Embrace the Homes for Sale Market in Austin Texas

Our market will get bigger in 2010 with short sales. This is being predicted as the short sale year by the lenders. The key to a short sale is to qualify your self as a candidate- upfront!

The main ingredient is there a hardship or one soon to occur. Second, are you insolvent. These 2 main issues are the beginning and 3rd- do you owe more for your home than the current value and will have a difficult time in making your mortgage. The Austin, Dripping Springs, Bee Cave, Kyle, and Buda communities for homes for sale is going to have a number of sellers that will be short sales. Most of the time sellers list their home on the market to try and cover all of the closing cost including a realtors commission and add it to their loan balance to sale the home for.

This is not a practical practice since the incoming buyer will not pay what you owe nor does the buyer care what you need. The sales price of the home is determined by market value. This is when a short sale expert can help guide you through the process and get your home sold without incurring cost that the seller has no way of bringing to the table.  The key is early intervention. Communication with the sellers lender and a real estate agent that understands the process can expidite a sale much quicker and make the process go much smoother.

If your facing a loss of income, debt that is taking control, and needing help to understand the process- give my office a call. As a Certified Distressed Property Expert I can help you navigate through what can be a mind boggling experience.

The area in Austin experiencing the slowest market in home sales is the Lake Travis School District and in the MLS Multiple Listing Service as LS and this would include Bee Cave, Lakeway, and Spicewood. Home sales have slowed down to as much as 22 months of inventory. Meaning it would take up to 22 months to sale every home based upon current sales each month. The National Association of Realtors, NAR says that anything over 5 months is considered a Buyers Market. This has reached a all time high record.

Often times many homeowners tend to wait till the spring time when a majority of home sales occur. Yes this is true- but it also means there are more to compete with which also will drive down prices to compete with your neighbor and others in the community.  It is best to get the jump on the market and come on early starting in January and be extremely aggressive on the internet. That is where the buyers are and not on the MLS.

If your considering a move- now is the time to start your planning strategy. The Raesz Team offers a no obligation to what is necessary to take your home to market and consultation on what you will need to do in order to get your home sold. Call us today!

Circle C Homes For Sale- Real Estate Market Update!

Well, the government passed the extension for the First Time Home Buyer Credit program this past weekend that gives $8,000 on the purchase of your home. In addition- the move up Seller gets $6,500 upon the purchase of another home. This is a real move up program benefitting the buyer and seller in their next move. There are strings attached so give us a call for all the details.

Circle C that is located on South Mopac, Slaughter Lane, Escarpment Blvd, 1826, and Lacrosse is a moving market today! There are a total of 57 properties that are for sale, 30 pending sales to close, and 27 that has closed since October 1, 2009. One closed this month of November.

That is a 2 month supply of homes for sale that are available in Circle C. That is a good sellers market.

We have our home for sale at 6201 Back Bay that is a 5 bedroom, 3.5 bath, built in 1990 with 2,971 square feet of all open living space. The master is down and the home is all brick! It is located only a few blocks to the community center with pool and playground. The Austin Schools are Kiker Elementary, Bailey middle, and Bowie High School. The owner has reduced the price over $25,000 to make this extremely affordable and aggressively priced.

If your looking for more information go to our web site and sign up on the Market Snapshot to get a value of any neighborhood, any town, any state, anywhere in the United States.

Where will you move next!

The real estate homes for sale market in Austin Texas and surrounding areas including Lake Travis, Lakeway, Dripping Springs, Buda, and Kyle still have a lot of pressure on sales and pricing. Towards the lake area the months continue to increase of inventory and so does Dripping Springs now with 12 months.

Go to south Austin in the Legend Oaks, Circle C, and along Escarpment Blvd and Slaughter Lane and it becomes more competitive and fewer homes on the market with less days. It is location location for this area! Go south towards Buda and Kyle and still only 5 months of inventory.

The hottest area south of the river still remains in the Austin Multiple Listing Service MLS is 10s with only 1.8 months! This area continues to rock with only 102 homes for sale and 68 pending sales and 54 sold in October!

With the First Time Home Buyer Credit program to be extended and also benefits for the move up seller- you will see a shortage and buying frenzy like we haven’t seen in many years! There will always be those that fence sit and miss out as the old saying goes “you snooze you loose”

Take advantage and make your move- If it is meant to be then why not YOU!

First time Home Buyer Credit will reap the benefits!

The First Time Home Buyer Credit is close to be extending till May 1, 2010- what does this mean to you in your upcoming move? As of today you would have to be closed on a home no later than November 30, 2009 and time was running out! This allows you the opportunity to find that …

Almost Perfect Home! You can go online today to begin your home search  and still get your  $8,000. If you have lived in your current home you owned for the last 5 years you can get a credit of $6,500!

 

What this will do is decrease the inventory in the local area and add more buyers to the market creating a shortage of homes in the next 6 months. The total number of existing homes in our area are 10,325 as of yesterday- covering all price ranges and this is for a 5 county region. The house and senate also increased the income limits up to $125,000 for a single person and $225,000 for a married couple. For those in the military serving outside the United States  extended for 1 year.

 

This has opened up a whole new game for almost all of the buyers locally to get into the home buying opportunity. Locally the builders have slowed down to almost no inventory of standing homes. The custom home builder in all price ranges have stopped altogether. You will start to see a shortage in many areas and this will put pressure to start raising prices when there are multiple bids on homes with more buyers in the market. Request our 

 11 Top Reasons why now is the best time to be in the market for a home- after all, they call it a buyers market for a reason with all the incentives being offered- Don’t you agree!

 

If you have considered on making a move- now is the time to get the jump and ahead of your competition. Our Buyer Consultants Rosa, Greg, and Cory are skilled negotiators, they have lots of experience in negotiatiing contracts, and they have a clear understanding of our current market perspective. Call today and get your strategy plan in place and start the search for that Almost Perfect Home today  

Oh by the way, We are never too busy for any of your referrals! Give us a call Today!

 

What is the hottest selling area south of Townlake!

Well the slowest and probably the hardest areas to get a property sold is in the Lake Travis, Lakeway, Bee Cave, and Spicewood communities. There are about 14 to 22 months of inventory. Anything over 5 months is considered a buyers market. There are some really great buys and some of the most negotiable sellers in the market.

Going to Dripping Springs there are now 12 months of inventory with 224 properties for sale and 51 under contract and only 21 sold in Ocotber!

Going to the South West Austin your looking at 290 homes on the market, 152 pending sales, and 94 sold in October with about 3 months of inventory.

The hottest area is 10S with only 102 homes for sale, 68 pending sales, and 54 sold in October. There is only 1.8 months of inventory. If your looking at a move you need to know how your home competes and also fits in the community. Know upfront what it will take to go to market. Be aggressive and have a knowledgeable agent that knows the MLS is not the place where you will find the buyer. Buyers have been online for a number of years. Give me a call and learn the difference.

Sold or Expired!

It is that time of the month again- the first day of each month that real estate agents let their homes expire from the Multiple Listing Service MLS. This occurs when a predetermined date between a Seller and their real estate agent that had a property for sale of which  asale did not occur.

Usually after 90 days it is very obvious that the price and condition of the property did not attract a buyer and the listing was removed from the MLS. Today in the southwest part of Austin, Lake Travis, Dripping Springs, Buda, and Kyle communities there were 64 homes that were removed from the market.  When this occurs there were expectations that were not met and it reveals a property that was misguided in the process.

To aviod this you must make adjustments every 14 to 21 days in the price. It has to be enough to have a call to action. The listing count today is 10,625 active properties for sale. That is a decrease of 11.53% from this same time last year. In the month of September 1,784 properties that were listed sold. That is about 16% of the active listings sold- that also means that 84% did not! What that really means is not every property is going to sell. There are 2 distinct areas of focus to get a home sold- Price and Condition. Neither one can be taken lightly or gambled on. This can cause your property to be overlooked and avoided. If you have considered selling a property or would like to get a second opinion give me a call and we can spend 15-20 minutes to discuss your options for today’s market.

Last month for First Time Home Buyer Credit Program $8,000

There are now only 30 days left for any First Time Home Buyer out there to make the move and get the $8,000. There has been a lotof talk about extending the program- let’s not hold our breath. Today there are 10,625 homes on the market and only 12% are selling. In fact in September only 1,784 sold which is down from this time last year. What does all this mean to you considering on making a move?

 

First- it is about positioning in the market. This is not the market to just consider selling. That is why so many are not. You have to become the best staged home to compete. After all, the buyers have so much to consider in their selection process. You must stand out!

 

Second- the price has to be right! I’m not talking about giving a home away. You just have to be at market value, that’s all! I look at the market pricing as a strategic move to ensure you don’t under price it as well as over price out of the market. Your property needs to sell within the first 90 days. Go on our web site  and sign up on the Market Snapshot and get the latest real estate report update and find your value- instantly. This doesn’t take into account the particulars that makes your home unique. That is what I do to help prepare your home in pricing to get the most value.

 

Give me a call today if your considering a move and I will help guide you to correct pricing strategies and work with my Home Stager just like on TV to get your home in it’s best possible position for a sale. My 23 years of home selling experience can go to work for you to maximize the market potential. Get the latest real estate market update for homes for sale online today!

MREA Book Page 91 Think Competitively!

Low Achiever: can we do this?

High Achiever: Why? Did someone say we couldn’t?

In this market you have 2 distinct school of thoughts- which one are you interviewing to get your home sold or buy that almost perfect home. Today I heard my friend Brian Buffini say that 450,000 real estate agents left the business. That can be a good thing if they were not committed.

The market is being reported in a rebound. What do you think is happening in your community or street. What signs are you seeing that are staying up and why. It is all about being strategic.

The local real estate market for sale is showing that about 10-12% is selling. That means that 88-90% is not. Does anyone ever consider what will happen if their home doesn’t sell? Most consider that all real estate sells- eventually!

Our market will start a trend of more homes staying on the market and fewer buyers, especially since we are now going into November. Today, the Austin Board of Realtors, ABOR shows that there are 10,625 homes for sale and that is a decrease of 11.53% from this same time last year in 2008.

You can get more on the local market at www.AustinDistressedHomeSales.com and find out about the difference of Short Sale versus Foreclosure. The lenders are not prepared to take on more forclosures and would prefer to work with sellers in a short sale. Learn more about this program online and call me if I can help anyone you may know.

Often times when a home becomes an Expired or Withdrawn listing from the local Austin Board of Realtors  Multiple Listing Service MLS there could be a sign that it is soon to become a distressed sale. More of this topic can be learned on our web site on how to help home owners that have more month than money at www.AustinDistressedHomeSale.com

3 Myth Understandings about Short Sales

Myth One is the bank would prefer to foreclose on the homeowner is far from the truth. The bank receives more from a short sale than in a foreclosure. The qualifications for real estate for sale by way of a short sale is

1. There must be a financial hardship which would involve a situation causing it to be hard to make the mortgage payment.

2. Monthly income shortfall or more month than money in the bank. The bank wants to see that there is not enough money to continue to make the mortgage payment now or in the future. If you know that there is a pending situation in the near future, like a job cut, lower future earnings, etc, this will also qualify.

3. Insolvency that there are no liquid assets to pay down the mortgage.

Myth Two is you must be behind on the mortgage. If you have a verifiable hardship and a pending solvency you still qualify. It doesn’t mean today your experiencing a hardship but it is coming in the next few months. It is better to get ahead of the short sale than wait till the last minute.

Myth Three  is there is not enough time to negotiate before foreclosure.  The lenders do not want to be in the real estate owned REO Business but help you to get your home sold. The main point is to take action ahead of time and get with a CDPE Certified Distressed Property Expert.

I became qualified and hold this designation to better serve my clients and customers. When your looking to buy a short sale it takes a little longer and you must have patience. The same holds true with sellers in the Austin Real Estate Market for homes for sale. There is a process that must be followed in order to complete a Short Sale and having someone that understands and is qualified to complete short sales is very important. If your needing to schedule a consultation give me a call today.

West Cave Estates Real Estate For Sale Update

Located both in Travis and Hays County with the county line almost dividing the community in half and is located more specifically at the intersection of Ranch Road 12 north of Dripping Springs about 8 miles and Hamilton Pool Road about 7 miles west of Hwy 71. West Cave Estates is an all custom home built community with not one home like another, all on acreage homesites served by Pedernales Electric Coop PEC and all with individual wells and septic.

There is a active Home Owners Association and a small community park at the entrance of West Cave Blvd on Ranch Road 12 across from Saddletree Ranch. One of the more popular characteristics of West Cave Estates is that all utilities are below ground with no overhead poles or lines. This adds to the great views.

The real estate for sale in West Cave Estates currently shows 9 homes for sale and 6 are in the Lake Travis School District which is in Travis County, the remainder is located in Hays County in the Dripping Springs School District.

There is only one home under contract or pending sale, which is on the Travis County side located at 10033 West Cave Loop. The days on market for this property was 70 days. The price range for active listings are $229,000 to $525,000. The solds that have happened since January 1, 2009 with 10 to 364 days on the market. The price range for sold is $252,350 to $368,000. The real estate companies that have had sales in West Cave this year are 1 Stanberry & Associates, 1 Remax River City, and 3 Keller Williams Realty.

The market currently has slowed down for many home owners and sellers today have to consider the days on market or DOM. This is important to understand the longer a property sits on the market the less likely they are to receive a offer that is reasonable to expect. The property becomes stale in the Multiple Listing Service MLS and realtors and buyers are searching for the more recent and new to market. There has been a reduction of active Realtors in the local Austin Board of Realtors membership also. As a seller you need to make sure that the intention of your real estate agent is to get the home sold and not to take another listing at a price that will not support the market. This is not the time to just want to sell, it is only for those that either have or need to make a move.

Four years ago it was how much can we make. Today it is about will my home sell in today’s market and how long is it going to take and what must I have to do to get it sold. Different school of thought and a serious one to discuss prior to going on the market for sale.