Found 10 blog entries tagged as real estate.

Determining the list price of your home in the Austin area is a delicate balance that involves taking into account a variety of factors. The perfect balance can be achieved by considering the following:

  1. Comparable Sales: Researching recent sales of similar homes in the area (comparable sales) can provide a good starting point for determining the list price. This will give you an idea of what similar homes in the area are selling for and can help you set a realistic price for your own home.
  2. Home Condition: The condition of your home is also an important factor to consider when determining the list price. A well-maintained, move-in-ready home will generally command a higher price than a home that needs repairs or updates.
  3. Market…

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Early indications are the Austin area housing market is heating up again for the spring.

Each week we get a slightly better view of the 2023. Of course, in between when I am writing this on February 2nd and when it hits your mailbox things may have changed so get in touch with us to find out exactly what’s happening at that time.

Here are some of the early signs of a stronger real estate market this spring.

Open Houses And Showing Activity

We had 24 guests at our first Open House of the year which is much higher than I expected. The owners asked for buyers to remove their shoes. Here’s a picture I took of outside the home that shows how many people were inside at that time.

That home went under contract in only 6 days. With the…

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The 2022 housing market has been defined by two key things: inflation and rapidly rising mortgage rates. In many ways, it’s put the market into a reset position.

Last January I talked about how we needed to watch the inventory of homes for sale and interest rates. As the Federal Reserve made moves this year to try to lower inflation, mortgage rates more than doubled. At the same time, we saw huge jumps in the number of homes for sale. This was a double whammy for the real estate market and had a cascading impact on buyer activity and ultimately home prices.

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates In 2023?

Interest rates shot up to over 7% and as of the end of 2022 have settled back closer to 6%. Moving forward, experts agree it’s still going to be…

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When you are ready to buy your next home there are several ways of doing this without selling your current home first. Let’s review your options.

Qualify For 2 Mortgage Payments

It is possible to obtain a mortgage on a new property prior to selling your current home as long as you can qualify for both mortgage payments. This will allow you to buy and possibly move into your new home prior to putting your current home on the market. Many of our clients take this option and we are able to stage the home we are selling so it doesn’t look empty.

Buy Contingent On The Sale Of Your Current Home

It may be possible to get an offer accepted on a new home and have that offer be contingent on selling your current home. Our success in getting…

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If you have been shopping for a home there are 3 important things you should know about mortgage interest rates today.

Fed Raised Rates And Mortgage Rates Went Down

You probably heard the Federal Reserve raised interest rates .75% in July. The Federal Reserve does not control mortgage interest rates. It seems counterintuitive, but when the Fed raised their rates mortgage interest rates actually went down. Mortgage interest rates had been over 6% back in June. As of August 2nd, we were seeing quotes for 30 Year Conventional rates near 5%.

Jumbo Rates Are Lower Than Conventional Rates

In the Austin area the loan limit for Conventional mortgages is $647,200. If you are borrowing more than that you would be getting a “Jumbo” mortgage.…

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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…

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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…

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In our neighborhood everybody talks about the ways in which home values are affected in the community. Maybe it is new apartments being built, sometimes it’s cars parked on the street, many people are concerned about cars being broken into, for others the hot button is landscaping and how the community is maintained.

When I talk to our neighbors the conversation often turns to some of these issues and how they are affecting our property value negatively. They talk about all the visible things that may potentially affect home value in a neighborhood.

In reality there is a hidden killer of home values that very few people know about. The hidden killer is the average agent that listed your neighbor’s house.

Let me tell you why.

Because when…

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