What We Are Seeing In The Austin Real Estate Market

– November 2020 –

 
99% of the time being a Real Estate Broker specializing in an area is a huge positive. Understanding the different buyer profiles in our area, differences in the types of homes and what buyers are willing to pay for is an advantage to both myself and the clients I represent.

1% of the time it works to my disadvantage because I know something about a home that will be seen as a negative to buyers. I always want to be upfront and honest with our clients. Over the years I have found I attract savvy clients who appreciate being told the truth.

When you are interviewing Brokers to be your listing agent you will be tempted to hire the agent who recommends the highest price. It’s human nature that you will like the agent who tells you the highest

 
Many times I will hear someone say “The Realtor made me price my home for $500,000” and that’s not the way I look at it.

The approach we take when talking about pricing for your home is we are a consultant. Although I certainly can tell you what price I recommend or I can tell you what I would do if I was in your situation my job isn’t to make that decision for you. My job is to give you so much information and advice that together we can arrive at the best decision for your situation.

Most agents only have 1 pricing strategy but in reality there are 3 ways you can price your house.

Aspirational Pricing

The first way to price your home is what we call “Aspirational Pricing.” This is a strategy where we are priced well above the

 
There are several advantages of selling your home in a bidding war. You will get the highest price, you will get the best terms in the original contract and you will have leverage if the buyer tries to negotiate too much after an inspection.

26 of the homes we have sold this year have been sold with multiple offers. That doesn’t happen by accident. Here are some tips that will make it easier for your home to sell in a bidding war.

Appeal To Emotion Not Logic

To get into a bidding war you need the buyers to act quickly. We need the buyers to fall in love with your home and ask how much over asking price they need to pay. We need to remove anything that will keep a buyer from wanting to make a great offer. In marketing this is called

The story continues that we need more inventory. Prices are up because the supply of resale homes and “Quick Move In” new homes are down. Experts predict next year we will see a “Spring Wave” of homes hitting the market as sellers who held off due to Covid will decide to sell. If you are on the fence and thinking about moving up it is a great time to secure your move up or downsize home before prices become unaffordable.

On the ground in the areas we serve we are seeing less than 1 months of inventory. There are more homes under contract than homes available for sale. That means if you drive past a For Sale sign there’s a better than 50% chance the home is already under contract. Any market with less than a 3 month inventory is considered a

Home was listed with another agent for 87 days with no offer…listed with Kopa Real Estate and under contract in 4 days with multiple offers for over asking price

When the sellers of this home started searching for a Realtor to help them sell the house, they asked friends on Facebook for a referral. They were connected with a friend of a friend and listed their house for sale with that agent.

After 87 days on the market they never received an offer and their agreement with the first agent expired. Because we have a successful track record of selling homes that were listed with another agent before us and didn’t sell the sellers contacted us.

What the sellers didn’t know was their first agent has only sold 2 listings in the last 3 years. They

One of the interesting things I have noticed in the real estate market today is homes that otherwise might get passed over in a more balanced market are selling fast. Because buyers have so few homes to choose from, they are overlooking defects that would turn them off if they other options.

What that means for you is if you own one of these 3 types of homes and you plan to sell in the next year you should consider selling now. Here are the 3 types of homes…

Homes that back to a busy road or are on a tiny lot

Two of the features most home buyers are looking for are privacy and space in the back yard. Market research has told us buyers are turned off by homes where you can see cars while inside the house. Homes that overlook busy roads or

Someone asked this in our neighborhood Facebook group and it’s a great question. The short answer is no…you don’t need to do any updating to your home to get it sold. The market is good enough to sell your home in any condition. In fact, if your home is in poor condition there has never been a better time to sell it As-Is than today.

On the other hand, if you are trying to sell for the most money that isn’t really the question you should be asking. What you should be asking is what make-ready can you do to get the best ROI and sell your home for the highest price possible.

What do I do when I sell my personal homes? Here’s the 4-part process I think about before doing any make-ready.

Buyer Profile

The first thing I think about before

The first time I met the owner of 10721 Rathdowney was at the end of March. We stood on his back patio and he was so nervous he couldn’t stop shaking. He had lost his job in Dallas and the tenants he had at this rental property here had trashed the house. He didn’t know what to do and didn’t know who could help.

He needed the money but he didn’t know how to get the tenants to move out and he didn’t know how to sell the house without selling for a low-ball price that he was offered by an investor. Fortunately, he called us before it was too late.

The first thing we did was put a plan together. With our help he negotiated with the tenants so they would vacate the home within 15 days. During that time, we helped the owner get contractors

Would you believe through July we have had clients who were born in 14 different countries? We’ve also had clients from just about every race, creed, color and family unit you can imagine. Sometimes I say only the deli outside the UN has a more diverse clientele than we do.

With everything going on right now attention within the real estate industry is being paid to fair housing. That’s good because historically housing has been one of the worst areas of discrimination in America.

We want you to know whoever you are and wherever you came from Kopa Real Estate is ready to help you! It’s the right thing to do, it’s good business and if you are selling your home it will make you money.

The reason I say it will make you money is when