From the Austin Real Estate Blog: in December, for the fourth month in a row, Austin real estate sales were up over the previous year. The average and median sales price were up 6 percent, and the number of active listings is down 5% from this time last year. With 1373 sales, December was still weaker than October (1783 sales) and November (1542 sales). The market’s strength is probably attributable to the Federal housing tax credit, which will expire. According to the Real Estate Blog, “For buyers the trade off is that later there might be less buyers to
compete with in the market later but interest rates might be higher.
For sellers there is no real trade off. Waiting a few months for higher
interest rates and less buyers is probably far from ideal.”

The Austin Board of Realtors and the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin held a housing and economic forecast event Wednesday at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Cetner at UT. Eldon Rude of MetroStudy said that economic and housing fundamentals are the strongest among the more than 40 housing markets across the country, and that “when the U.S. economy improves, Austin will be one of the first markets that shows stronger growth in its housing market.” Housing starts are down but stable, with an increase possible this year. Read more at Statesman.com.

LovelyListing.com shows this interesting property at 507 Leland in Austin. Give me a call if you’re interested, I’d love a chance to show it!

According to the Austin Business Journal, the Austin-Round Rock area was named best performing city on the 2009 Milken Institute/Greenstreet Real Estate Partners Best Performing Cities Index. This is based on Austin’s ability to create and sustain jobs, considering metrics for employment, salary growth and technology output.

“Texas’ strong position in our best performing cities study demonstrates that a favorable business climate, combined with a low-cost/low-tax environment, is highly supportive of job creation,” said Ross DeVol, senior economist at the Milken Institute and lead author of the report. “The state has diversified its economy by fostering several key high-tech clusters, and the passage of Proposition 4, allocating $500 million in funding for research universities, will make Texas an even more formidable competitor in the future.”

The Milken Institute press release is here. Note that Austin is the first metro to ever be ranked number one twice on the index, the last time being in 2000.

Increase in housing starts are up for the month, but down 45% from a year ago.

Not in Austin, but nationally, there is still a glut of homes on the market, many of which are foreclosures or distressed properties. The low interest rates and the $8,000 tax credit have had a major impact on the reductions in that glut, but it’s not over yet. As interest rates rise, more people will be excluded from the market. Some experts feel that the rates will be forced lower to sustain the housing recovery. Some hope for a $15,000 tax credit for all buyers to significantly alter the damage done by the falling market. We in Austin will reap the benefits as our housing market ramps up this summer.

Austin is the best city to get a fresh start, according to Relocation.com (via Austin Business Journal). Austin’s at the top of a list “based on consumer requests for moving quotes to move to that city; economic-growth prospects; home affordability; and the strength of a community as reflected by volunteerism rates.”

Market activity is picking up – with interest rates still below 5%, with teh $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit, and with the decline in the number of homes available – our local market appears to be in balance. That’s a very good thing – that means buyers can buy and sellers can sell without the anxiety and pressure that comes with a one-sided market. Area-wide, homes are selling within a six month time frame. In actuality, homes priced belwo $200,000 are beginning to see multiple offers again. See today’s Statesman article about the Austin home market, or call me for specific information on your home.

The Austin American-Statesman reports that average Travis County home appraisals rose an average 3.8% this year – still an increase, but the smallest in five years. How real is this? Reporters asked local real estate consultant Charles Heimsath, who noted that appraisals are based on the previous year’s sales, and in 2008 most sales occurred while prices were still trending higher. However “next year, the appraisals will reflect the lower home values that people are currently experiencing.”

So while appraisals are higher now, sales prices for homes are actually dropping. This is all very localized, depending on the neighborhood.

If you’re selling your home, be sure you get complete information on trends for the area and your specific neighborhood. You don’t want to be chasing the market down. And you want to catch it when it starts trending up again.

If you’re a buyer, be sure to review market data before making your offer. Even though a home is more than just numbers, you want to make a wise financial decision.

I attended the March 25th Texas Green Network meeting, where candidates for Austin City Council and Mayoral races discussed their green positions. Brief interviews with most of the candidates have been posted at the Austin Clean Energy blog. Please view these before you vote!

MSNBC.com has a travel piece, “25 reasons we love Austin, Texas.” Note especially #21, “there’s a party going on right now.” In fact I’m involved in one of those, the grand Plutopia party at the Palmer Events Center in downtown Austin.

Dropping off now – it’s Thursday afternoon, the weekend’s getting started!