Austin’s Market Still a Seller’s One

Recently I have been coming across many hot market articles mentioning our market and even a spot on the Today Show concerning South Austin and its SoCo hot spot. You can see it here (the comments regarding are on about the 2:41 sec mark) Also articles on Forbes.com here and an email from Forbes.com I received below About the market in general.

Top 10 Best Performing Housing Markets
As anybody who has ever sold real estate knows, there are no national markets, only local markets. That adage holds true when you look at the condition of the real estate business nationwide. Business may be tough in many places, but it’s not tough all over.

In Salt Lake City, Charlotte, N.C., and San Jose, Calif., prices have climbed relentlessly. In the Northeast, the biggest gainers are the gritty cities of Buffalo, N.Y., Pittsburgh, Pa., and Philadelphia.

In the West, business is brisk in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest.

Here are the top 10 best performing housing markets, according to Forbes magazine, their third quarter median home sale prices, and the percentage that prices have risen compared to third quarter 2006.

• Salt Lake City — median home sales price: $246,700; Percent change: 14.1 percent
• Charlotte, N.C. — $220,000, 11 percent
• San Jose, Calif. — $852,500, 9.4 percent
• San Francisco — $825,400, 8.6 percent
• Raleigh, N.C. — $229,500, 7.5 percent
• Austin — $188,200, 7.2 percent
• Pittsburgh — $127,700, 6.1 percent
• Seattle — $394,700, 6 percent
• San Antonio — $154,700, 5.7 percent
• Portland, Ore. — $299,700, 5.2 percent

Source: Forbes, Matt Woolsey (11/21/07)

Staying below 10% is a very good thing. It is a good moderate pace.

Now, if we look at the numbers, yes things have slowed down recently. The numbers are down for last year in terms of solds, pending sales, more inventory and a little more time on market at 69 days. But compared to what? 2006 and 2005 were record breaking years for Austin Real Estate. Single family home sales in October 2004 totaled 1,653. That month, there were 9,255 active listings and 1,076 pending sales. This month we have 1772 sold, 9431 active and 1953 pending. Austin is still doing well.

With 69 days average inventory (some neighborhoods more, some neighborhoods less) Austin is still in a seller’s market. A buyer’s market begins at 6 months traditionally but the sway in momentum begins to benefit a buyer as it transitions past 4 months. Perhaps then a good time for those looking for a softer market.

For more detailed information, feel free to contact me

Christopher

New SoCo Condo Choice

The latest in apartment conversions brings the popular condo zip code 78704 another affordable choice near Travis Heights, Creekside Terrace.

This project is for those of you who are looking to live near the popular South Austin hot spot but want to get a little more square footage without having to work 3 jobs to live there.

A small community of only 48 units offers only 2 floor plans, a 700ft2 one bedroom/one bath and a 1100 ft2 two bedroom/two bath. Many of the units will be renovated with concrete or bamboo flooring. Inside the design continues with mosaic tile in the kitchen area with stainless appliances and redone bathrooms.

All condos have a view of the courtyard where the pool is located although no hot tub exists, bummer. The pool and the grounds are scaped with large rectangular limestone steps and fine dark gray rocks. The exterior has been repainted and the parking area has been repaved. There is a complimentary laundry area as the one bedrooms are not equipped with washer or dryer connections in the units, although the two bedroom models are.

Now the important part. The HOA in the community will run $150 for the one bedroom and $200 for the two bedroom. Pricing will be $155,000 for the one and $189,000 for the two. That comes out to about $1200 a month total for the one bedroom.

Thats not bad considering on the MLS, one bedroom one baths average start price is at $179,000.

The drive to downtown is 5 minutes at most and is blocks away from the SoCo district. Convenient to shopping, parks, grocery stores, greenbelts and entertainment, this is a prime location for condo seekers.

These units will be available for sale 30 -45 days from now, but you can preview them with me before hand. Simply contact me and I can fill in more details and set up an appointment with you to go check them out.

Christopher

Can your house sell too quickly? Do you win or lose?

A couple of our duties as Realtors when we represent sellers looking to place their home on the market is to price it right and sell it quickly. Can your house sell too quickly? It is a tricky question because the house sells too quickly then the seller feels the home was under priced and could have commanded more in terms of price. In reality if the house is priced right, then it will sell timely. What if the home you were looking for a home in a hot area? How does that work from the seller’s perspective? I experienced that very situation representing a buyer in a neighborhood (a couple times) in South Austin.

Like a hawk, I have been watching a neighborhood for a small home in South Austin because my client had a specific interest in a certain neighborhood because of friends and family already there. One morning I reviewed all my clients wish lists for property and see a possible home appear for this client. I researched the home again to ensure proper pricing and I called her immediately to announce what came upon the market and to go see it. We visited the house the next morning as her schedule allowed because after all she does work. Now, we watched 2 homes in this price range (sub 150K) vanish within days prior in the same neighborhood so we felt good but still cautious about our approach and expectations this time. After we viewed the house we decided that we wanted to submit an offer. Upon calling the seller’s agent, I was informed that he already verbally agreed to an offer but the paperwork has not come through yet- which means nothing unless the offer is signed by both parties in writing. In fact the house would still be available and offers can not be denied from presentation to the seller. The seller could still  accept any offers that came in even though the agent cited that he verbally accepted one.  This agent accepted an offer in less than 24 hours. So was this too early to accept an offer for the seller?

Win or lose?

I feel that he probably lost out in one way. I think perhaps the seller could have entertained more offers had the agent encouraged patience and possibly gained more money for his property due to the demand of the neighborhood. In fact the agent alerted me that others were coming through.  The house showed well and looked to be in great condition. One thing to keep in mind that sellers are not bound to ethics that we are. That being said, the seller can shop offers. Exercising this ability surly can place the seller in good position in an “in demand” neighborhood. We, however, can not act in a way that is unethical regardless of what the clients request. Code of Ethics for Realtors.

What I advise when you consider selling?

To ensure that you are getting the best service here are a few tips I suggest when listing a house in a hot area.

• decide how offers will be presented, how offers will be negotiated, whether counter-offers will be made and ultimately which offer, if any, will be accepted
• discuss the possibility of receiving multiple offers and competing offers. Discuss the various ways they may be dealt with and the options and alternatives addressing them
• have all offers presented to you and submit counter-offers objectively and quickly to the buyers agent when multiple offers exist
  

I am sure the seller will sell his house as he wished. The question is could he have received a better offer by not accepting an offer so quickly? Possibly so. It is all about the advisement and service level he received from his agent however.

Christopher