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Market News and Trends

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Behind on your mortgage? You have options!

7 out of every 8 homeowners in this market sample never listed their homes for sale before they were taken in foreclosure! Don’t be one of those 7-of-8 folks! Continue reading

Market Dashboard — what’s up in Austin real estate?

There is every reason to expect some seasonal softness in unit sales and prices in the coming months, but as I mentioned at the outset the Austin/Central Texas economy remains resilient. Economic strength continues to attract employers and employees to move here, that trend is filling available rental space and pushing rents upward, and as those new Austinites either sell homes elsewhere or just gain confidence in their futures they become Austin-area homeowners. Continue reading

RE/MAX #1 — in sales and satisfaction!

Another honor for RE/MAX, bestowed by our clients … Continue reading

July numbers are in …

General economic uncertainty aside, I believe that buyers who stay on the sidelines over the next six to twelve months — especially in the Austin area — will find that they missed the best opportunity to become homeowners we have seen in many years.
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Residential investments in Austin — 1st Half 2011

Six months ago I compared “typical” investments in 2010 in single family homes as rental properties in various parts of Austin. Now, I want to offer an updated look at residential real estate investments in the first half of 2011 — this time including single family homes, duplexes, and fourplexes. Continue reading

Austin Market Dashboard — updated and encouraging

Even as chaotic market conditions still dominate press reports about real estate nationally, the Austin/Central Texas residential market continues to demonstrate fundamental strength. Sales volume is up for five consecutive months, and average and median home values have appreciated all year. Local and regional economic results and expectations are promising. Continue reading

So what about the debt ceiling?

Politics aside, I don’t see any practical reason that interest rates should spike next week based on what happens in the debt ceiling debate. I certainly believe we will have higher rates over the next year or two, but that will have almost nothing to do with all the noise coming from Washington now. Continue reading

Case-Shiller — May data is in

Austin and Washington, DC continue to buck the trend, gaining value year-over-year. As I pointed out in my last post, the magnitude of the gain in Austin remains impressive, even compared to Washington, DC. Continue reading

Ausin continues to outpace Case-Shiller

The Case-Shiller indices have been losing ground year-to-year for several months. For much longer — about sixteen months — both Austin and Washington, DC have been gaining. And look at the magnitude of those gains — Austin vs. Washington! Yes, Washington home values have appreciated more than Austin since 2000, but it would have been very easy for five of those years to pay more for a home there than the current market would yield. Not so in Austin.
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Austin-area building permits — signs of confidence?

Builders’ confidence in the Single Family sector remains weak, but strong permitting activity in the Multifamily arena bodes well for the Austin/Central Texas residential market. Continue reading

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