Tag Archives: Buying a home

Looking to purchase a home in Austin? Doreen Zelma is a real estate professional ready to help, whether you are a first time home buyer or seasoned second time or move up buyer.

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

Austin Real Estate Market Data

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I have selected randam subdivisions in the greater Austin area and listed their current real estate market data. Average Days on Market below 3 months are considered Seller’s markets, because homes are moving quickly.  Neighborhoods with homes on the market between 3 and 6 months are considered neutral.

The data below is specific to single family homes. If there is an area you want me to spotlight -please let me know.

Austin Market Spotlights

Legend Oaks (Southwest Austin)
Number of Active Houses on the Market: 10
Average Days on Market: 45
Median List Price: $ 266,025

Cherry Creek (South Austin)
Number of Active Houses on the Market: 16
Average Days on Market: 98
Median List Price: $ 184,970

Plum Creek (Kyle)
Number of Active Houses on the Market: 25
Average Days on Market: 89
Median List Price: $ 179,250

City of West Lake Hills
Number of Active Houses on the Market: 27
Average Days on Market: 122
Median List Price: $ 1,295,000

Barton Creek West (West Austin)
Number of Active Houses on the Market: 3
Average Days on Market: 60
Median List Price: $ 585,000

Cat Mountain (North Austin)
Number of Active Houses on the Market: 7
Average Days on Market: 85
Median List Price: $ 450,000

Bouldin (Central Austin)
Number of Active Houses on the Market: 6
Average Days on Market: 79
Median List Price: $ 447,000

Travis Heights (Central Austin)
Number of Active Houses on the Market: 17
Average Days on Market: 99
Median List Price: $  575,000

Buying the Dream

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 As in life, there are things that we want in our next house and things that we need.  The ‘need’ makes life more comfortable in the present.  The ‘want’ is a goal we would like to acheive someday.  Needs and wants change as our lifestyles and conditions change.  They are two separate things and are two separate lists when looking for a house.  On the need list I expect to see things like the number of bedrooms, baths, location and garage space.  The items on the need and want lists are interchangeable.  You can add any item on either list because the need is a “must-have” and a want is a “nice-to-have” – it’s the goal. 
The challenge for buyers is to look at the two lists separately and not together.  When we have too many wants on the needs list, we start creating a dream house.  Every needs list has a dream house.  A dream house is a house that is universally appealing to many needs lists, but is also touches on 2 or more items that are on the wants list.  Examples of a dream house may include a 3-car garage on a golf course, a lake front home with nice outdoor kitchen and boat dock or a 5 bedroom house with horses allowed.

What all of these dream houses have in common is that they are scarce.  My challenge is often that buyers don’t always believe they are looking at a dream house. I never know when the ideal house is going to come up for someone.  Buyers and houses enter and exit the market constantly.  When a house is only 7 days old on the market and it’s a dream house, buyers often think they can wait. 

Remember a dream house is always going to show up in someone elses dream, so there is no telling when the next buyers are going to see it.  When buyers lose a dream house it can become very discouraging, but often need to go through the experience.  The next time my buyer won’t wait for another buyer to purchase their house.  All houses sell in their own given time.  It could be day 7 or day 150.  If a buyer sees their dream house on day 150 – it’s new to them!
I often find it a helpful exercise to show buyers the difference in inventory between their wants list versus their needs list.  A buyer may easily start with 35 homes that meet their needs criteria, but when I add a golf course view – we wind up with 5.
Remember our goals change in the future as life has a habit of changing.  Buying a new home is a dream in itself. Sticking to the present and what you need now will help keep that dream a reality.

Homestead Exemptions

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On September 1st changes were made to the proof of residency requirements for homeowners applying for property tax homestead exemption. Under the new law all applicants must show a copy of their Texas Driver’s license or state ID card and vehicle registration receipt. All of the documents must show the same address as the property they are seeking exemption for.  

Applicants that do not own a vehicle can use a utility bill showing the matching address, but also must sign an affidavit stating that they do not own a vehicle.

The new law does not affect those who have already received tax exemption status. The new homestead requirements also apply to applications for the over-65, disability, disabled veterans, homeowner’s surviving spouse and manufactured (mobile) home exemptions.

The homestead exemption form must be filed between Jan 1, 2011 and April 30, 2011.   To qualify you must have owned your home by January 1, reside there as of that date and not claim an exemption on any other property.

Home Owners Associations

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Home owners associations are common in neighborhoods in and around Austin. Some are voluntary like in Travis Heights, for example. Most are mandatory, which means that if you choose to own real estate within the boundaries of the Association – membership is mandatory. Home owners associations often provide additional restrictions above and beyond what the City imposes.

Rules and by-laws are defined and outlined for each home owners association and can include anything from buildings restrictions, pet limitations and quiet hours. H.O.A.s impose fee’s to manage common charges and services impacted by the community. Mandatory home owners associations are typically created at the time the subdivision is created whether it is a neighborhood of houses or a condominium community.

H.O.A.s are a legal and financial entity designed to fund and manage common services and areas. Gated entrances, pools, fitness centers and playgrounds are all examples of common areas. Common services can include water, cable, trash and even gas. What services are included typically depends on how the subdivision was initially designed. Home owners associations can be powerful; they will impose fines and can even place liens on a property if fees are not paid or rules are not complied with.

Home owners associations often manage community activities as well, which provides an environment to socialize with neighbors within the community.

Austin HOA Rules and Restrictions

Whether or not a home owners association will work for a buyer will depend on many factors. If you are looking to build and want the freedom to choose any material you want or size of home, a neighborhood with a home owners association may not work for you. Having horses or parking an RV or boat next to a house – may not be allowed. You may be limited to the kinds of fences you can have. Dog breeds that are typically labeled as ‘aggressive’ are often not allowed as well.

Some people like limitations and rules within a community. Members of an association often like the structure within the community and welcome the limitations. Some people like a common aesthetic theme limited building materials bring. They also like the sense of community and small town feeling common amenities often provide.

Home owners associations can include many amenities, rules and by-laws or very few. H.O.A.s vary greatly in terms of when fees are due. Some are monthly; others are quarterly or even paid annually. Frequency is often determined by the size and scope of the association.

Unless I have a buyer who truly doesn’t like the idea of a home owners association, I often suggest clients be open to the idea. You can often tell just by driving through a neighborhood if it is heavily restricted or looks fairly laid back. With so many of them in the greater Austin area, it is hard for prospective buyer to completely rule them out.