December sales were up

February 18, 2010

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 [...]

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A great gift!

February 15, 2010

Parents who want to give their kids a great gift should consider making a down payment on a house.
According to the Internal Revenue Service, a married couple can give gifts of $13,000 each, money or property, without requiring taxes of the giver or receiver. A married couple can give another married couple a total of [...]

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ZeroHouse

January 17, 2010

Can you live entirely off the grid? It’s possible with a house designed specifically for zero net energy use. Local architects Scott Specht and Louise Harpman are developing just that: ZeroHouse, a house designed to operate with no connections to external sources of power or water. [Link]
“The off-grid model has the most challenges, so that’s [...]

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Housing bust and mobility

January 17, 2010

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 [...]

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Austin’s housing fundamentals are strong

January 14, 2010

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, [...]

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Returning calls

December 27, 2009

Mark Hall of Vancouver, Washington tells the story of a client who didn’t return her calls when it was critical to stay in touch. This happens more often than you would think. When you’re in the market for a home, it’s important to stay in communication and return calls promptly, especially when you’re in the [...]

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Short sales to avoid foreclosure

December 20, 2009

If you’re in danger of foreclosure, one possible remedy is a short sale, where the mortgage lender agrees to accept less than is owed. These are complex transactions, but new measures that go into effect next April might make them easier. Meanwhile it remains a slow process, and lenders prefer loan modifications to short sales. [...]

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Who buys foreclosures?

December 16, 2009

In general, home buyers “have a negative view of buying foreclosures,” but an article at CBS Moneywatch.com says real estate investors, trade-up buyers and renters have a strong interest in buying foreclosures, so they’re still a big part of the housing market.
The article provides an interesting set of statistics. For example, 24% of homeowners [...]

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Appliance rebates!

December 12, 2009

Texas is using $23 million in federal stimulus money to finance rebates for replacing older appliances with newer ones that are energy-efficient. According to the Austin Statesman, “rebates will range from $45 for room air conditioners to $1,600 for some heat pumps. Consumers can also get a $75 rebate for recycling the older appliances.” More [...]

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New Year’s Resolution: Buy a Home

December 6, 2009

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 [...]

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