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Housing Bubble? Austin compared to Case-Shiller cities

I decided to assemble a more complete comparison of home prices in the Austin area and in the Case-Shiller indices (10-city and 20-city composites). The result? Here’s what a housing bubble looks like. Continue reading

Growth and employment in Austin

What a great time to be in a great place! Continue reading

Quick comparison — Austin vs. Case-Shiller Index

Unlike many cities used in the Case-Shiller Index, Austin saw average home sale prices dip in December, but here’s a different view of that data. Continue reading

Employment growth continues

By virtually every measure, Austin is the place to be. Yes, I’m biased, but this is a great place to live and work.
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Well, there is this one little thing …

Even data in this report says that our traffic isn’t much worse than the last study, and it might even be a little better. Either way, just because the way the score is counted is different, doesn’t change the result. Continue reading

Austin Sales and Building Permits

A couple of days ago I received some questions on one of my blogsites about my Austin Market Dashboard. It strikes me that others may have the same questions … Continue reading

More help from Washington … Is this really necessary?

Last year’s Dodd-Frank financial regulation law requires consolidation of some key forms used every day in the mortgage business. Every time I hear that somebody in Washington is going to “simplify” paperwork I know it’s time to duck. Let’s hope this time is different. Continue reading

Austin foreclosures up, but compared to what?

Today’s local report about properties scheduled for February foreclosure auctions made much about the “high” level of foreclosures in the Austin metro area, but relative to metro population or compared to cities where the housing downturn hit much harder, Austin doesn’t look so bad. Continue reading

Texas Real Estate Professional Ethics – simple but important

The Realtor® Code Of Ethics and the Texas Real Estate Commission Canons Of Professional Ethics — the foundation for trust. Continue reading

New NAR site — “Home Ownership Matters”

In a world of confused and confusing reporting about the state of the housing sector of our economy, the National Association of Realtors® has launched a new Facebook page to help. Continue reading