Are you planning on buying a home in Austin Texas? If so, regardless if you are buying a home for the first time or the second time there are a variety of things that you must to get ready for your home search which include the following.

Pay Of Debt

Onе оf thе mоѕt important things you саn do іѕ to wоrk on рауіng down уоur dеbt, еѕресіаllу уоur credit саrd dеbt. This wіll help tо improve уоur сrеdіt ѕсоrе, and саn аffесt how muсh уоu wіll be ԛuаlіfіеd tо borrow whеn уоu аррlу fоr a mоrtgаgе.

Clean Up Your Credit Now

It іѕ іmроrtаnt tо сlеаn up уоur сrеdіt rероrt bеfоrе уоu apply for a mortgage. You саn ѕtаrt bу рullіng a сору оf уоur сrеdіt rероrt аnd уоur сrеdіt score to ѕее whеrе уоu stand. Thе higher уоur сrеdіt ѕсоrе means уоu wіll ԛuаlіfу fоr lower mоrtgаgе rates.

Sаvе Money For A Down Payment

Sаvіng up a down payment can hеlр you рrоvе tо уоurѕеlf thаt уоu аrе rеаdу tо рurсhаѕе a hоmе. It саn аlѕо help уоu рrераrе fоr the еxtrа costs thаt come with рurсhаѕіng a nеw home. The larger уоur dоwn payment, the mоrе you wіll bе able tо ѕреnd оn a home.

Pay Attention To The Local Real Estate Market

Over thе next уеаr as уоu gеt rеаdу tо buy a hоmе, ѕtаrt tо рау attention tо the mаrkеt іn thе area whеrе уоu wаnt tо buy. This саn hеlр уоu understand what hоmеѕ аrе selling fоr and what tо expect when уоu ѕtаrt shopping.

Set A Budget And Stick With It

Thе final thіng уоu саn dо is tо set up a nеw budgеt and рrасtісе lіvіng on іt. Wоrk іn thе аddіtіоnаl costs оf owning a hоmе like аddіtіоnаl utіlіtу bills, rераіr аnd mаіntеnаnсе costs, аnd аnу extra thаt you would рау fоr thе mоrtgаgе.

Determine What You’re Looking For In A Home

Are you searching for a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom single family home, condo or townhome?

Which part of Austin do you want to live in?

Are you interested in living downtown near shops and stores or just outside of town?

These are important questions that you should ask yourself before starting your home search because knowing the answers to these questions will also make your real estate agents job of finding the perfect home for you a lot easier.

Start Your Austin Texas Home Search

Ready to get started with searching for homes in Austin Texas? Contact me today at (512) 944-7378 or click here to connect with me online.

Are you planning on selling a home in Austin Texas during fall 2018? If so you’ve come to the right place!

There’s no doubt that the last few years have been great for sellers because they’ve been able to enjoy little to no competition, and multiple offers, but times have changed and as of October 2018 it’s easy to see that the real estate market is slowing.

How can we tell that the ATX real estate market is slowing?

• Weekly pending counts have been lower year-over-year for at least 4 consecutive weeks.
• Inventory numbers are up and climbing – There are currently 9,796 active listings in the Austin Texas real estate market.
• Seller concessions have increased – These can be anything from money to pay for closing costs or repairs on the home that the seller didn’t make before listing it.
• Days on the market are climbing – Right now the average home is spending about 59 days on the market compared to 47 days during the same time last year.

Still a great time to sell your home

In spite of the recent changes, the average sales price is $367,585 and the ATX real estate market and is expected to grow by at least 3 percent in the next year.

The real estate market is still great for sellers but sellers are starting to compete with each other and this is something that we haven’t seen here for a few years.

Before you list your ATX home for sale make sure you follow these tips:

• Remove the clutter.
• Fix anything that’s broken or in need of repair.
• Paint your home. This is by far one of the most effective ways to freshen up a home and make it feel inviting.
• Don’t forget to focus on curb appeal by raking up the leaves, mowing your lawn and power washing the driveway/sidewalk before buyers arrive.
• Stage your home by moving couches and furniture away from walls and removing some of the furniture that you’re not using on a regular basis from your home because this will help make your home feel bigger.

Search for Homes in Austin Texas

Ready to list your Austin Texas home for sale? Contact me today by calling 512-944-7378 or connect with me through my website.

With so many to choose from, how do you know who is the right real estate agent for you? How do you even narrow it down? You can stop your search right here, I’m a REALTOR® and an Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR®), and I would love to help you find your next home!  

The Second Most Important Homebuying Decision You’ll Make: Tips for Finding the Best Agent for You by Caroline Biggs. © 1994-2017 Apartment Therapy, LLC.

If you’re a first-time buyer, a home inspection might be a pretty vague concept. What is it? Do you really need it? I’m an Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR®) and can help answer these questions, and any others you might have about inspections or the rest of the home buying process!  

The Top 5 Things Buyers Should Ask About Home Inspections by REBAC Staff. © 2016-2017 REBAC.net.

One of the questions I receive the most is, “when is the best time to sell a home”.  There are many ways to dissect this, most notably is your own personal situation. But assuming one has no outside pressure and is simply trying to “market time” the sale, let’s see if we can shed a little light statistically.

It’s no secret that the home selling season follows the school year and the bulk of recorded sales in the MLS definitely show this. May through August consistently have the highest number of closings and that of course has been the case for at least the past five years.

(Click to enlarge: Monthly units sold from January 2012 – December 2016)

Maximize Negotiation Strength 

The ratio of closed price to list price follows a similar trend line with April through July showing the fewest seller concessions.

(Click to enlarge: monthly units sold & percentage of closed price to list price)

Maximize Price per Foot

However, when you look at price per squarefoot, a slightly different story emerges.  Sales closed in July and August contracted during months of high inventory, resulting in a lower price per foot.

(Click to enlarge: monthly units sold & sold price/sqft)

Maximize Potential for Both

Though the bulk of home sales happen in the summer months, March through May are clearly the best months to sell your home. Additionally, the fall months bring sellers greater opportunity than the popular summer months as illustrated in the graph below.

(Click to enlarge: sold price/sqft & percentage of closed price to list price)

It’s important to note that these graphs report on closing dates, not when the contracts were signed nor when the properties were listed. The average time on the market is roughly 51 days and the average escrow period is roughly 30. Therefore, if you are targeting an April closing date, you’re also targeting a March contract date and likely a February listing date.

Conclusion

If it’s me, I’m eyeballing mid February through the end of April to list my home or I’m waiting until late August through mid October as a list date. That should put me in a market with some of the best sales of the year and high seller negotiation strength, and yield one of the highest prices per foot for the year.

Market Quick Hits

“We often miss opportunity because it’s dressed in overalls and looks like work” ― Thomas Edison

• Units closed in April 2017 decreased 3.8% compared to April 2016. Year to date we’re up 1%.
• The Austin MSA inventory is up 16.9%, 15.1% in Travis County and 14.6% in Austin City Limits.
• Year to date condo sales are up 13%. Condos currently represent 10% of the total sales in the Austin MSA and 20% of the total sales in Austin city limits.
• Current interest rates for a 30-year fixed are 4%; down 0.125% from the beginning of May.
• Builder incentives and seller concessions are on the rise once again. Percentage of sold price to original list price dropped 0.7% compared to prior year.

We’re still very clearly in a sellers’ market, but a dip in sales and interest rates plus increases in inventory and seller concessions clearly spells opportunity for home buyers in Central Texas. As interest rates are expected to rise throughout the next year, now very well could be the best time to discuss taking advantage of the market by purchasing your first home, moving-up, or purchasing income-producing property.

Taxes, Taxes & More Taxes

“The thing generally raised on city land is taxes.” -Charles Dudley Warner

2017 is the year we should all be protesting our property tax assessments. While 2016 was a record breaking year for home sales in the metro area, annual home sales growth slid from 5% to 1%  and price growth from 8% to 6%. Yet, it’s almost a certainty that your notice of appraised value shows increases of 10%+. That tells me it’s time to review your tax assessment carefully with your favorite Realtor.

You have probably received advertisements from companies offering to help you protest the value. While some of these services can be of value to those with little time, I’ve found the DIY approach to this process is just as easy as using a third party, without a 40% fee.

As always, I’m here to help. Grab your 2017 Notice Of Appraised Value and connect with me. Together, we’ll make sure you are armed with with the steps to take, things to consider and of course I’ll supply you with comparable properties that support your case.

You must file your protest by May 31st, so connect with me soon!

-scott