Austin Real Estate Market Report for June 2008

May housing statistics are out for Austin and there are no huge surprises unless you’ve had your head too far into national news.  Here in Austin, the housing market remains healthy and numbers are closely relating to those we saw in 2005 — a healthy year in Austin.  Keep in mind that 2006 and most of 2007 was a boom period for Austin, especially in dense areas like downtown and central Austin (Hyde Park, Brentwood, Allandale, Crestview, Rosedale, etc).  Although we currently have 5.7 months of inventory, this is not a sign of a crashing market, only a buyer’s market.

Those who will see the most benefit from our current market conditions are those relocating to Austin.  These buyers can find a great deal in Austin that is likely to appreciate well.

Another group that can do well in today’s market is the move-up buyer group.  If you are moving from a lower-valued home into a higher-valued one, you can reap the benefits of this rare buyer’s market in Austin.  Just be sure to take into consideration the amount of time and effort that will go into selling the home that you are moving out of.  It may take longer than expected to sell your home so be sure that you can afford both mortgages before you buy your new home.  And if you expect to bring in top-dollar, realize that in many areas of Austin, especially suburbs like Round Rock, there is a large amount of inventory.  That means more competition for your listing.  You’ve seen it on shows like HGTV’s “Designed to Sell,” homes that are prepared for sale get much more attention.  I recommend hiring help if doing it yourself is overwhelming.

Overall, there is no reason to panic over what the media is feeding you.  It is rare that Austin sees a buyer’s market, so take advantage if you are considering an investment in Austin’s real estate or even a second home as deals on new condo developments become easier to find.

As always, these statistics can be found in more detail at http://liveaustinrealestate.com/statistics

These statistics are from the Texas A&M Real Estate Center and include more comprehensive data than the Austin Board of Realtors MLS system.  If you have any questions, call or email!

Tags: austin real estate, statistics by Aria
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If things are so rough right now, why is it that my investors are still having trouble finding reasonably priced real estate in Austin? 2008 is moving more slowly than 2007 and 2006. 2006 was our boom year which trickled into 2007. We’re still ahead of where we were 5 years ago. Here’s what Austin’s real estate statistics are looking like now that the April statistics are out. All data is from the Texas A&M Real Estate Center which I find includes more data than the Austin Board of Realtors.

2003 - Strong Buyer’s Market
2004 - Buyer’s Market
2005 - Neutral to Seller’s Market
2006 - Strong Seller’s Market
2007 - Seller’s Market to Neutral
2008 - Began Neutral, headed into a Buyer’s Market

Any surprises?

Tags: statistics by Aria
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Renters have a different view of real estate economy than homeowners.

Source: PEW Research Center

It seems that renters are much more pessimistic about rising home prices. I’m not sure of the participants in this study were planning on buying a home in the near future, but this study does show something interesting about how you see the market when you own property versus when your at the mercy of a landlord.

More renters believe home prices are rising.

Are they pessimistic about their buying power? They may be feeling left out of the prosperity homeowners found during the boom years leading up to our current conditions.

Renters aren’t worried about the housing economy.

Renters expect prices to climb more than homeowners do. So why aren’t they buying? First-time home-buyers are seeing harder times with mortgage woes. It takes some patience and hard work to get a home loan, and perhaps renters aren’t willing to go through with it.

Americans are not optimistic about the economy.

Source: PEW Research Center

Yet this study is extremely interesting. We saw some of the greatest appreciations in Austin real estate in 2006. Many people sold out to collect their equity while late-comers created a building and flipping surge, especially in central Austin real estate. 2007 was much slower than 2006, especially in the last two quarters. Yet, the number of those who believe the economy is in poor shape has not increased as dramatically as I would expect. I think this shows how pessimistic people are about the economy anyway. We live in a fairly prosperous country and Austin has a steady growth rate which leads to steady real estate prices, yet I would expect similar numbers on a local study based on the fears and questions I receive.

Is this thing on?

I still wonder if anyone can actually hear me. Don’t be afraid to buy. We are currently in a RARE buyer’s market here in the Austin real estate market and at the same time, interest rates are at HISTORIC lows. I’m shopping for real estate in Austin now so don’t blame me if you don’t get in on this buyer’s market! Get your head out of that national news paper, turn off CNN, and get real. We’ve seen studies showing that people think the bottom is falling out of the American economy for years and it hasn’t. In fact, the primary reason for the housing slowdown and the buyer’s market here in Austin is the attitudes of people, not actual economic fact. Now that sellers are getting real, take a chance and think about investing in Austin’s real estate market. I’ll show you how!

Tags: austin real estate, buyers, development, economy, finance, hot market, housing, market, market statistics, money, mortgage, real estate, statistics by Aria
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I’m at it with my numbers again! While I was logged into MLS to update my listings, I decided to do a quick search for the most expensive home sale for 2008 to date (as of 4/14/2008). With so much unfounded real estate panic floating around, wouldn’t the rich and famous be weary of making a home purchase right now? Of course not! Those in the know are taking full advantage of this buyer’s market before it turns. And at the rising rate of multiple offers that my office has seen this year, another seller’s market could be just around the corner. Of course, I still recommend buying if you need to move closer to work or find a larger home for your growing family, not as an investor unless you are really up for it. Like buying stocks, real estate goes up and down and it’s best to be in it for the long hall.

Anyway, the most expensive home sold so far this year was listed at $3,800,000 in Northwest Travis County. The sales price was under asking, but I don’t believe in revealing those details! This home was one of two homes to sell for over $3 million so far this year.

5 homes have sold for $2,000,000 to 2,999,999 and 37 have sold from $1,000,000 to $1,999,999 this year alone in the 4.5 months we’ve had so far.

According to my ABOR MLS search, 4858 homes total have sold so far this year by Austin’s Realtors.

Tags: austin real estate, buyers, economy, estates, hot market, housing, info, luxury, market, money, sales, seller, sellers, statistics by Aria
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Austin has been making national headlines lately, and good ones at that. While we hear that the real estate market nation-wide is in a slump, we also keep hearing that Austin’s economy is still strong (even if it is no longer booming). It should be no surprise, then that Austin topped Forbe’s list for big metros.

Check it out!

Of course, if one looks at economic growth in the country’s largest 100 metros, the usual suspects jump to the top of the list. With an estimated 32% GMP growth from 2007-2012, Austin, Texas, is the winner for big metros. Atlanta, Seattle, Orlando, Houston and San Jose, Calif., also appear high on the list. What do they all have in common? They’re tech hubs with proximity to universities and a healthy increase in population. Austin’s population, for example, is expected to increase by nearly 15% by 2012, according to Moody’s Economy.com forecasts.

Once again, Austinites, you live in one of the top cities in the nation. Austin is a great place to live, work, make movies, listen to music, and buy real estate!

Tags: austin, austin real estate, development, facts, hot market, housing, info, living, market, money, planning, real estate, statistics by Aria
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 So what was the real story with Austin’s Real Estate Market?  Is the bottom really going to fall out?  And why hasn’t it yet?  I feel like a broken record sometimes, but the falling prices we keep hearing about on the news are in totally different markets in the east and west coasts.  In these areas, prices flew up by 200, 400, and even 600%.  So it’s really no surprise that home prices have fallen in these markets.  Here in Austin, we’ve stayed smart as always.  Prices consistently rise, on average, 4-6% each year.  What we’re seeing in Austin right now is a slow-down, and after the huge boom we saw that peaked in 2006, it really shouldn’t be a surprise.  Prices were still climbing steadily in this period, but there were many, many more new homes built to meet a rising demand, and do-it-yourself HDTV fans flocked to invest in their own “flip” projects.  At some point in early 2007, supply met demand, but some were still creating supply.  And projects begun late in 2006 still had to be finished before being placed on the market.  Some areas of Austin saw this more than others, and in particular, Central Austin, East Austin, and South Austin saw the biggest booms.  Suburbs saw more production, but not on the scale of these urban areas of Austin.  Now, we’re waiting for demand to catch up with supply.  We are currently in a buyer’s market, but not on the gloom and doom scale of other parts of the country (or even Austin in previous recessions).  If I was thinking of buying a home, I would buy now while deals are good, sellers are willing to negotiate, and the market has some catching up to do.  If I were a seller in this market, I would be ready to be patient, and prep my house to it’s absolute peak, hiring professionals to make sure that everything is at it’s absolute best — the best way to ensure that when a house does sell in your neighborhood, it’s yours.

 I am still confident that there is no reason to panic.  Austin has grown to the point that it can withstand most anything you can throw at it.  We have many, many different industries to sustain us.  There are advantages to out-growing the medium-city way of life and I believe we are seeing it now.  New construction has slowed but is still strong.  The best builders out there will survive and others will move to a different industry.  This is a strong city now!

Keeping you up-to-date,

Aria Schoenfelt McIntosh
http://liveaustinrealestate.com
(512) 771-1776

Tags: austin, austin real estate, building, development, facts, financial planing, hot market, housing, living, market, money, planning, real estate, realtor, sales, savings, statistics by Aria
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The Austin Real Estate Market remains healthy despite the slow-down caused by nervous would-be buyers and investors. The gloom and doom in the news spilling over from other markets does seem to have made for more cautious real estate consumers, but obviously some do understand that real estate markets are local and that the ill symptoms of markets elsewhere were caused by super-booms that Austin did not see.

Austin continues to top investor’s charts as a place to buy because as weird as Austin may be, its real estate market has always remained consistent. Many areas are seeing homes sit on the market longer, but prices continue to rise. The caution caused by the media has surprisingly done something wonderful for Austin: it has slowed or even halted the boom of 2006, which in the long run can prevent any potential crash.

Markets within Austin are localized as well. While area 4 in central Austin remains a hot spot, but all of it’s neighbors are so lucky. Such as been the fate of area 6 in south Austin. Area 6 has a huge inventory compared to this time last year but sales have fallen drastically. Some of this is last year’s boom settling, but the surge of investors and flippers last year has changed this area. Although central Austin saw a similar flock of interest, low-priced properties were already hard to come by.

Keep in mind that the area boundaries have changed for this area! Last September, there were 80 new listings and listings were sitting an average of 51 days on the market. 70 listings sold this time last year at an average price of $437,187. This year, 78 new listings were available in September and 23 sold at an average price of $616,781 with homes sitting on the market an average of 83 days. Area 1B is a perfect example of Austin’s changing market with prices on the rise and sales taking longer.

Tags: austin, market, money, real estate, realtor, sales, statistics by Aria
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