My New Blog

As your Austin Realtor (and someone who enjoys following our local business & government) I'd like to share my perspective on what I see going on in the Austin real estate market. Stating it broadly, we are, as I have been able to say for a while now, lucky.  Forbes Magazine marked Austin #1 in offering its inhabitants the most for their money, or "bang for their buck" in a recent article (http://www.forbes.com/realestate/2008/10/10/cities-buck-economy-forbeslife-cx_ab_1010realestate.html). Another positive article was in last month's Austin Business Journal and outlined Austin's real estate market position, noting that though sales are down, we are unlikely to see prices do much of a drop(http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2008/09/29/daily30.html?b=1222833600%5E1709448&surround=etf). . In essence, Austin's real estate market never had a big (unhealthy home appreciation at 20%+/year) bubble to begin with, and therefore no bubble to "pop."

In the real estate market, if you're a seller in Austin you are seeing longer days on the market, an average of 6 months, with the exceptions being in areas such as the south/central and south/west areas. With this kind of inventory it is a "buyer's market" but surprisingly the prices aren't necessarily reflecting that, at least not now. Our median home price is up to about $190K.  Austin also continues to outpace the country in job creation and population growth and with that comes a need for housing. I believe that unlike those cities with an abundance of forced sales through foreclosures or short-sales, in Travis County it's mostly contained to certain developments/neighborhoods and therefore is not so bad as to be forcing the majority of Austin sellers to free-fall their prices to match foreclosure prices.  I see sellers prefer to wait to get their price than drop their homes significantly below market value. There are also less homes on the market than we saw at this point last year.

Still, it's been a buyer's market this summer coming into fall and there are perks afforded that; sometimes more flexible closing conditions, seller contributions, and negotiating leverage. Also mortgage interest rates are still very favorable from a historical standpoint but have been inching up (6 3/8's as of Friday on fixed 30 year) and I have heard from several loan officers that they are expected to go up more once economic conditions stabilize. Low interest rates are incentives to borrow so as more begin to buy, incentives and rates will be less sweet. I suppose that's how it works!

While we cannot avoid some national impact, it is my opinion that we have been hit later and will recover more quickly than most cities. I believe we can thank Austin as well as it's local government for their having brought in and supported the economic diversification here. As Austin begins this economic challenge at a stronger, healthier economic point with our city's placement in a multitude of national top 10 lists, strong local - and diversified! - economy, job growth and population growth will continue to buoy us through. I believe the diversification of our economy is key as we are not relent on any one business sector's health nor will the sinking of one area pull down the whole city's economy.

I appreciate you letting me be your real estate adviser and hope you'll always turn to me with your questions & referrals.