing season, we are experiencing a spike in seller activitiy. Why is this?
In my meetings with our clients, they mostly share the same with me: they are selling a less expensive home and moving up to a more expensive or larger home. They notice that rates remain very low, prices are steady, and they want to take advantage of the perfect opportunity to move up. By getting a lower interest rate, they quite often can get a much better home with a slightly higher payment. Kind of reminds me of Krisstina’s Here Come Higher Interest Rates article.
Offers of Help
What Is My Home Worth? Want to get a good idea of what your home is worth … and find out right now online? Check out our Market Snapshot for an analysis of the value of your home.
What Is That Home Worth? “Stop the car, honey … look at that house. I wonder what it’s worth?!?” Does this ever happen to you? Ever wonder what that house is worth? Find out now What That Home Is Worth.
What do I need to know before I sell? Typically when a home does not sell, there is one reason…and it isn’t price. We invite you to look at several key factors to consider before selling your home. Visit One Reason for more information.
BTW, We do have very specific data for every price range and area of town. Want specific data pertaining to your neighborhood or your own home? We have it! Please let us know if you would like a neighborhood-specific analysis by emailing us at experience@goodlifeteam.com or calling us at 512.892.9473.
The data provided to create these graphs are available to you by FREE subscription to our monthly update service. Please email us experience@goodlifeteam.com to receive your monthly update. Or, catch the wave and follow @GoodLifeTeam on Twitter.
Red Wine and The Austin Real Estate Stats ~ Pull Up A Glass
Single Family Monthly Graphs
Note to readers: The Wise Assessment is posted every month. We post our stats later than other real estate companies because we want the most accurate numbers available…and this makes them worth waiting for! Other agents simply copy and paste graphs that they get from other sources and offer no opinions to the marketplace conditions. We track data in house and compare the market on a whole to what we produce internally in order to produce an opinion of the data and give our thoughts of what we are personally experiencing as a top company in Austin.
Keep reading for the written Wise Assessment and/or listen to our interpretations on our latest VLOG:
Sales are up…way up over January. How many homes will sell in April? If your guess is closest to the actual sales, our friends at Uncorked will give you a free bottle of wine to enjoy on their expansive outdoor patio. Submit your guess in the comments section below to win.
Overall Market Summary Report
Property Type
Sales
% Change Year Ago
Dollar Volume
% Change Year Ago
Average Price
% Change Year Ago
Single Family
1,145
4%
$279,778,460
5%
$244,348
1%
Townhouse/Condominium
131
52%
$20,219,064
38%
$154,344
-10%
Farm/Ranches
32
33%
$7,067,424
-29%
$220,857
-47%
Multifamily
28
12%
$5,745,488
24%
$205,196
10%
Lots
90
20%
$12,426,030
89%
$138,067
57%
Commercial
13
8%
$3,216,772
-16%
$247,444
-23%
Lease
1,086
11%
$1,308,630
9%
$1,205
-1%
Commercial Lease
14
27%
$19,236
58%
$1,374
24%
The Wise Assessment
SELLERS: The weather is gorgeous, the flora is gaining color, and Austin is beautiful. As conditions in Austin continue to improve in the spring, so does the street appeal of most homes…and more and more homeowners put their homes up for sale. As this inventory of homes on the market increases, so does the competition to sell the homes. What this means to you is this: if you are planning on selling your home, you must prepare it to compete with all the other 9,855 homes on the market. Here are some tips to compete in today’s market:
Find a great contractor – If there are improvements or repairs that need to be made to your home…complete them before you put your home up for sale
Hire a professional stager – Ever walk into a model house and feel right at home? The builder hired a professional stager, and you should too!
Price competitively - Ever wonder why homes sell in a few days, often for more than asking price? The home was priced correctly the very first day it went on the market.
Promote aggressively - Intercept buyers where they begin looking for homes, and give them what they want ~ great photos, and lots of them!
Is This A Good Time To Sell? We are meeting with clients on a daily basis who are asking this specific question. Following is a general rule of thumb to help you determine if now is a good time for you to sell:
Move-up: if you are selling a home and looking to ‘move-up’ or buy a more expensive home, the very best time to do this is when the market is down (like now)
Move-down: if you are selling a home and looking to ‘move-down’ or buy a less expensive home, the very best time to do this is when the market is hot (not now)
While this is a good general rule to follow, your specific circumstances and needs must be considered before making a decision.
The Average Sales Price in Austin continues to hover in the $245,000 range, and barring any outliers (homes selling for $50,000 or $10M), we anticipate the average sales price to remain steady and track the past years’ graphs.
Sales Closed by Month (Demand)
Hmmm…anyone else out there see a trend with the First Quarter’s sales? If the GoodLife Team’s sales for April are indicative of what is happing city-wide in the market, we anticipate another great spike in activity for the coming month.
In January there were just 853 single family homes sold in all of Austin, compared to over 1,625 homes sold in March. Anyone want to predict how many homes will be sold in April? We will provide a free bottle of wine at Uncorked to you if your guess is closest…post your guess in the remarks below.
Active Listings (Supply)
Have you noticed all the real estate signs popping up around town? The number of homes on the market has increased from 8,500 to almost 10,000 in just 3 months. As noted above, this is a cyclical trend that we anticipate every year in the industry. In fact, I wrote in December, “We are anticipating the inventory to increase drastically in early 2010, as the graph reflects for the previous years, so be on the look out for a greater number of homes on the market in the coming months.” Do not be surprised to see this number increase even more in the next 3 months, and may very well track last year’s bell curve.
Offers of Help
What Is My Home Worth? Want to get a good idea of what your home is worth … and find out right now online? Check out our Market Snapshot for an analysis of the value of your home.
What Is That Home Worth? “Stop the car, honey … look at that house. I wonder what it’s worth?!?” Does this ever happen to you? Ever wonder what that house is worth? Find out now What That Home Is Worth.
What do I need to know before I sell? Typically when a home does not sell, there is one reason…and it isn’t price. We invite you to look at several key factors to consider before selling your home. Visit One Reason for more information.
BTW, We do have very specific data for every price range and area of town. Want specific data pertaining to your neighborhood or your own home? We have it! Please let us know if you would like a neighborhood-specific analysis by emailing us at experience@goodlifeteam.com or calling us at 512.892.9473.
The data provided to create these graphs are available to you by FREE subscription to our monthly update service. Please email us experience@goodlifeteam.com to receive your monthly update. Or, catch the wave and follow @GoodLifeTeam on Twitter.
Austin Real Estate Statistics – Is The Market Turning?!
Single Family Monthly Graphs
Note to readers: The Wise Assessment is posted on the first day of every month. We post our stats later that other real estate companies because we want the most accurate numbers available…and this makes them worth waiting for! Other agents simply copy and paste graphs that they get from other sources and offer no opinions to the marketplace conditions. We track data in house and compare the market on a whole to what we produce internally in order to produce an opinion of the data and give our thoughts of what we are personally experiencing as a top company in Austin.
Keep reading for the written Wise Assessment and/or listen to our interpretations on our latest VLOG:
Overall Market Summary Report
Property Type
Sales
% Change Year Ago
Dollar Volume
% Change Year Ago
Average Price
% Change Year Ago
Single Family
1,823
38%
$434,975,092
35%
$238,604
-2%
Townhouse/Condo
170
39%
$31,440,310
30%
$184,943
-6%
Farm/Ranches
21
-30%
$5,624,976
-47%
$267,856
-24%
Multifamily
36
0%
$6,633,108
1%
$184,253
1%
Lots
86
-30%
$9,973,936
-51%
$115,976
-30%
Commercial
15
-25%
$5,370,900
-53%
$358,060
-37%
Lease
1,080
1%
$1,362,960
1%
$1,262
0%
Commercial Lease
13
18%
$103,545
217%
$7,965
168%
The Wise Assessment
SELLERS: Supply (Active Listings) is decreasing, at a much slower rate than in recent months/years, and sales are increasing at an unprecedented rate – we are rapidly approaching the sales levels of the ‘good ole days’ of 2005 and 2006. With all else being equal, these two indicators suggest that sales price should also increase (demand increases, supply decreases, and price must increase). However, we have experienced yet another monthly fall in prices … why? What force would cause the fundamental laws of economics to seemingly betray itself?? One force that we have been studying is the influx of first-time home buyers in the market due to three specific factors:
Interest rates – rates remain extremely low which allows otherwise unqualified buyers to purchase homes in this market
Prices – prices are extremely affordable and lower than they have been in years
$8,000 tax credit – the governmental intervention and tax credit has incentivized buyers and made it possible for some buyers to have the necessary cash funds to purchase homes
With more and more buyers entering the market because of the extended and expanded tax credit, demand continues to increase … and supply is still on the decline. What this means is that there are MORE buyers wanting homes and LESS homes to choose from, reducing the amount of competition. If you have been thinking about selling your home, now might just be the best time.
NOTE: While this is great news for most of our sellers, we must also keep in mind that the overall market is still down over the past few years. So, if you bought your Austin home in the past few years and are selling it today, your home is most likely worth less than what you paid for it – not worth more. That means you will not be selling for a profit but for a loss. To learn more about pricing your home, read Krisstina’s article, “Are You Still Living In A Bubble“.
What Is My Austin Home Worth? Want to get a good idea of what your home is worth … and find out right now online? Check out our Market Snapshot for an analysis of the value of your home.
BUYERS: Interest rates have just taken another dip, sales prices remain low, and this means that your mortgage payments will be lower now than in the past. Buyers should definitely take heed of the message above to sellers: there are more buyers looking to buy fewer homes. What this means to you is that you must be pre-approved with a mortgage banker before you start looking for homes and be prepared to write an offer. Homes are staying on the market for shorter durations and we are experiencing many multiple offers on our most desired Austin homes for sale. Need an accomplished and trusted mortgage banker to help find you a loan? Contact us to get in touch with Kristin Carroll, our partner in the home lending business.
“Stop the car, honey … look at that house. I wonder what it’s worth?!?” Does this ever happen to you? Ever wonder what that house is worth? Find out now What That Home Is Worth.
Property Virgins (aka First-time Homebuyers): Did you miss the great opportunity to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit? GREAT NEWS: The tax credit has been extended … so you didn’t miss this unique opportunity to take advantage of your very own stimulus package! Want to learn more about the extension and what it means to you? Read Krisstina’s article about The First Time Home Buyer Extension or click here to chat online with one of our specialists now.
Sales Closed by Month (Demand)
This has never happened … at least in the 12 years I have been in real estate. We are living in a time that sales are increasing in the fall; historically we see the sharpest decline of sales all year during this time. As noted above, there are 3 factors we are attributing to this:
Interest rates – rates remain extremely low and allow otherwise unqualified buyers to purchase homes in this market
Prices – prices are extremely affordable and lower than they have been in years
$8,000 tax credit – the governmental intervention and tax credit has incentivized buyers and made it possible for some buyers to have the necessary cash funds to purchase homes
Active Listings (Supply)
We are entering a season when demand for homes traditionally decline to an annual low, so sellers decide to wait for spring to put their home on the market. However, sales are way up. Inventory is being absorbed at an increasing rate by the increase of buyers in the market. Supply is declining. If you are thinking of selling in the next 12 months, you may want to consider now as a perfect time to put your Austin home on the market. You will have less competition and more demand. That being said, you will still want to obtain expert help from a qualified real estate professional who can design a thorough strategy to get you the most amount of money in the least amount of time.
Average Sales Price
If we worked and lived in a vacuum where there was only one product, current supply and demand would force the sales price to increase. However, since we have a very broad range of product (low-income housing to lakefront mansions) the rate of sale of the different products affects the average sales price. Since we have had a government incentive for first time homebuyers, lower priced homes have sold very rapidly this fall. Because of this, the average sales price has declined.
In fact, last month we sold 3 homes for full price with multiple offers…before they ever hit the market! Interestingly, they all were between $150,000 and $225,000.
BTW, We do have very specific data for every price range and area of town. Want specific data pertaining to your neighborhood or your own home? We have it! Please let us know if you would like a neighborhood-specific analysis by emailing us at experience@goodlifeteam.com or calling us at 512.892.9473.
Simple Summary
Want to sell your house more quickly than your competitor?
Get really good help from proven professionals
and
Price your house accordingly.
The data provided to create these graphs are available to you by FREE subscription to our monthly update service. Please email us experience@goodlifeteam.com to receive your monthly update. Or, catch the wave and follow @GoodLifeTeam on Twitter.
Note to readers: The Wise Assessment is posted on the first day of every month. We post our stats later than other real estate companies because we want the most accurate numbers available…and this makes them worth waiting for! Other agents simply copy and paste graphs that they get from other sources and offer no opinions to the marketplace conditions. We track data in–house and compare the market on a whole to what we produce internally in order to produce an opinion of the data and give our thoughts of what we are personally experiencing as a top company in Austin.
Keep reading for the written Wise Assessment and/or listen to our interpretations on our latest VLOG:
Single Family Monthly Graphs
Overall Market Summary Report
Property Type
Sales
% Change Year Ago
Dollar Volume
% Change Year Ago
Average Price
% Change Year Ago
Single Family
1,780
6%
$431,530,740
7%
$242,433
0%
Townhouse/Condo
194
24%
$34,920,194
7%
$180,001
-14%
Farm/Ranches
30
-14%
$9,589,800
-51%
$319,660
-43%
Multifamily
30
-32%
$6,468,840
-25%
$215,628
10%
Lots
102
-20%
$8,590,950
-45%
$84,225
-32%
Commercial
11
-52%
$3,390,002
-64%
$308,182
-25%
Lease
1,112
12%
$1,401,120
10%
$1,260
-2%
Commercial Lease
14
40%
$21,812
30%
$1,558
-7%
The Wise Assessment
SELLERS: The supply (Active Listings) continues the seasonal decline but has an additional thrust behind it…demand (Sales) has leveled off and may actually climb next month. As we approach the holidays and the traditional seasonal decline in supply continues, while demand remains the same; we can anticipate the sales price to remain relatively steady or even begin to tick upwards (whereas we traditionally experience a decrease in prices).Are you interested in selling your home right now? Well, we have very good news for you: for the first time all year, the number of sales (demand) is more now than it was just 1 year ago. What this means is that more homes are selling right now than last year, and we are even experiencing very rapid sales cycles (homes are selling quickly) and our sellers are receiving multiple offers on many of our properties within the $125,000 – $250,000 price range. Additionally, if you are selling a home and buying a more expensive home (aka a Move-Up), this is a perfect time to make a move! Read Krisstina’s Housing V conversation for details.While this is great news for most of our sellers, we must also keep in mind that the overall market is still down over the past few years. So, if you bought your Austin home in the past few years and are selling it today, your home is most likely worth less than what you paid for it – not worth more. That means you will not be selling for a profit but for a loss. To learn more about pricing your home, read Krisstina’s article, “Are You Still Living In A Bubble“.What Is My Home Worth? Want to find out now what your home is worth in today’s market? Check out our Market Snapshot.
BUYERS: What are you waiting for? This is NOT a rhetorical question! To buy or not to buy…now THAT is the question! Do I buy just to take advantage of the first-time homebuyer credit, or do I wait for my 401-K to recover fully? Have we hit the bottom yet? These are all great questions and ones that we hear from buyers on a daily basis. While everyone’s specific situation differs and we highly recommend a personal consultation to address your specific concerns, the fact remains that we are in the midst of The Perfect Storm for buying a home. Interest rates and housing prices remain low … and this means that mortgage payments are lower now than they have been in years. What are you waiting for?”Stop the car, honey … look at that house. I wonder what it’s worth?!?” Does this ever happen to you? Ever wonder what that house is worth? Find out now What That Home Is Worth.
Property Virgins (aka First-time Homebuyers): Did you miss the great opportunity to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit? Is that the ONLY reason you would be buying right now? Coupling The Perfect Storm with This Limited Time Offer certainly offered many buyers an opportunity to buy a home when they would have otherwise been confined to living in an apartment. However, there are other ways to gain access to $8,000 through negotiating terms with sellers who are motivated to sell. If you are interested in buying but not quite sure if you can afford to venture into the Storm, call a highly-qualified and accomplished real estate professional to discuss your options. Click here to chat online with one of our specialists now.
Sales Closed by Month (Demand)
Imagine this: it is 108 degrees outside, we are in the middle of one of the worst droughts in history, and you are thinking of buying a house…as long as you don’t have to go outside! I don’t care how much you love your Austin real estate agent or how nice their car is; when it is miserable outside, you do not want to leave the air conditioning. Couple that with an uncertain stock market and doom and gloom in the national media and what you get is a slow summer buying season. Now imagine the weather cooling down, your portfolio recovering, an unprecedented $8,000 tax credit coming to maturity and the national media focusing on balloon boy. And wait, there’s more – interest rates and housing prices remain low. What is the outcome? See the chart above for yourself and you will notice that demand actually increased in September. And if the activity at The GoodLife Team is any indication of the market trend, October will be very strong as well.
Active Listings (Supply)
We are entering a season when demand for homes traditionally decline to an annual low, so sellers decide to wait for spring to put the home on the market. However, sales are up. Inventory is being absorbed at an increasing rate by the increase of buyers in the market. Supply is declining. If you are thinking of selling in the next 12 months, you may want to consider now as a perfect time to put your home on the market. You will have less competition and more demand for your home … just make sure you get expert help from qualified real estate professionals to design a thorough strategy to get the most amount of money in the least amount of time.
Average Sales Price
As the demand for homes in the market has increased and supply continues to decline, the prices of homes, on average, have leveled off. Prices may actually increase if we continue to experience increasing demand and falling supply. In fact, we are beginning to help many sellers navigate their way through multiple offers! What this means is that we are generating so much demand for Austin homes for sale between $125,000 and $250,000 that multiple buyers are submitting offers to purchase the home. … and we are quite often getting our sellers more than our asking price.
Want specific data pertaining to your neighborhood or your own home? We have it! Please let us know if you would like a neighborhood-specific analysis by emailing us at experience@goodlifeteam.com or calling us at 512.892.9473.
Simple Summary
Want to sell your house more quickly than your competitor?
Get really good help from proven professionals
and
Price your house accordingly.
The data provided to create these graphs are available to you by FREE subscription to our monthly update service. Please email us experience@goodlifeteam.com to receive your monthly update. Or, catch the wave and follow @GoodLifeTeam on Twitter.
Note to readers: The Wise Assessment is posted on the first day of every month. We post our stats later than other real estate companies because we want the most accurate numbers available and this makes them worth waiting for! Other agents simply copy and paste graphs that they get from other sources and offer no opinions to the marketplace conditions. We track data in house and compare the market on a whole to what we produce internally in order to produce an opinion of the data and give our thoughts of what we are personally experiencing as a top Austin Real Estate Brokerage.
Keep reading for the written Wise Assessment and/or listen to our interpretations on our latest VLOG:
Single Family Monthly Graphs
This month, I decided to mix things up a bit. I have been receiving a lot of responses via email and phone from readers that they love the stats, but want to look at the pretty pictures first. You ask, you receive. Additionally, I am including an overall market summary report below so you can have a full review of the entire Austin market before we get to my interpretations of the data.
Overall Market Summary Report
Property Type
Sales
% Change
Year Ago
Dollar Volume
% Change
Year Ago
Average Price
% Change
Year Ago
Single Family
1,793
-10%
$437,228,429
-14%
$243,853
-5%
Townhouse/Condo
203
-8%
$33,986,057
-19%
$167,419
-12%
Farm/Ranch
33
-31%
$9,978,111
-32%
$302,367
-1%
Multifamily
25
-40%
$4,637,400
-53%
$185,496
-21%
Lots
105
-14%
$9,792,405
-43%
$93,261
-34%
Commercial
18
-28%
$5,684,778
-40%
$315,821
-16%
Lease
1,703
23%
$2,244,554
21%
$1,318
-2%
Commercial Lease
14
17%
$20,468
58%
$1,462
36%
The Wise Assessment
SELLERS: The supply (Active Listings) is on a seasonal decline right now, which means if you are interested in selling, you will have less competition. However, demand is declining at the same time. If you want to sell, you will need to have the very best house for the money (we call this value) so you can attract the ever-decreasing number of buyers.The good news: if demand and supply are declining at the same rate, prices will not be affected much. Why is this? As supply and demand remain evenly matched, prices will neither rise nor fall…rather, they will stay fairly consistent. So, you can expect to get the same amount of money for your Austin home that you would have last month, but there are fewer buyers looking so it could take longer and you need to be the BEST house in your price range and price to SELL.If you bought your Austin home in the past few years and are selling it today, your home is most likely worth less than what you paid for it – not worth more. Please see the statistics above that show the average sales price is 5% less now than just 1 year ago. That means you will not be selling for a profit but for a loss. To learn more about pricing your home, read Krisstina’s article, “Are You Still Living In A Bubble“.
BUYERS: Is it time to get off the proverbial fence? Is the market stabilizing, and is my investment protected against further declines? Anyone telling you that we have fully recovered and are in the clear must have a magic 8 ball that works better than mine! The only way we will be able to definitively say that we have reached the recovery zone is this: we study history (the past) and make interpretations of what has already happened. We cannot predict the future; otherwise we would all be rich and retired.Has the market rebounded? My assessment is that it is too soon to tell. This in no way should detract you from investigating the purchase of an Austin home today. However, I recommend you either find a really good magic 8 ball (let me know if you find one) or seek professional help from experts in the industry; otherwise you may pay too much for your home.Thinking of buying, but not quite sure if now is a good time? Check out The Perfect Storm by Krisstina Wise in her most recent article, “Here Come Higher Interest Rates“. In a time when interest rates are at a historic low, coupled with very low home prices, we all get to take advantage of low mortgage payments. Please refer to the article for a brief, simple and thorough description of this situation and what it really means to you.
Property Virgins (aka First-time Homebuyers): Time is short, and you must buy now to take advantage of Uncle Sam’s $8,000 tax credit. The deadline to close on your home is November 30…and this means that you must be under contract this week to qualify for this unprecedented stimulus. Interest Rates are Low AND Prices are lower than they have been in years. Do you really think you will find a better time to buy your first home? Click on the link for more Info on This Limited Time Offer from the government.
Sales Closed by Month (Demand)
As you will note from the details of the graph, we are tracking the seasonality of residential real estate sales. Granted, the bold green line is shifted downward, but we continue to track the historical movements of sales, year after year. In June of this year, we experienced a steep incline in the number of transactions which was a launchpad to help us begin tracking very closely to last year’s summer months. Normally I would predict that we will continue to track last year’s sales very closely. However, we have noticed a spike in activity for September and anticipate an unseasonable, atypical number of sales for the month. Look forward to next month to see if we overtake the dark green line from 2008!
Active Listings (Supply)
Currently there are 9,500 homes for sale in Austin. This is 8% less homes than were on the market just 1 year ago. How did that happen, and what does it mean? As you will note from the sales graph, we had a significant increase in sales over the past 3 months which helped absorb our inventory..thereby reducing active listings. Also, there have been fewer homeowners putting their homes on the market this summer (who wanted to sell a house when it was 108 degrees outside, the grass was browner than the dirt of west Texas, and Austinites stayed indoors). But what drove buyers to endure the heat when sellers would have none of it? The Perfect Storm. Interest rates remained low all year, prices have remained low, and mortgage payments are now a fraction of what they would have been just a couple of years ago. Ergo, The Perfect Storm.
Average Sales Price
This graph is the child of the first two graphs I create for you. Prices are driven by supply and demand and are completely predictable. As we noticed the supply remaining relatively flat in May and demand increased, the only outcome that could be produced for pricing is indicated in the graph above: they increased. This fall, if supply continues to fall and demand follows suit, we can anticipate that our average sales price will remain relatively flat. However, if supply of homes for sale level out and demand continues to decline with the seasonality, our average sales price will decline as well. Let’s watch this evolve and study the different possibilities as fall continues to bring better weather and rain for our aquifers!
Want specific data pertaining to your neighborhood? We have it! Please let us know if you would like a neighborhood-specific analysis by emailing us at experience@goodlifeteam.com or calling us at 512.892.9473.
Simple Summary
Want to sell your house more quickly than your competitor?
Get really good help from proven professionals
and
Price your house accordingly.
The data provided to create these graphs are available to you by FREE subscription to our monthly update service. Please email us experience@goodlifeteam.com to receive your monthly update. Or, catch the wave and follow @GoodLifeTeam on Twitter.
In my last blog article I reflected on 2008 and closing out the year. In this article I take a look at what’s going on in the first quarter of 2009. The more I study the graphs that I have produced with the factual data that is supplied by The Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center (bring on the jokes, Longhorns!), the more I am grounded in the assessments that Krisstina (the CEO of our company) continues to make about our real estate market and her projections for the future: the sky still has not fallen, the Austin Real Estate market has not collapsed, and Maru offers the best sushi in town.
The collapse of the Austin real estate market … NOT
I’m reflecting on the past year of stories being told of devastation, doom and gloom, foreclosures, and depression. Perhaps that is the story we hear from California, but the reality I experience in Texas is vastly different than that. As the numbers will show you, we did not experience the massive depreciation in prices in Austin. We did not have 3 homes per block enter foreclosure with the banks. Our homes are not worth 40% less this year than last year. Austin is….not that.
With that, let’s focus on what Austin is. Austin is affected by the global economic situation. Real estate sales prices have fluctuated. Our average sales price in December for residential Austin home sales was $246,761 compared to $251,232 just one year ago….that is a 1.81% decrease in average sales price. There were over 20,000 single family home sales in 2008 compared to 25,184 in 2007. That is a 24% decrease in the number of home sales. We averaged 9,847 homes on the market in any given month compared to 8,647 in 2007. The average number of days to sell a house increased to 72 from 63 in 2007. Sellers were able to sell their homes for 95% of the asking price in 2008 compared to 97% in 2007. (more…)
Have you been listening to the marketplace? What interpretations are you making as a result of coupling to the media rhetoric? ? What do you think is REALLY going on? There is so much speculation about the market, about the ‘right time’ to buy and sell, should we listen to the media to determine what decisions to make regarding our future? I mean, does the media care to report the truth or are they concerned instead with reporting what will increase ratings and advertising dollars? I’m making a distinction here between media and factual-based news. The majority of what comes out of the media is entertainment, especially if it isn’t grounded in facts. Now, entertainment is fine and has it’s place, but not when it comes to making important financial decisions. When I’m making important financial decisions, I find out the facts, track historical data, and make interpretations in the domains in which I am competent … and hire competent professionals to advise me in every other domain. (more…)
“The sky is falling†said the media. “No it is not†said the politicians. “yes it is … no is isn’tâ€. Are you getting sick and tired of the media hype over the economy? I know I am, so I return to what I know best: Austin real estate. And, chicken little, the sky is not falling. Based on the factual numbers that are the current sales, listings, and sales prices, we are in a real estate market in Austin that is adjusting to the economic situation. However, average sales prices are steady (according to the numbers through August), sales are consistently tracking the annual bell curve, and the inventory of listings is beginning to be absorbed. Please take a look at my interpretations of the individual statistical graphs for more detailed assessments.
Overall, Austin is consistent! Here’s the latest news (and guess what….it is the same news that continues to be reported again and again throughout the year): Austin continues to be one of the best places to live in our great nation. Check out the statistics for real estate, the cost of living, low unemployment rates and affordability that are released by independent companies and research firms every week. Whether you are listening to Yahoo!, CNBC, Forbes or the Wall Street Journal, you are likely reading the same conclusions that we are: Austin has risen to the top of every list as the best place to live. (more…)
@LorenSan Still no feedback --still waiting for MLS to approve the feed ... it has been a fun toy for search--but not tied to MLS data in reply to LorenSan3 days ago
@LorenSan Still no feedback --still waiting for MLS to approve the feed ... it has been a fun toy for search--but not tied to MLS data in reply to LorenSan3 days ago
Getting my neck cracked--not sure why I wait so long between appts. Instant relief! (@ Shannan Chiropractic) http://4sq.com/cmYYEO3 days ago