The 2018 HBA Housing Forecast provided US and global economic statistics and outlooks from UT Economist Dr. Greg Hallman, local economic factors and forecasts on housing from 360 Analytics’ Eldon Rude, and insight into the constantly evolving consumer from Kantar Future’s Lindsay Kunkle. Below are some takeaways from the conference, held at the AT&T Center on the UT campus on January 31, 2018.

Global and US Economy
Dr. Greg Hallman gave some statistics of what overall seems to be a healthy economy that is back to “full potential.” He predicts GDP growth of 2.5-3% in 2018 as we continue this long (101 month) period of expansion. That optimism is provided by the low unemployment rate across all levels of education, wage growth (although slow is outpacing…

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How To Sell Your Home With Less Stress & For Top Dollar In 2018

Attend our FREE Home Selling Seminar to help you get the most money and get your home sold fast.

In only 1 hour learn tips from the top Real Estate Broker in the Austin area. Learn inside secrets from a real estate broker who specializes in selling homes in your area so you can sell your home fast, easy and put more money in your pocket. Reserve your seat and learn:

  • How to buy and sell without having to move twice.
  • How to defend against the negotiating tactics used by buyers in our area.
  • How to prepare your home to attract the most buyers and get the best price.
  • How to price your home so you don't leave money on the table.

Saturday, April 7th
10 AM – 11:00 AM
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Using dollars per square feet ($/SF) may be the most misunderstood area of real estate. It’s not unusual for me to meet with a client and have them say something like “My neighbor’s home is 1,800 square feet and it sold for $310,000. My home is 3,600 square feet so it’s worth $620,000.”

But, that’s not how real estate works. In general a smaller home will sell for a higher $/SF. I’ve always had a hard time explaining that until I was meeting with a couple at the neighborhood coffee shop.



We each had a different size cup of coffee and each cup had a different price. You can see the smallest cup of coffee cost $.32 per ounce. The last 4 ounces for the largest cup only cost $.12 per ounce. The larger the cup of coffee the lower the cost per ounce.

The same…

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Austin has seen excellent price appreciation over the last few years. As a result many homeowners have decided to move up to a larger home and lease their current home. Before making that decision it’s good to have an understanding of what it costs to rent a home so you can make an informed decision about your property.

Renting a home is more than just multiplying the expected rent by 12 months. Here are some of the expenses you may incur if you decide to rent your home.

As always you should consult with your own tax and financial advisors. 

Opportunity Cost 

Perhaps the biggest expense of leasing your home isn’t something you have considered. Opportunity cost means by making one choice you can’t do something else. Not selling your home means…

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Single-family home sales declined across most of the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in September, while inventory levels continued to increase, according to the September 2017 Central Texas Housing Market Report released today by the Austin Board of REALTORS®.

Brandy Guthrie, 2017 President of the Austin Board of REALTORS­® commented, “Despite last month’s dip in home sales activity, it’s important to remember that we’re comparing our current figures to the record-breaking housing market activity in 2016 and it’s not necessarily indicative of a downturn.”

Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of Research at the National Association of REALTORS®, agreed: “Austin has had one of the fastest job growth…

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One of the neighborhood events I look forward to is the semi-annual Avery Ranch garage sale. This event happens in both the spring and the fall. The Late Summer 2019 Avery Ranch garage sale will take place on Saturdays, May 18th and September 28th, 2019 from 7AM-1PM.

With almost 4,000 homes in the neighborhood there will be plenty of homes selling items. This is a great opportunity to find clothes, toys, bikes and furniture.

If you are having a garage sale at your home feel free to leave your address and a list of items you are selling in the comment section below.

One piece of advice is to get started early. Cars will be lined up at 7AM and the great items will sell right away.

We are Avery Ranch homeowners and real estate experts. If you…

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This home is a Holly floor plan, one of the more popular homes in Avery Ranch. 

Back in June we listed this home for sale. At the same time a real estate agent from the traditional broker in the neighborhood listed another Holly floor plan.

Both homes have 3 bedrooms, 2 ½ baths and a game room. The major differences were the home we sold had carpet downstairs and bland builder grade kitchen. The home that was listed with the other agent had more upgrades as it had wood floors, an enclosed office, updated kitchen with quartz countertops, subway tile, and white cabinets, all of which are preferred by most buyers in the area.

How did we sell our listing for $15,250 more?

Market Preparation and Free Home Staging

The owner of our listing…

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Congratulations, your home is under contract. The next step will be the buyer scheduling an inspection.

  • The buyer’s agent will let us know when they would like to schedule the inspection.
  • The inspection will take approximately 4 hours. You will want to be away from your home during the inspection.
  • The inspector will need access to the attic, HVAC system, water heater and electrical panels. Please make sure there are no locks, vehicles, etc that will prevent access from those areas.
  • Please make sure the electricity, gas and water are on for the inspection. Per the contract utilities need to be on through the closing date.
  • If there are any remote controls or instructions needed to operate any parts of your home please leave them out…

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Recently on our neighborhood Facebook group there was an argument over whether or not an open house is an effective way of getting your home sold. Some people were saying the only reason a Realtor holds an open house is to get meet new clients. Some Realtors who live in the neighborhood even said they have never sold a home to someone who visited an open house. This is a great example of just because someone says THEY can’t do it doesn’t mean it cant be done.

The Facts About Open Houses

The fact is 72% of our listings have sold to someone who visited one of our open houses. Just in the last few weeks I have sold all these homes to someone who came to the open house.

missingThe sellers of this home had previously tried to sell their home with a…

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In today’s highly competitive seller’s market where there are more buyers than there are homes for them to buy, some sellers may feel like the ball is in their court.

And they would be right when it comes to choosing which offer to accept, the closing date, or even which improvements they are willing to make to their house prior to selling.

One thing to remember though, is that there is always a line that shouldn’t be crossed.

Interest rates can change, financing might not go through, the appraisal might not come back at the price that you have agreed to. These are all opportunities to work with your buyer to make sure that the sale still happens.

You may think that, because buyer demand is so high right now, you can choose to make your…

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