Tag Archives: Austin Real Estate Market

Staging with a Thinking Chair

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Where do you put a dining room table or large TV?   The answers may seem obvious, but for potential real estate buyers – they often are not. In Austin’s current hot sellers market, owners are often moving on prior to selling their current home. Home owners  move first because of a job transfer or owners can afford to buy without having to sell. Buying another home often leads to moving furniture, which often leads to an empty home.

Vacant homes for sale can be harder to sell

When a house for sale is vacant it is often hard for a buyer to figure out how to place furniture. It becomes more of a mental stumbling block and less of a question than one might think. When a buyer cannot figure out where a table might go or if a couch will fit somewhere, it takes them from enjoying the space to now figuring out the space – which means they aren’t even looking at the house anymore. When agent feedback starts coming back that the floor plan is odd or where did the owner put a couch, staging is often needed. Renting furniture can be expensive and there are some strategies to that can be taken before going that route.

Staging Strategies

  • Have pictures taken before the move to give buyers a visual of what the home looked like furnished. Pictures can be very helpful in dining areas and flex space. Flex rooms often confuse buyers so knowing how a seller utilized the space can be very helpful.
  • Don’t move everything at once. Yes, it is more expensive to move twice, but the alternative of keeping your house on the market or renting furniture could cost you more.
  • Floor plans that show furniture, pool tables and even pianos can be produced to show a buyer options on how to configure a space.

The Power of the Thinking chair

Often the best part about staging has nothing has nothing to do with furniture placement at all. It is about the buyers feeling at home when they are looking at a house. Sometimes a buyer just wants to sit and take in the space to envision actually living there. When there is a table and chairs or a sofa to sit on, buyers feel like they can take a breather and just take it all in. Every house for sale needs to have a thinking chair. As a seller, you want the buyer to stay and feel at home. Staging can not only make a house look like home, but feel like home too.

South Austin Open Saturday May 17th: 213 Camperdown Elm Drive

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213 Camperdown Elm FrontSingle story South Austin home for sale located at 213 Camperdown Elm Drive in the subdivision of Oak at Twin Creeks. Home offers direct access to neighboring Mary Moore Metropolitan Searight Park through the backyard. Features include masonry exterior, granite counter in kitchen, double ovens, island with breakfast bar and a wall of windows facing the backyard and greenbelt.

213 Camperdown Elm Drive was built in 2007 with 2,758 square feet of living space (per tax record). The floor plan includes a formal dining and living room, family room, 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths and 2-car garage.

213 Camperdown Elm Area Amenities

213 Camperdown Elm, Austin Texas 78748 neighbors Mary Moore Searight Park and is conveniently located in Southwest Austin near the popular Southpark Meadows shopping area. 213 Camperdown Elm Drive is not far from major roadways including 1626 and I-35.

213 Camperdown Elm Back213 Camperdown Elm Drive Open House Saturday May 17th 12:00 – 3:00

Directions: from I-35 take the Slaughter exit and continue on Slaughter to South 1st Street. Go left on South 1st and right on Camperdown Elm.

For Sale 213 Camperdown Elm Drive, Austin Texas 78748: Open House Saturday 11-2

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213 Camperdown Elm FrontSingle story South Austin home for sale located at 213 Camperdown Elm Drive in the subdivision of Oak at Twin Creeks. Home offers direct access to neighboring Mary Moore Metropolitan Searight Park through the backyard. Features include masonry exterior, granite counter in kitchen, double ovens, island with breakfast bar and a wall of windows facing the backyard and greenbelt.

213 Camperdown Elm Drive was built in 2007 with 2,758 square feet of living space (per tax record).  The floor plan includes a formal dining and living room, family room, 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths and 2-car garage.

213 Camperdown Elm Area Amenities

213 Camperdown Elm, Austin Texas 78748 neighbors Mary Moore Searight Park and is conveniently located in Southwest Austin near the popular Southpark Meadows shopping area. 213 Camperdown Elm Drive is not far from major roadways including 1626 and I-35.

213 Camperdown Elm Back213 Camperdown Elm Drive Open House Saturday May 10th 11:00am – 2:00pm

Directions: from I-35 take the Slaughter exit and continue on Slaughter to South 1st Street. Go left on South 1st and right on Camperdown Elm.

Negotiating Space when buying a Austin Downtown Condo

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Downtown Austin
Many buyers are looking to live in the downtown area of Austin. Downtown condo buyers enjoy going to the Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail, the convenience of living a close distance to a variety of eateries and entertainment venues and can often walk or bike to work.

Buyers choose living in an Austin condo because they don’t want the maintenance of a house and the yard that typically accompanies it. Every buyer is moving from somewhere, whether it is from an apartment, a house, a condo or even mom’s house. Knowing how much space you need can be challenging for some especially when downsizing.

Downtown Austin Condos for Sale

There are different types of space to consider too when deciding if condo living is right for you, specifically for living, storage and for guests. For most buyers, living space is easy enough for gauge especially if a unit is already staged. How does your couch or TV compare to the size that is there? How big is your table? Do you need a table? In other words, living space has parameters and within every given space you can either make it work – or you can’t.

Storage space is subjective which makes it a little harder to determine. This is when knowing thyself really well comes into play. Some of us are pack rats so unless a zen moment comes along, paring down is going to be a challenge. Sometimes we want that challenge. Downtown condos in Austin often have limited closet space but additional storage space may be available or assigned to a particular unit in the parking garage.

Downtown Condominium Amenities in Austin

Guest space is another thing to consider when moving into a downtown condo in Austin. There are some condominium communities that have a suite available for out-of-town guests. The suite is an amenity for residents and can usually be reserved several times a year at a rate less than a hotel room. The guest suite takes the question of where visitors might sleep when space is limited.

The typical Austin downtown condo buyer wants convenience and often enjoys the simplicity of limited space. Living with less space and more convenience is often a bit a negotiation. For those who can make it work – the trade-off is worth it.

Home Improvements and Accessories

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360-2006_10_15_(5)_kitchen_viewThe difference between a house and a home is you.  The memories, the pictures, the furniture, even the paint color combine to create a unique blend that reflects your own personality and style.  Improvements and accessories personalize, improve and/or allow for added functionality that a home may not have had before.  Consider them enhancements when it is time to sell an Austin home because they add appeal whether it’s monetary or simply enhances the functionality of a room.

So what items convey with the property and what items move with you when selling your home?  There are often many assumptions made here by the seller but make no mistake, the opposite thought process is often made by the buyer.  When I have a listing appointment I try to go through items I see and review a contract since many of the items are noted.

Austin Homes for Sale

When buying an Austin home Improvements generally affixed to the dwelling or property are considered permanently installed and built-in so they convey with the sale as real property.  They include items like: shrubbery, plumbing, light fixtures, wall-to-wall carpeting, garage door openers, shutters, mounts and brackets for televisions and speakers.

Accessories include items like stoves, curtains and rods, blinds, draperies, artificial fireplace logs, above ground pools and pool equipment.

Sometimes there are items Sellers want to take typically because they have some sort of personal attachment to them.  Grandma’s chandelier is hanging in the dining room, there are bookcases in the living room or maybe you just really like the curtains.  If it is yours and you want to take it with you, the best thing to do is to remove the item before we list it.  Removing grandma’s chandelier and replacing it with another fixture is simple enough to do and avoids discussions or assumptions later on.

If there is something that is going to stay visible that a Buyer would expect is staying, the best thing to do is to post of little sign on it so that potential buyers know up front that the item is not conveying.  Later on when an offer arrives any improvements and accessories that will be retained by the Seller should be listed into the contract under the exclusions section.  This way it is crystal clear to both parties.

Surfing for Homes in Austin

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Surfer on a WaveI know we don’t do a lot of surfing here in Central Texas, but I’m from Jersey so indulge me for a minute here on my analogy.   Catching a wave is a lot like buying a house in Austin right now, you paddle really hard, wait, ride the wave and then do it all over again.  Buyers need to hurry up when a house comes on the market and then wait for the next one if it’s not the right house or if they lose one due to multiple offers.  Understand, there is a bit of rush and then waiting in any market because once you are under contract time is of the essence during the option period.  Once the option period is over, much of the time is spent waiting for the lender to get things in order for the closing.

Searching for Homes in Austin

Waiting for the next house or the right house to hit the market can be very frustrating for a buyer right now.  The housing inventory in all of Central Texas is very low and that includes Elgin, Manor and even Georgetown.  I have clients on custom home searches from Kyle to Georgetown and everywhere in between with price points ranging from $125,000 to $1 million.  Out of the 40 custom searches I have created for my buyers, about 10% receive an email on any given day which lists a new home in their inventory.  I have some buyers who only get a new link once every 2 weeks, which is why everything is going so fast and into multiple offers.  There are a lot of ‘Evan’s out there and ‘Lisa’s looking for the exact same house.

About 150 people move into the greater Austin area every day and about 50 people leave

Although it can be somewhat daunting, the clients that I have been working with for awhile have settled into the pace. We do a lot of waiting for the house, then we hurry and then we wait again.  These clients are going to be great surfers.  For a new buyer, it’s hard to believe until you have experienced it first hand.  In the beginning I get a lot of “what do you mean it’s gone? – it’s only been 3 days!”.  Yes, Evan #1, Evan #5, or Lisa #10 bought it.  So, we paddle out and wait for the next one. When it’s meant to be – it will be. Just like a wave, when it’s the right one – we’ll take it all of the way to the closing.

What kind of a home are you?

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bungalowThey say you are what you eat.  What kind of home you purchase can say something about you as well.  Austin is known for being weird.  The eclectic mix of politics, religion and style are as unique as the tastes in architecture, landscaping and design of Austinites who call this city home. There is quite a mix of homes for sale in Austin.

Homes for Sale in Austin offer a unique blend of vintage and modern designs

I have a client looking in South Central Austin right now, specifically in zip code 78704. We have discussed how you can just turn a corner and be in a different neighborhood with a completely different vibe.  I’ve had clients in the past who refer to master planned communities as ‘Disney Word’, because all of the homes conform to the same aesthetic tone. Other neighborhoods here look like something out of storybook with bungalow style homes and lemonade porches.

Bungalow Homes for Traditional Buyers in Austin

I have found, more often than not, that who you are, as a buyer, has a lot to do with what type of home you pick.  Buyers who like antiques, nostalgia or tend to like structure, tend to like colonial and bungalow style homes.  These buyers don’t care if the floors creek, have no finish and are original from the 1940’s.  To them, the floors as real wood and they appreciate the history and authenticity they represent.  These traditional buyers also like defined rooms. They like a formal dining room, separate from the kitchen and other rooms, because to them every room has a unique purpose and therefore should have a unique identity, which may simply mean a different paint color.

Dated homes ready for a remodel attract creative types in Austin

Unlike traditional, progressive buyers roll with the times.  In my experience these buyers tend to be creative, artist types who don’t always look at a house for what it is… but rather what it could be.  These buyers are deciding what walls they are knocking down and how they are going to expand the kitchen.  These are the dreamers who know very well they may never get to every project they envision, but see the potential and possibility.

Modern Austin homes for buyers who think out of the box

Lastly, modern buyers are similar to progressive type, but have a flare for drama.  These buyers are drawn to open floor plans and like mid-century, contemporary and modern design.  They feel boxed in with too many walls.  They like vaulted ceilings with a uniform tone between living areas.  To some people, these homes look like office buildings, but to modern home buyers, they are dramatic and unique – a work of art in their own right.

The funny thing is that you typically don’t like what you grew up with.  For example, I grew up in a mid-century modern single story home, but my brother, sister and I have always lived in 2-story traditional homes.  I find this to be the case with more of my buyers than not.  Maybe it’s the rebel in us or simply that we know deep down change is good.