Austin Real EstateAustin Real Estate

Jun 15, 2010

Two weeks ago, we discussed the need to seek every advantage possible when selling your home—which includes picking the right real estate agent. You need someone who has a proven plan, with the right support, to get your home sold quickly and for the best price.

And yet, even with the best Realtor on your side, there can still be an overwhelming amount of work left to accomplish when selling your home.

Is it worth your time?


Jun 4, 2010

Spread the word: The hit HGTV show "My First Place" is looking for first-time home buyers in Austin to be featured in upcoming episodes! The show's producers are looking for first-time buyers who can close before the fall.

This should tell you again that Austin is where it's at! If you or someone you know is interested in participating, give us a call at 512-470-2277, and we'll help get the ball rolling.


Jun 1, 2010

At last count, there were nearly 13,000 homes on the market for sale in the Austin area, a number that will likely grow as we continue into the busy summer selling season.

That figure is good news for the real estate industry, because it’s the largest inventory that we’ve seen in two years. It’s also great for home buyers, because they have many properties to choose from.

However, if you happen to be one of those 13,000 home sellers, you probably realize that you need every advantage possible in order to make sure your home actually sells.


May 26, 2010

Austin once again tops a list of economic hot-spots. Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine just identified the 10 best cities for the next decade and put Austin in the #1 spot, noting that these cities are "prosperous, innovative, and they'll generate plenty of jobs, too." As always, this good economic news is good for the long-term Austin real estate market!

"Austin is arguably the the country's best crucible for small business, offering a dozen community programs that form a neural network of business brainpower to help entrepreneurs. Now overlay that net with a dozen venture-capital funds and 20 or so business associations, plus incubators, educational opportunities and networking events. Mix all these elements in what many call a classless society, where hippie communalism coexists with no-nonsense capitalism, and you've got a breeding ground for start-ups.

Don't discount the fun factor: In the self-proclaimed live-music capital of the world, music and business creativity riff off one another. The city's famous South by Southwest festival, where concerts, independent film screenings and emerging technology overlap, is a prime example."


May 21, 2010

The Austin housing market appears to be on a solid upswing, thanks in part to good economic news throughout the U.S. and, particularly, in Central Texas.

Overall April home sales in the Austin area were 2,142, almost matching the numbers for the same month in 2008. It was also the highest number of sales since last summer, which is always a busy season.

Some recent activity is, of course, attributable to the recent federal home buyer tax credits, which expired last month. However, we’ve also seen anecdotal evidence that the local luxury home market is beginning to move again.


May 19, 2010

The Austin real estate market can thank 650+ corporate CEOs who again ranked Texas as the best place to do business. It's no wonder that we continue to see an influx of businesses, jobs, and people moving to town--especially from places like California, which ranked dead last on the list.

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Best and Worst States for Business 2010

More than 600 CEOs rated states on a wide range of criteria from taxation and regulation to workforce quality and living environment, in our sixth annual special report.


May 5, 2010

Good news for the Austin Real Estate market, as what happens nationally affects us here locally as well. The increase in pending home sales is likely somewhat attributable to the federal tax credits that just expired, but we're expecting a strong summer season as well.

Pending home sales increased again in March 2010, affirming that a surge of home sales is unfolding for the spring home buying season, according to the National Association of Realtors®. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in March, rose 5.3% to 102.9 from 97.7 in February, and is 21.1% above March 2009 when it was 85.0; this follows an 8.3% increase in February. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which usually occur with a lag time of one or two months.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said favorable affordability conditions have been working with the tax credit. “Clearly the home buyer tax credit has helped stabilize the market. In the months immediately following the expiration of the tax credit, we expect measurably lower sales,” he said. “Later in the second half of the year, and into 2011, home sales will likely become self-sustaining if the economy can add jobs at a respectable pace, and from a return of buyer demand as they see home values stabilizing.”


Apr 20, 2010
The Austin Chamber of Commerce reports that Friday’s Texas Workforce Commission and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases of March 2010 workforce numbers saw Austin again narrowing the year-over-year jobs deficit. We also see Austin placing as the best performing job market in our major metros ranking.


Job losses in this recession peaked at 24,400 (-3.1%) in September, year-over-year, but have narrowed to 500 (-0.1%) as of March. With Austin’s nonfarm payroll jobs totaling 760,300 in March, the metro remains 23,100 (-2.9%) off the November 2008 peak of 783,400 jobs.
Austin’s aggregate job losses for March of 500 or -0.1% compare to 28,100 or -1.4% for Dallas, 14,400 or -1.7% for Fort Worth, 60,200 or -2.3% for Houston, and 14,700 or -1.8% for San Antonio. 
Texas has 160,000 fewer jobs (-1.5%) than one year ago and, like Austin, has been seeing negative year-over-year change for 15 months.  Nationally, 2,249,000 jobs (-1.7%) have been lost over the last 12 months and this is the 23rd month of year-over-year decline.
In Austin’s private sector, seven industries lost jobs in the last 12 months.  The industries that see positive growth are education and health services, leisure and hospitality, other services and government.  Financial services employment is unchanged. The most robust gainer in both numbers and rate of growth was leisure and hospitality (6,000 or 7.3%).
 
Unemployment numbers for March show Austin’s performance relative to the state and other major Texas metros being sustained.  In March, Austin is at 7.1% and San Antonio is at 7.3%. The rate is and is 8.5% in Houston, 8.3% in Dallas and Fort Worth, and 8.2% for the state. The national rate is 10.2%.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, Austin’s unemployment rate is 7.2%, up from 7.0% in February.  Texas’ other major metros seasonally adjusted rates are also up by 2 to 3 points from February, however, the state’s rate is unchanged at 8.2%. The seasonally adjusted national rate is 9.7%, unchanged from February.
Unemployment remains substantially higher than levels seen 12 months ago.  In March 2009 Austin’s unemployed was 57,416 (6.6%), but now Austin’s unemployed has reached 64,561 (7.1%). While the number of unemployed has increased in Austin, so have civilian labor force and employed over the period. Civilian labor force (employed plus unemployed) increased by 36,543 or 4.2% in 12 months and persons employed increased by 29,398 or 3.6%. Texas other major metros are also showing growth in employed as well as labor force, but at lesser rates than seen in Austin. Nationally, both civilian labor force and employed are down compared to a year ago.

Apr 9, 2010

Time is running out for home buyers who wish to take advantage of two federal tax credits.

The first is an $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers that was originally set to expire late last year, but was extended by Congress. The second is a similar $6,500 tax credit available to existing homeowners who purchase another home under $800,000.

In both cases, the home purchased must be under contract by April 30, although the closing can occur as late as June 30. That means there is still time to find a home before the deadline to take advantage of this unique opportunity.


Apr 6, 2010
The following article from the Austin Chamber of Commerce illustrates Austin's prime economic position. This confirms what we've known and suspected for a long time: Austin was spared the brunt of the recession. That, in turn, has helped our housing market remain relatively steady, and it bodes well for Austin real estate in the coming years!

 

Central Texas Economy In Perspective
By Beverly Kerr, Chamber Vice President of Research

Recent reports from the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the Brookings Institution provide perspective on the relative pace of recovery among different metropolitan areas in this recession. And a new assessment of the state of the Texas economy from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas provides additional context for Austin.