Open House 7117 Ridge Oak Road

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Legend Oaks: 7117 Ridge Oak Road, 78749

 

Legend Oaks home in Southwest Austin features a wonderful bright and open floor-plan. Backs to Greenbelt.  Located at 7117 Ridge Oak Road, this single story home has a Gourmet kitchen with center island opens to formal dining and living room with tile floors, built in entertainment hutch, fireplace and crown molding.  The home is 1,841 square feet per the tax record and has 3 bedrooms with 2 full baths.  7117 Ridge Oak Road has a 2-car garage and 3-sides of masonry exterior finish.

7117 Ridge Oak Road is listed at $239,000

Directions:  From Mopac South:  turn right on William Cannon and turn left on Ridge Oak  or from 290, turn left on William Cannon and right on Ridge Oak

Open House 7117 Ridge Oak Road

Visit me Sunday, January 15th from 1 – 4pm

View pictures of 7117 Ridge Oak Road and other Legend Oaks’ homes here.

Condo Home Styles

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Happy 2012!  I have been showing condos, single family homes and duplexes from Buda to Round Rock. 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.

How a house is classified is determined by whether the land the residence sits on is fee-simple or undivided. If the parcel is undivided, then the structure is in a condominium regime which gives owners partial interest in the land. When a residence is fee-simple the owner has owns absolute title to the land and structure. In a condominium regime, you own the space the unit occupies and only own a partial interest in the common land surrounding the property.

Austin Condominium regimes can come in garden home, townhouses, single family, duplexes and apartment designs. Many have backyards, which can make it impossible to tell by looking, how the property is classified. Fee simple properties are available in the same styles, with the exception of towers. Some people don’t want to live in a condominium regime because they feel too restricted in how they can utilize their backyards. Understand fee-simple home owners still need to abide by city, deed and zoning restrictions. Fee-simple home owners can also be restricted through their home owners associations. Condominium regimes will often let homeowners improve property with patios and other outdoor improvements as long as they get permission first and comply with certain aesthetic guidelines. People are not always as limited as they think they will be.

I searched Austin MLS listings and selected some active properties so show examples of home styles that are classified as condominiums. Click the link here to see the condos

 

Austin Housing Trends

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Shiloh Austin, TXHow does Austin stack up?

Click the link below which will take you to a document with national real estate and local Austin housing information that you may find useful whether you’re in the market for a home, thinking about selling your home, or just interested in homeowner issues in general.

Austin Housing Trends

The report includes results comparing the Austin real estate market to the rest of the United States. Mortgage data, employment findings, building permit numbers and pricing trends are posted.

Austin Housing Inventory

 

 

Custom Home Search

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The more detailed the criteria I use to find a home, the lower the number of search results.  However, I do have to use some criteria when looking like a zip code or MLS area.  The Austin MLS system will only allow me to pull 100 properties for any given property search.  It is rare though 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.

 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 if the criteria are too narrow, but the flexibility in how I search for properties is available for those looking for something really specific.

Search for a Home in the Greater Austin area

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
  • Fractional ownership (time share)
  • Year built
  • Pool
  • Duplex, triplex or fourplex
  • Building materials (i.e. all sides masonry)
  • Media Room
  • Modified for wheel chair
  • 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 give you some idea of how detailed I can get.  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 that a property has a view of downtown, for example, the system is not going to pull it if your criteria include only city view properties.  There are fields that, as Realtors, we have to fill when entering a listing, while others are voluntary.

Home for the Holidays

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I wrote an article a couple of weeks ago about why sellers should keep their homes on the market during the holiday season. There are advantages for buyers as well during the holidays for those who can find some extra few hours in their shopping schedule. One thing buyers have going for them is that there are less people shopping for homes.

Fewer buyers mean fewer offers to sellers. I’ve talked before about wants and needs. Some owners need to sell now, they don’t just want to sell. Many people make job changes this time of year which nowadays, may mean moving to a different state. Sellers are often more flexible this time of year with price because they don’t have the buyer traffic they would have other times of the year – there is simply less demand. Investors know this, which is why I work with more investors this time of year than any other.

Interest rates are also very low right now, which gives you more buying power. You can qualify to spend more on a house when interest rates are low, than you can when they start to go up. Why? Lenders look at debt to income ratio when deciding to approve a buyer for a loan. Debt includes existing data like student loans and car payments, but the principle and interest on your proposed home purchase will also be a factor. The more you spend on interest the lower your principle payment on the house will need to be to meet the criteria of debt to income.

Real Estate Traffic

Ironically, another advantage this time of year for buyers is time. People often take off a few days between Christmas and New Years. When shopping for presents has ended, people often find they have extra time to look for a house without the stress of spending the day at work. In fact the busiest day to search for a home on-line is December 26th, the day after Christmas.

Happy Holidays to You,

Doreen

Downtown Austin Condo Data

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Austin Downtown Districts

What’s moving Downtown and how are other hot condo areas doing?  I have selected specific condominiums and popular areas in Central Austin to offer some data points. Downtown Austin and the surrounding areas offer great varieties in unit sizes, amentities and styles. There are low rises and hi-rise living options in a variety of price points. The large variety of  locations, styles and price points offer truely something for everyone.

The data below is specific to condominium homes.  

If there is an area you want me to spotlight -please let me know.

Central Austin Condo Market Data

All Downtown Condos
Number of Active Houses on the Market:         81
Average Days on Market:                              109
Median List Price:                                 $ 399,900

Spring Condominiums (Downtown)
Number of Active Houses on the Market:         10
Average Days on Market:                                 85
Median List Price:                                 $ 408,500

360 Condominiums (Downtown)
Number of Active Houses on the Market:            6
Average Days on Market:                                  51
Median List Price:                                 $ 387,000

W Residences (Downtown)
Number of Active Houses on the Market:             9
Average Days on Market:                                138
Median List Price:                              $ 1,149,000

Milago Condomniums (Downtown)
Number of Active Houses on the Market:             5
Average Days on Market:                                   85
Median List Price:                                  $ 339,000

All Condos in zip code 78704
(South of Downtown: SoCo / Zilker area)
Number of Active Houses on the Market:            65
Average Days on Market:                                    96
Median List Price:                                   $ 250,000

All University of Texas Condos
Number of Active Houses on the Market:            44
Average Days on Market:                                  143
Median List Price:                                    $ 208,750

All condos in zip code 78703
(West of Downtown: Tarrytown area)
Number of Active Houses on the Market:             45
Average Days on Market:                                   102
Median List Price:                                     $ 370,000

Deck the Halls

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‘Tis the season for shopping, baking, cooking, cleaning and maybe a little pepper spray in your eye. With all of the added things to find time for during the holidays, selling a home can seem an additional job we may not have time for. There are benefits though to selling during the holiday season and certainly things to be mindful of.

Austin Winter Real Estate Market

The holiday season is also the start of colder weather. In other parts of the country snow can really impact winter home sales. Fortunately, for the Austin real estate market snow and ice days are little and far between. Buyers can generally shop year round though it may be hard to find the time.

Only the must-see homes on the hot list make the cut this time of year. There are fewer buyers this time of year and with little time, those coming out to see a house are serious shoppers. Sellers will get less traffic but those that come out want or need to buy — now.

A decorated house brings warmth and whimsy to the décor which makes people feel good. Decorations help set the stage for your home. One of my sellers’ biggest challenges for selling a home is keeping it clean. Houses are generally cleaner this time of year because we clean anyway when friend and family are coming to visit.

Houses smell better this time of year as well. The real Christmas tree, those fresh baked cookies and gingerbread room deodorizers make buyers feel good when they come see your home.

There are many sellers that will take their house off the market between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I always encourage by sellers to keep their houses on the market. Serious buyers will miss your home if it is not for sale.