About Doreen Zelma, REALTOR

Doreen Zelma, Broker Associate, GRI, CLRA with Sky Realty, serving the Austin Round Rock MSA and Central Texas for 17 years.

Austin housing market plays red light, green light

Austin housing market plays red light green light l Austin real estate update, get home buying tips here

The Austin housing market is a bit stagnant right now, along with the air, heat, and even interest rates. It’s pretty easy to feel the effect of mortgage rates on the market. As soon as they start with a six, we get an uptick of homes suddenly going under contract. When the rates hit seven again, everything stops. Remember the schoolyard game red light, green light? It’s kind of like that. Here are some market insights and home buying tips to help you decide when to stop and when to go. Continue reading

Austin Real Estate News August 2023

Austin real estate news August 2023 is here. The Central Texas housing market shows that overall, the Austin Round Rock MSA is showing signs of recovery. The number of closed sales and pending sales are increasing year-over-year, and the median sales price is stabilizing. However, interest rates are still volatile, which could put some downward pressure on prices in the coming months.

According to the Austin Board of REALTORS® July 2023 Central Texas Housing Market Report, closed listings increased 0.6% year-over-year to 2,815 closed sales across the AustinRound Rock MSA. When considering July 2022 is when the market initially began to stabilize, and when combined with pending sales rising 14.5% to 2,892 pending sales, the housing market is poised for a strong finish to 2023.

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What makes a home a condo?

What makes a home a condo? l Austin condos for saleWhat makes a home a condo? I represent buyers and sellers all over Central Texas. When I’m not looking for specific buyers, I’m touring new communities. I have seen various types of condominium regimes and neighborhoods comprised of fee simple single-family houses. Think you can tell a fee simple house from a condo? Think again. The perception is that you can tell a single-family house or duplex from a condo just by looking at it. Truth be told, there is nothing about the style of a house that dictates its classification. Continue reading

Don’t Wait for Another Barbie to Buy Your Dream Home

finding your Dream Home l Austin Real Estate l square footage l floorplan l dream house I dreamhouse

A dream house can be in other people’s dreams. Growing up, I didn’t have any rendition of Barbie’s dream home. Instead, I had her country living house, which was a tad more modest having three rooms, a living room, a kitchen, and one bedroom, all on a single story. The rooms were equally sized and could hold about two people (dolls) comfortably. Continue reading

Austin Real Estate News July 2023

Austin real estate news l Austin Texas Real Estate l Homes for sale in Austin Texas l how to buy a home in Austin l Austin real estate agent l Austin home prices

Austin real estate news from Doreen for July is here. If there is ever a month when we are living in a Barbie world, it’s June. Between the graduation parties, backyard barbeques, proms, vacations, planning for vacations, and summer camps starting – there’s an event around every corner. Homes for sale in Austin and beyond often take a dip for a few weeks this time of year with all of the social events.

June’s residential home sales declined 8.5% year over year to 3,147 closed sales while the median price also dropped 9.6% to $483,000 for the month of June, according to the Austin Board of REALTORS® latest Central Texas Housing Report. The Austin Round Rock MSA housing inventory reached 3.7 months. Despite increased inventory across the region, long-term solutions to address affordability and housing availability are still needed.

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Dive into Your Dream Home: Tips for finding the Perfect Pool

Homes for sale with pools l homes with pools for sale l Austin real estate

Summer is here. The enticing pull of crystal-clear water to plunge into as Texas starts to reach its peak temperatures has begun. Just as Texas starts to heat up, so does the pull to look at homes for sale with pools. Real Estate in Austin has about 3.5 months of inventory. There just aren’t a lot of homes to choose from in general. Add homes with pools for sale to the mix and there are even fewer. Continue reading

Austin Real Estate News June 2023

Austin real estate news l shopping for homes in AUstin

Austin real estate news from Doreen for June is here. In May, median home prices dropped 15% to $467,500, year over year,  according to the Austin Board of REALTORS® latest Central Texas Housing Report. The Austin Round Rock MSA housing inventory reached 3.4 months. The Central Texas market as a whole appears to have stabilized a bit for now.  Mortgage rates are still a bit of a wild card right now.  While it is still a sellers’ market, buyers are comparison shopping, sellers are negotiating and builders are still offering incentives.

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