Category Archives: Home Buying

Just Sold in Barton Hills

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1304 Robert E LeeJust sold, 1304 Robert E Lee Road in Barton Hills offers nearly 3,000 square feet of living space in this 2-story duplex.  Side A has 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths and a loft space, with the master located on the main floor.  Side B features 3 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths with the master on the second floor.  Each side of the duplex has it’s own private outdoor yard space, a wood burning fireplace, separate utility closets and carport space.

1304 Robert E Lee Road, Austin, TX 78704

1304 Robert E lee Road was an attractive investment property due to it’s hot 78704 location.  The zip code 78704 in Austin is the home of Zilker Park, Barton Springs Restaurant Row, South Congress Avenue in the SoCo District, the Town Lake Hike & Bike Trail, Lady Bird Lake, the SoLa District on South Lamar and the SoFi District on South First.

Barton Hills, Austin 78704

1304 Robert E Lee Road is very close to Barton Springs Pool, Zilker Park and the Umlauf Sculpture Garden.  This Luxury location is convenient when Austin’s local festivals like the Zilker Park Kite Festival, SXSW and the Austin City Limits Music Festival are taking place.

1101 Blue Fox Drive, Austin TX 78753

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1101 Blue Fox Drive, Austin TX1101 Blue Fox Drive is located in the North-East subdivision of Harris Ridge.  Built in 1993, this single story home has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and a 2-car garage.  Highlights include a wood burning fireplace in living room and large backyard deck with covered lattice adding nice outdoor living space.

For Sale 1101 Blue Fox Dr., Austin TX 78753

The floor plan for 1101 Blue Fox Drive has the master bedroom separate from the secondary bedrooms.  There is a 2-car attached garage and a dining area that could be used for added living space.

Pride of Ownership shows through the extensive amount of updates throughout 1101 Blue Fox Drive which include: Roof, HV/AC, HWH (2010), Silestone kitchen counter with sink, ceramic and glass block tile (2011), Garage Door (2005), Backyard Fence (2009), Most of interior freshly painted, Energy Efficient Appliances (2007), Gutters (2006), In-ground Sprinklers (2006), Pergo flooring in main living areas (2005), Stained deck and new lattice (2013).

1101 Blue Fox Drive, Austin TX 78753 is located in the Pflugerville School District.  There is a neighborhood pool, park, sports court and field for soccer and other games.  Harris Ridge residents participate in a bi-annual neighborhood garage sale and an annual neighborhood party at the park.

The Harris Ridge subdivision is located near the well-known Tech-Ridge area of Austin.

Buying in a Seller’s Market

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Like a G6What am I seeing lately in the Austin real estate market?  A whole lot of craziness!  There are days right now that I feel more like a fire fighter and less like a Realtor.  The Austin real estate market is favoring sellers right now.

Austin Real Estate Market Activity

Inventory is low for tenants, so lease prices have been on the rise.  Higher leases and low interest rates have created an environment where a monthly mortgage payment is cheaper than rent.  This dynamic has added more buyers to the market and  many of them for the first time, where before owning a home was only a dream.  In addition, investment purchases are on the rise as well.  Higher leases and low interest rates are making it easier to positive cash flow than in the past, making purchases attractive to investors.

When there is less than 3 months of inventory available, it is known to be a seller’s market.  Neutral markets are defined as having 4 to 6 months of inventory.  Buyer’s markets have greater than 6 months of inventory.

Austin Homes for Sale

We are miles away from a buyer’s market right now.  With so little inventory buyers need to be creative when purchasing a home in this market.  Buyers need to see a house within 24 hours after it comes on the market if it looks good.  Some buyers are submitting an offer before they even see the property.  They will submit an offer early because hours can go by while waiting for a response, which gives them time to see it.  If the house looks promising and a buyer has been in the market long enough to know what is out there – it is not unusual for a buyer to offer even a little more than list.  Money is cheap to borrow right now.  It’s about $50 a month for every $10,000 you borrow.

Don’t wait for someone else to buy your home and make an offer based on what it’s worth to you.

Search for Homes

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searchThe more criteria I use to find a home, the lower the number of search results. However, I do have to use some data when searching like a zip code or MLS area. The Austin MLS system will only allow 100 results for any given property search. It is rare that I do not have enough criteria to narrow the search to less than 100. After all, everyone typically has some criteria whether it’s a neighborhood, school district and of course: price point.

Currently with the inventory so low, I’m lucky to come up with 40 properties to start at best.

For those who really want to narrow the field down further, I can get very specific in terms of how I search for a property. Understand, I may be lucky to find one property with too many search criteria, but the flexibility in how I search is available for those looking for something very specific.

Search for Homes in Austin

Here is a list of some unique criteria I can use when searching for a property:

♣Elementary School ♣Master bedroom located on the first floor ♣Number of stairs to enter a house ♣Fireplace ♣No HOA ♣Year built ♣Garage Space ♣Pool ♣Duplex, triplex or fourplex ♣Building materials (i.e. all sides masonry) ♣Media Room ♣Modified for wheel chair ♣Single Family Home in Condominium Regime (i.e. garden home) ♣Area amenities (i.e. club house, jogging path, lake privileges ♣Flooring ♣Type of utilities ♣City view ♣No backyard grass

There are too many criteria to list. The intent is to offer some idea of how detailed a search can be.  One thing to note is that not all agents add as much detail as they can to a listing. If an agent does not add to the view field that a property has a view of downtown Austin, for example, the system is not going to pull a home if the criteria include only city view properties. There are fields that, as Realtors, we have to fill when entering a listing, while others are voluntary.

Take a Test Drive

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traffic jamI have spent the last few weeks in Mueller, Clarksville, Barton Hills and Downtown districts, the Oak Hill area of Austin, and a little time Round Rock and Pflugerville for good measure.  I had a conversation with someone recently regarding distance versus travel time.  Time is a very hard thing to judge in Austin simply due to the unpredictability of the traffic if you are not used to a flight path.  As you probably know, my office is close to the corner of Spicewood Springs Road and Mesa.  I can get to the office from Mopac, 360 or even I-35.  With no traffic on a Sunday afternoon, it will take me about 15 minutes regardless of my flight path.  During the week the story changes quite a bit.  During morning and evening rush hours, it can at least 45 minutes to get to and from the office on Mopac and 360. For many,  I-35 at end of day can be equivalent to sitting in a parking lot.

Austin Real Estate

It’s important to find the time during the initial stages of the home buying in Austin to see if a particular area is going to work for you.  Getting around Austin on the weekend is easy breezy for the most part, but during the week can be a much different story.  Nine miles doesn’t necessary mean about nine minutes of travel time.  It’s hard to plan for because buyers are often looking at homes on the weekend, because that’s when they have time.  It’s important to take the time though at least once before work or after to just to a test drive.

Austin Traffic

If you are tech savy, phone apps and GPS devices can also be helpful.  Very often current traffic conditions are taken into account when the program is calculating the estimated travel time.  You can often see the traffic to on the device.  Plugging the address into these devices when you would normally be doing the drive will help you estimate commuting times as well.

House of Now

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house of nowThe Austin Real Estate Market ended 2012 with a low inventory and substantial supply of buyers.  January has picked up exactly where 2012 left off only with more buyers.  A common new year’s resolution is to buy a new home, which means that on January 1st my phone starts ringing even more.  Every buyer starts off on the same path in that they look at homes that entered the market in the past.  Whether the house was put on the market 2 days ago or 2 months ago, it is new to the buyer who has just entered the market.

The strange dynamic that I often see is when a house has been on the market say 70 days, which by today’s standards is kind of long, and all of a sudden on day 71 it’s in multiple offers.  For 70 days nobody wanted the house and on day 71 it is in a bidding war.  Some buyers pass houses by that have been sitting, because they feel like there is something wrong or it’s overpriced.  More often than not, buyers pass by a house because they think they have time.  Whether it is day 3 or day 70, they think the home is going to be around until they decide if they want to buy it.

I have had more than one client who has lost an opportunity to put an offer on a house that was on the market for 3 days in the last 2 weeks.  These clients are now referred to as my Zen clients because we are looking in the now. We have looked at every home that might be a possibility and are now looking at what comes on the market – when it comes on the market.  If a house comes on the market that might be the right fit – we go see it within 24 hours.  My Zen buyers are not only pre-qualified, but they have a thorough understanding of what to expect in terms of closing costs and pre-paid costs like homeowners insurance and escrows for taxes.  I can write an offer the same day my Zen buyer wants to buy the house because we are that prepared.

How to Buy a home in Austin now

If you want to buy a house in Austin you need to be a Zen buyer.  Understand, it’s ok to just look, but you are constantly going to be looking in the past until you are ready to buy.  The houses presently for sale are going to sell, so it’s kind of waste of time.  A better use of time is to get pre-qualified to see how much you can spend or want to spend and then get closing costs and pre-paids estimated in order to have a solid idea of you can afford.  It costs money to buy a house, but it costs a lot of time too.

If you are planning to buy a house now – you need to prepare now.

New Year New Home

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New yearsSellers had much to do leading up to Christmas, which created a slowdown in terms of new inventory for Austin Real Estate coming on the market. Have no fear your search will render new results over the next few days as people are able to clean up from the holiday, family and friends go back to the daily grind and our schedules go back to normal. I expect your inventory will pick up over the next week and buyers will as well.

If you aren’t on a custom home search with me and are considering purchasing a home in 2013, now is the time to contact me.

Real Estate Austin

The Austin real estate market is booming! Here are some fun facts:

  • Austin will have 60,000 new jobs over the next 2 years.
  • The Austin unemployment rate dropped to 4.9% (the national average is 7.8%)
  • 130,000 people will be moving to Austin over the next 2 years
  • Apple may become Austin’s largest employer
  • Austin home sales could increase 20% to 25% over the next 12 to 18 months.
  • All-cash transactions made up 30 percent of all home sales in November 2012
  • 30 percent of November home purchases were first-time buyers
  • Investors made up 19 percent of all closings in November

Homes for Sale in Austin

From what I have read the future over the next 2 years looks very bright. As the price of homes rise in Austin, the how far your dollar will go decreases. For example, if economists are right, you will need to pay $240,000 in the future to get a house that is now worth $200,000.

I wish you a safe, happy and prosperous 2013!