Thanks for coming back! Hope you’re finding value here. Please feel free to request an appointment to discuss your residential real estate needs, or to see homes. I’m committed to your success! From the Austin Real Estate Blog: in December, for the fourth month in a row, Austin real estate sales were up over the previous [...]

More collateral damage from the housing bust: workers are less apt to relocate for employment because they can’t afford to sell their homes in a down market — so they stay put. [Link] The ability to relocate for employment, which helped the U.S. economy recover quickly after previous deep recessions, is the latest victim of the [...]

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, [...]

A Move.com survey suggests that “17.7 percent of Americans want to take the plunge and finally become first-time home buyers.” That’s actually a big percentage, more than half the adults who don’t own a home, according to Baltimore Sun’s Real Estate Wonk. 15.7 percent consider buying an investment property a priority. One driver for homebuyer optimism [...]

As you might have guessed, those “reality shows” about real estate on channels like HGTV are not particularly real. Given that, is there something you can learn from them? Read more in the Chicago Tribune. ” ‘House Hunters’ is house candy,” [Chicago Realtor Eric] Rojas said. “It’s not realistic. It’s directed. You don’t learn anything about buying. [...]

Three extensions of the tax credit for first-time home buyers have been proposed in the Senate. The hope is that a liberal extension of the amount as well as the length of time in effect will permanently raise the housing market to a sustainable level of activity before it is phased out or time runs [...]

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 [...]

From the Coldwell Banker channel on Youtube:

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 [...]

An article in the Austin American-Statesman talks about the increasing demand for “hybrid” homes (the term hybrid relating to an analogy with fuel-efficient automobiles). In a slow housing market, energy features can add value,especially in Austin, where custom homebuilders like Ray Tonjes are adding energy-saving features like thicker insulation, sealed attics and ductwork, and dual-speed air [...]