June is over and I just pulled numbers from the MLS. I looked at sales of all residential units and then just at single-family homes.
As you can see, units sold were down around 21% in 2009 compared to dropping around 15% in 2008. As you can also see, prices dropped, but not terribly. You can also see that it is taking longer to sell than last year and the year before. We are still feeling lucky that we did not see the huge and artificial appreciation that some other markets saw.
I also looked at the Lake South (LS) Area in the MLS because that is where my office is located.
The numbers you see at the top are all single-family sales in LS. Prices were down almost 8%. Below those numbers are numbers for new construction. The sales price for new homes was down over 13% and that wasn't as bad as I had expected. I have posted about this before. Many builders in LS have been selling pretty far below list price because they have had to in order to make a sale.
So home sales in the Austin area were down around 20% from a year ago and prices dropped, but it could have been worse.
Both Austin and parts of Florida are great for finding waterfront homes. People can buy on Lake Travis and Lake Austin in the Austin area. People buying in Florida can be on the coast or on a pond or river. People in Austin need to be aware of underwater hazards if they are boating or jumping into either Lake Travis or Lake Austin. People in Florida need to know about alligators. If someone wants to swim in a Florida lake or pond, they need to be absolutely certain there are no alligators in it. How they do that is something I don't know. So the safe thing is simply to stay out of the water.
On the the coast of Florida... Can you say hurricane? A few years ago the state got pounded. People with waterfront homes on the beach aren't the only ones who need to be concerned about hurricanes. The storm surge is a huge concern, but so are wind and rain in other areas.
Central Texas doesn't get affected by tropical systems often, but when we do, we get wind and rain. It is the rain that is usually more of a problem The ground in the Hill Country where Lake Travis is consists mainly of limestone. After an inch or so of water soaks in, the rest runs off. Much of it runs into Lake Travis. If an owner of a Lake Travis waterfront home has a home that is within the floodplain, there is a risk of flooding.
Many people in Florida buy waterfront homes largely for the view. People who buy on Lake Travis or Lake Austin buy for the view and to be able to swim and boat on the lakes.
If I was trying to decide between waterfront property here or in Florida, I would by here. Questions about Lake Austin or Lake Travis homes? Call me at 512-293-2422.
The last week or so has been very hot for Austin and the heat doesn't look like it is going away soon. I just checked the Lake Travis weather center and found this:
What cracks me up is the wind chill factor being only 104.3! The 105.5 high temperature eading is almost 15 degrees above what we should be feeling this time of year. Highs in July and August are more like 95 and 96. The hottest temperature on record in Austin was 112 and that was actually in September, 2000.
From the Bureau of Labor and Statistics:
Need I say more? Parents, this is a great one to whos your kids.
There is a new, for lack of a better term, online newspaper out and it is called the Austin Post. A few months ago I received an email asking if I would like to be a contributing writer. I was asked to submit an article of blog post I had written and did just that. A lot of other Austin bloggers got the same email. We got to see the Post about a month ago and were asked to start posting material so when it went live, there would be a lot of content. The Austin Post is going to be a very interesting online newspaper, multi-author blog or whatever you want to call it. There is a lot of diversity among the writers and there have been some really interesting posts. The site will not be officially live until next week, but you can take a look through it before then. Click and visit the Austin Post. Click to start reading the Austin Post.
Edit on June 23 - I just noticed that this post already has 103 views. If any of you have been to the Austin Post, let me know how you liked it.
Measuring employment, the unemployment rate, wages, gross metropolitan product, housing prices and bank owned foreclosures, Austin is second highest on the list of the top 100 metro areas in the nation in terms of economic health according to a study done by the Brookings Institute. Texas had 5 of the top 10 cities and 6 in the top 20 on the list. The other top Texas cities by rank are Dallas, El Paso, Houston, McAllen and San Antonio.
Cities with the least healthy economic conditions are clustered in California, Florida and the manufacturing cities in Michigan and northern Ohio. See the report here.
Home Valuation Estimating Sites Stink
OK, I shouldn’t say they stink, but they can be far from accurate in the state of Texas. Many home buyers, especially the younger crowd, think they can do their own research on home prices. They think they can use the data they have collected to make an offer on a house. What they don’t know can really hurt them.
Someone in my office compared different websites to look at home value estimates. Then an actual Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) was done to see what the true market value of homes was done using actual sold data from the MLS. Websites used for estimates were the Travis County Appraisal District CAD, ValueMap, Zillow, Realtor.com, Trulia. I can not show addresses for these homes, but here is the data:
As you can see, some of the estimates are close and many are not close at all to market value as determined by using MLS data. This is because Texas is a non-disclosure state. Sold data is not publicly available. Everybody from the CAD to the other sited listed guesses and I don’t know what they base values on.
So if you are an Austin home buyer or seller, hook up with a qualified real estate agent. If you are a seller, you need to know how to price a home to sell. If you are a home buyer, you need to know what to come in with as a decent offer.
One World Theater is a very interesting venue on Bee Cave Rd. It actually started out as an education outreach program. The vision was to open the eyes of their students to the arts and to various cultures around the world. What One World Theater evolved into was a cozy setting in the hills in the hills west of downtown Austin that seats just 300 guests.
So you’re wondering what makes One World Theater special. First is the intimate setting and great acoustics. There really isn’t a bad seat anywhere. Not only can you hear everything, but you are close enough to see the action very well. Some acts I want to see this year are:
Ottmar Liebert on August 6 and 7
Blood, Sweat & Tears with Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night on August 27
Tommy Emmanuel on August 30
George Winston on November 6, 7 and 8
Manhattan Transfer on December 13
Want to see more? Visit the One World Theater website.
There will be at 4 homes open for viewing in Apache Shores this weekend. 
What you will see above is a map showing the locations and prices of the homes. Each is numberd on the map according to the listings above the map. You will also see arrows pointing to the two roads leading in to Apache Shores, Debba Dr. and General Williamson.
Apache Shores is off RM 620 just west of Mansfield Dam. It has Lake Austin access through a community boat ramp and day docks just for Apache Shores residents, a pool, volleyball court, tennis courts, a greenbelt and a childrens park. Come out and see four Apache Shores at different price points to see what the area is like. The schedule for each home follows.
14218 Running Deer will be open from 2:00 - 4:00
3011 Spotted Wolf Trail will be open from 2:00 - 4:00
14815 Broken Bow will be open from 1:00 - 3:30
13615 Hunters Pass will be open from 1:00 - 3:00
FYI, right after I posted this, the price for the home on Spotted Wolf was reduced to $275,000.
According to Bizjournals, the Austin-Round Rock area will be one of the fastest growing metro areas in the country through 2025. Of the 250 metro areas studied, the projection is that Austin and surrounding suburbs will be the 5th fastest growing metro area. Our area is expected to have 2.7 million residents by 2025. It looks like history will basically repeat itself. Between 1998 and 2008, the Austin metro area grew 43%. That compares to the state of Texas at around 21% and the country at just over 10%.
According to the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M, the bulk of the growth from 2000 through 2010 is expected to be in several areas. The fastest growing area is in the triangle between Parmer, 290 and IH 35. Other rapidly growing in Austin itself include areas close to the old Mueller Airport, areas south of the Colorado river, the area south of Oak Hill. Williamson County has seen significant growth and that is very likely to continue.
Where are people coming from? According to the Austin Chamber of Commerce, Austin typically sees a lot of people moving here from other parts of Texas. According to the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M, the greatest inflow of people into Texas has been from California, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Illinois. As economies in the Great Lakes region contract, people are likely to move to Texas. As other states continue to raise tax rates, we can expect an influx of people from those states as well.
Click here for the article and to see which metro areas are gaining and which are losing residents.
Questions about Austin real estate? Call me at 512-293-2422.
I've been talking about mortgage rates starting to go up for various reasons for a while and guess what, it is happening.
Here is a list of a few things to do in Austin in the month of June:
Sports
June 7 - Congress Avenue Mile
June 13 at 8:00 AM - Honor Our Heroes 5K
June 27 at 8:00 AM - New Belgium Urban Assult Rice at Fiesta Gardens
Music
June 3 at The Paramount - The Gay Divorce
June 5 at Antone's - Alejandro Escovedo
June 7 at One World Theater - Warren Hill
June 8 at Stubb's - Gomez
June 14 - KGSR Live at the Lake at the Lakeway Resort and Spa - Mother Truckers
June 3 - Blues on the Green at Waterloo Park - Ruthie Foster
June 17 - Blues on the Green at Waterloo Park - Cyril Neville
June 3 - Live at the Garten at Scholtzes Garten - Dale Watson
June 17 - Live at the Garten at Scholtzes Garten - Slaid Cleaves
June 24 - Live at the Garten at Scholtzes Garten - Li'l Cap'n Travis
Theater/Culture
June 6 and 7 - at The Long Center - Rock My Soul: A Celebration of Spirituals
June 7 - at Rollins Studio Theater - The Doyle and Debbie Show
June 7 and 8 - in Zilker Park - Romeo and Juliet
June 25 - at the Keller Williams TexArts Studios in Lakeway - Grease
Questions about Austin or Lake Travis real estate? Call me at 512-293-2422.
The title of this post was the subject line of an email I got from Zillow today. The email claims that according to Zillow's own market reports, Austin area home values increased 8.7% from the first quarter of 2008 to the first quarter of 2009. I don't know where they are getting their data, but this is relative proof that buyers and sellers can not trust Zillow in the state of Texas.
I just pulled data from the MLS and found that the average sold prices for single-family homes in the Austin MLS dropped 3% from Q1 of 2008 to Q1 or 2009. For all residential properties in the MLS, sold price decreased 2%. This would include mobile homes, duplexes, condos, etc.
Some of the home valuation sites might be fun to play on, but people need to know that the only people to get accurate information on the market value of a home is someone with MLS access or an appraiser. Texas is a non-disclosure state, meaning that sellers don't have to disclose the sold price of a property to the county tax appraisal districts and other government entities.
So what about different parts of the area quarter to quarter? In and Around Westlake, sold prices were up a little over 1%. In the south Lake Travis area, prices were down almost 12%. Within a 2 mile radius of downtown, prices were up about 1%. In the entire city of Cedar Park, prices were down around 4%. For the entire city of Round Rock, the average price was up $85 and statistically that is around 0%.
Questions about Austin real estate? Call me at 512-293-2422.
What will the next style of architecture be for the Austin area? Although it is very nice, we have just about had our fill of the Texas Tuscan. Brick is still around, but is nothing new or fresh about it. Contemporary has been built in some areas and I don't think it has a huge place here. So what's next - craftsman style?
Craftsman style architecture was introduced at the end of the 19th century. You will see a lot of this style in some Austin neighborhoods and a great example is the Hyde Park home in the photo to the left.
This photo gives readers a good idea of craftsman style architecture. As you can see, craftsman style homes featured large front porches with columns supporting the gabled roof. The interiors are typically open and airy. They are like this because early designs did not include air conditioning as it was not available.
Some of the new construction at the site of the old Mueller Airport is craftsman style. Coventry released a story in the Statesman last Sunday about a craftsman style development. Ash Creek Homes has a craftsman style community in the northwest Austin area that is apparently doing quite well.
What I would like to see is a craftsman style community at a lower price point with nice, but not over the top, amenities. It should have access to great schools and should appeal to younger and first-time home buyers. The little house shown above could easily go for $250 per square foot because of the location. I would like to see a community of craftsman style homes at closer to entry level prices.
I hear that California is turning to craftsman style architecture in a lot of places. That state sets a lot of trends. Will craftsman be the next big architecture change here? I'd love any comments on this.
Questions about Austin real estate? Call me at 512-293-2422.
Forbes came out with a list of the Best Bargain Cities in the country and Austin was right at the top. Forbes studied the top 50 Metropolitan Statistical Areas and looked at things like employment, salaries for degreed workers, the cost of housing and other federal data. As is the case with many lists out recently about cities doing well economically, Austin and three other Texas cities made the top ten on this list.
Austin made it on another Forbes list too - Best Cities for the Outdoors. Austin was tied with L.A. at 11th place. My guess is that Austin would have been much higher if it wasn't for our hot summers. One can tell that climate was a big part of this when seeing L.A., San Diego and San Francisco on the list. Part of what got Austin up there is probably the topography here. There are some really excellent routes in the Hill Country for training on bicycles. The area also has some great parks with hiking and rock climbing. There are some really cool swimming holes like out at Krause Springs too. Of course, Lake Travis is absolutely fabulous.
Questions about Lake Travis real estate? Call me at 512-293-2422.