I am genuinely encouraged by the trend shown by the Case Shiller indices and I hope and believe that the recovery will gain real traction this time. Continue reading
There’s no way to put lipstick on this and improve the national picture. The housing industry is troubled and is likely to remain so for some time to come. But I encourage folks who already own homes in Austin, or plan to, to keep the faith. Our fair city’s performance remains much stronger than national news stories will lead you to believe. Continue reading
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
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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Americans who would love to get back into the real estate market are being told almost daily that “it’s the worst market in 80 years,” or “you’ll probably lose the money you put into a house.” The folks propagating that viewpoint are actually creating the reality. It’s time to move on. Continue reading
Austin, Texas and Washington, D.C. have a lot in common. Apparently, that includes strength in home values. Continue reading
By this comparison, Austin’s gain in market value looks very tame compared with most of the other cities. It’s still nothing to sniff at, though: 170% price appreciation in 20 years represents an average of 8.5% annual growth. Continue reading
When I see reports like those this week about how weak home prices are I feel the need to remind Austin/Central Texas consumers that we really are different. Renewed strength in other major metropolitan areas will obviously help us too, but so far the sky isn’t falling here. Continue reading
Despite ups and downs over the past year, we saw the lowest average home sale price in seven months in January 2011. On the other hand, the average price in January 2011 was up 5.2% compared to one year earlier — much stronger than even the strongest of the Case-Shiller cities. Continue reading
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