Austin Suburban Properties Blog 
Austin Ranks #1 in Job Growth over TOP 50 US Metro Areas.
Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010 at 2:46pm. 7 Views, 0 Comments.
Austin Texas Ranks #1 AGAIN. Now we are being noted for our job increase. Out of the 50 Top Metro U.S. areas, Austin Ranked #1.
Texas Residential Property Inspection new Standards of Practice
Sunday, April 11th, 2010 at 4:13pm. 21 Views, 0 Comments.
Lack of AFCI is Now Considered a Deficiency on All HomesThe Texas Real Estate Commission’s new Standards of Practice for Inspectors require us to report the lack of Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI) protection as a deficiency, regardless of the age of a home. AFCI protection is required in all family rooms, dining rooms, living rooms, parlors, libraries, dens, bedrooms, sunrooms, recreations rooms, closets, hallways, and similar rooms or areas.AFCI vs GFCI
AFCIs differ from ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs), which are required for all receptacles near a water source. While a GFCI protects people from shock if parts of an electric appliance or tool become energized due to a ground fault, AFCIs are newly-developed electrical devices designed to…
Results of the Latest Downtown Condo Auction
Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 3:46pm. 58 Views, 0 Comments.
An auction of 30 units at the Sabine on Fifth was held yesterday at 1:00 pm. The auction was conducted by Kennedy Wilson and at this time, I do not know of any more auctions that are scheduled. If you look at the trends on my last blog, this may be the last one we see for quite a while. Of course, it is not guaranteed that any of the prices from the auction listed below will be the actual sales prices. All high bids were accepted subject to Lender approval. Having said that, the prices were about 5% higher than I expected. There were about 400 people attending. Here are the results:
Are you waiting to see if home prices will drop a little more?
Friday, February 26th, 2010 at 1:03pm. 53 Views, 0 Comments.
Well in Austin, it looks like they won’t. Buyers, take note: From here on, we all will be able to look back and see the bottom of our housing market. Yes, it has already happened. Whether you are talking about the number of sales or the average price of homes, the bottom was in 2009. The data below is from the Real Estate Center in College Station. I’m a statistics geek, and I prefer the 12-month moving average trend line. It quickly summarizes what the market is doing and removes the confusion seasonal cycles often cause. I would be happy to send you the raw data if you’re curious.
These charts only reflect the environment in Austin, TX. All real estate markets are different. One of the biggest mistakes buyers and sellers make is assuming that the…
Revisions to Homebuyer Tax Credit reaches out to more Americans
Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 4:00pm. 57 Views, 0 Comments.
The rules of the revised Homebuyer Tax Credit are still coming down from the IRS and soon we will be able to provide you their forms. For now, the best summary of the rules I have seen are spelled out in this brief from NAR. You must maintain any home you use to obtain this credit as your primary residence for at least three years. Otherwise, you are subject to payback requirements. Thankfully, there are some special rules for active military and foreign service personnel that protect them if they have to move.
Remember, you must be under contract by April 30, 2010 or you will be subject to a phase out of the credit. The National Association of REALTORS lobbyists were clearly told not to come back asking for any further extension of this stimulus…
New Seton Medical Center in Kyle open now
Friday, October 2nd, 2009 at 12:10pm. 59 Views, 0 Comments.
With all the news this week in Austin, one story that did not get enough attention was the opening of the new 112 bed, Seton Medical Center Hays County. This first phase alone is expected to bring 19,000 new jobs to the area. The $143,000,000 complex is the major development that will drive growth and values in Buda and Kyle for the next 15 years. In the short term, these new jobs will increase sales tax revenue and spending locally and work to insulate us from the recession affecting the rest of the country.
