Central Texas

Benefits Of Home Ownership

Times and markets may have changed in recent years, but the benefits of being a home owner rather than a renter are still the same. (And it’s a great time to buy now!) Continue reading →

RE/MAX Capital City — 2010 Strength

Twice each year, Jeff Osborne, Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Capital City conducts business meetings with all company agents and staff. Discussion is wide ranging and mostly forward-looking, but reporting on past performance versus our competition is always worth a couple of slides. Continue reading →

Foreclosure Impact in Austin

Foreclosure activity in Austin is definitely higher than it was pre-recession, and there is no doubt that the effects of the recession and housing downturn have flattened home values here over the past few years — prices are lower today than they would have been if the recession had not happened. All in all, though, Austin and Central Texas continue to contrast dramatically with the cities and states that so thoroughly dominate news about the housing sector.

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How Does Texas stack up in the Case-Shiller report?

I have elaborated before about the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index and how representative it is (or not) of conditions in the Austin/Central Texas real estate market. News reports today are offering shock as the Indices for December 2010 returned to two-years ago levels, prompting fears of a “double dip” in housing. Here’s an up-to-date look at how Austin compares. Continue reading →

A quick comparison

The Austin Board Of Realtors® reported yesterday that “Sales of single-family homes in the Austin area were 14 percent higher in January 2011 than January 2010.” (See Austin Business Journal article.) Since that data differs from my Austin Market Dashboard update yesterday, I just want to point out …
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Updated Market Dashboard — “unpredictable”

The theme in my Austin Market Dashboard this month is that the Austin/Central Texas real estate market remains unpredictable — although virtually all economic indicators and forecasts call for improvement in our local economy generally, and our real estate market specifically. Continue reading →

How are Texas cities performing economically?

The Greater Austin Chamber Of Commerce posted some very interesting information this week about Texas and our major metro areas, and their relative performance economically. This post focuses on just a few charts. Continue reading →

Another reason to buy soon!

This change will be effective on loans issued on or after April 18, 2011. That’s just sixty days away — plenty of time to find and purchase the right home, but not much time to remain uncertain about whether to buy or not. If home ownership is in your plans, and if you can qualify for a mortgage loan today, now is the time to get busy. Continue reading →

Will higher interest rates cost you your dream home?

The difference between 5% and 6% mortage rates is about $125/month, or almost $20,000 in purchasing power. There is a real cost to delay while interest rates are increasing — an it looks like that’s the direction of change this year. Continue reading →

Social life in and around Austin

I’ve posted a wide variety of rankings for Austin and Central Texas, but I haven’t noticed these kinds of recognition before. Continue reading →