Capitol Building of Texas

While not unscathed by all of the recent real estate troubles, Texas has, in many ways, been buoyed by strong growth, in its economy and in its population. That growth—which has shaped Texas into one of the most sought-after places to live, and landed many of its cities on “Best of” lists for everything from lifestyle to job-seeking—will, it seems to me, continue to propel Texas’ real estate market in the decades to come, making today’s prices a rock-bottom bargain when compared to future growth. Here’s why:

How strong is Texas’ economy right now? Powerful indeed, when compared to national averages, and exceptional when viewed outright. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Texas was home to 43 percent of the net jobs created in the entire country, from June 2009 to May of 2011. That’s nearly half of all jobs in the country, created just in the Lone Star State. It’s clear that Texan business is booming. And with that boom comes jobs in manufacturing and the energy sector (among others), along with the intricate web of service sector jobs that support the modern lifestyle. People with jobs, of course, need somewhere to live, and it’s easy to suggest that a majority of those workers will, at some point in their lives, want to buy a house.

Thanks in part to job growth, population growth, too, has been strong in Texas, with continued gains in both domestic and international immigration. Travis county, part of which falls within the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metropolitan area, has seen a nearly 25 percent growth in population from 2000-2010; Williamson county has grown nearly 69 percent in the same period. Attracted by plentiful jobs, and a top-notch cultural and educational climate, places like Austin are moving forward toward the future, even while much of the nation has been stalled by the recent recession. And the numbers hold true all across Texas; a recent data release from the U.S. Census Bureau (as reported by Texas A&M University’s Real Estate Center) suggested that Texas will see a 43.5 percent increase in population from 2005 to 2030—that’s an additional 10 million people calling Texas home within the next twenty years!

Affordability, of course, is a major concern, and keeping sales prices tenable for both existing and new homes in Texas has been a priority for many leaders in the political and business arenas. Many families are finding that new home construction in the exurban areas of the state’s larger cities is helping to relieve price pressures, and providing affordable, desirable and financially-realistic homeownership options. Well-planned urban in-fill projects (like Austin’s Mueller) are also keeping Texas’ housing affordability reasonable, and providing buyers with lots of choices, at a variety of price points.

So the twin engines of regional growth—population increases and rising employment numbers—are here, and already shaping tomorrow’s Texan real estate market. New home construction is responding, and taking advantage of Texas’ abundant land to address the need for new homes. The question, of course, is what side of the fence today’s potential buyers will be on, once the market ignites and truly starts to rev.

I thought this video was too cool not to share. Mike Shore & Ryan Light put it together for the 2011 Texas Monthly “Where I’m From” video contest.

Choosing an Agent Part 3: Should you Work with Desperate Agents $$$

This continues a series on choosing a real estate agent.

Two, how many transactions did the agent do last year? Now, that’s no fun to ask somebody or maybe the year before that or total. The point is if you’re working with an agent who is desperate for money and they haven’t had a paycheck for a while, how can you inherently count on them to fulfill their fiduciary duties to protect you financially and look after your best interest? If they need a deal and they need one yesterday how can they negotiate the best for you and protect you or tell you to walk away from a contract? It would be very hard for them to do. You need to work with an agent who is doing a lot of business, who has multiple homes under contract generally, two, three, seven or ten homes under contract generally in a pipeline so that they have no financial stress on themselves and therefore they have freedom, liberty to passionately protect you financially and give you advice as a consultant not as a desperate sales person.

There is a huge difference there, you need to work with powerhouse realtors and they can protect you the most.

Next, consumer advocacy, is this agent a consumer advocate and how do you know, have they, have they video blogged or they blogged or they the newspaper much, what have they done to prove outside of talking to you that they are going to really look out for your best interest, you know, these days with the internet and the 2.0 type realtors which is what, what the JustNewListings.com team is all about, I have a track record over the last six years of consumer advocacy in the market place pointing out over price condos right nearly et cetera and putting my name on the line with statements about the market et cetera that document that I’m sincere about protecting buyers and sellers in the real estate market.

And I have many links to send you on that but the realtor you’re looking at any of them and any market there is going to be a number of excellent agents. So, I want to be honest about that. But they need to be able to show you that they are a consumer advocate in Clarendon and document it somehow.

Stay tuned– Choosing an Agent Part 4: Instincts — Does Agent Have Fingers on Pulse of the Market? Prove it.

Choosing a Real Estate Agent Part I -- General Background Issue and Context

Experience--Big Deal or Con Job by Established Realtors?

So, number one and I’m going to list a series of questions for you and then break them down. Number one, how many years that you’ve been doing real estate? It’s an important question, it’s an obvious question, it’s one that consumer is almost never ask and why that is, I’m not sure. You don’t have to be doing real estate a million years to be good at real estate but you do need to have at least several years under your belt and if you have five or ten or twenty years under your belt you’re that much better. The reality is that you’re not dealing with an agent who is the top one percent, there are some inherent issues at stake that I will lay out in this series.

So, one in real estate you’ll not believe how many bizarre and unique circumstances or scenarios arrise – arise every year and every third contract in Great Falls is just unbelievable some of the unique things that come up. An experience agent has done, you know, a 100 or 200 or more transactions and they, they’ve been in so many situations. They know how to prevent the situations from arising that are going to weaken your contract or threaten your deal from closing or cause you a couple of months at grief et cetera. They know how to make sure you don’t miss the opportunity when it’s there and all has to do with having years of experience of putting fires out or getting defensive, I mean preventing the fires from occurring in the first place.

This relates to negotiating contracts, do they know paragraph by paragraph the contract inside and out. Do they know that if you void the contract because you don’t like the home inspection report that your the buyer cannot get your money back, your earnest money deposit unless seller signs off on it? What are they doing to protect you in that scenario? Have they added an addendum saying that parties well, that the earnest money will not be deposited until everyone has signed off on the home inspection repair addendum? I know of one other agent in the entire region out of thousands that is this defensive in protecting their clients financially and protecting their earnest money deposit.

But the point is only the most experienced agents are going to go out of their way and protect you, shield you from this bizarre scenarios that come up and your money. Another one has to do with the most experience agents tend to have the most reliable lender and contractor and home inspector referrals for you, people that will again prevent drama, that will protect you, that will make sure that you are covered throughout the process and a factor, that’s really what it comes down to. You’re much more effected if your agent has a ton of experience out there in the real world.

Future parts of this series include technology, winning against multiple offers, instincts, and financially desperate agents....So stay tuned as it gets interesting!

As a Calgary Realtor, I am often asked about the potential for investment in the local Calgary real estate market, but what about investing in the U.S. housing market?

A Canadian Financial Institution (Bank of Montreal ) conducted a survey recently with Ledger Marketing .The conclusion is that 20% of Canadians are watching the US market with an eye to buy, that is a whopping 1 in 5! Men lead the way in this study (29%men vs 16% woman) Alberta leads the way with 31% of these potential buyers, while British Columbia came in second at 28% are the most interested and likely to buy US property. Overall those in the “Prairie Regions” are most likely to invest across the border. Ultimately it is the strong Canadian dollar and the attractive prices south of the border that are driving this trend.

Investing in U.S. real estate markets could prove to be ideal for those Canadians willing to take their money across the border to buy property.  With the American economy and employment gaining strength the housing market will be affected positively. We should start to see a rise over time. Over the long term the U.S. dollar with gain strength and provide an opportunity for capital appreciation for Canadians who have purchased U.S. property at a low price when the Canadian dollar was high. Combining the investment opportunity to buy real estate at a low price with the potential of a gain in the U.S. dollar, could prove to be a positive long term investment for Canadians.

Canadian economists have predicted that that the U.S. real estate market has bottomed out and a recovery is in sight.  Predictions include a strengthening of the U.S. housing market for 2012. This makes it a perfect time for Canadians to invest in  U.S. housing markets.

About the author: Crystal Tost lives in Calgary, Alberta Canada where she has been a full time Calgary Realtor for over 15 years

Negotiating Strategy and Reality When Purchasing New Construction

Transcription of New Construction Real Estate Video

Jay Seville: Hi I’m Jay Seville. I’m the owner of JustNewListings.com Realty and I wanted to bring up the subject of new construction whether it be single family houses, townhouses, or condos. How does this relate to you as a consumer, as a purchaser in the marketplace?

Is it smart to head off into the sales office on your own? This is called being a floater. You float right in. You following like with something and you start the process of writing a contract, making an offer. You need to understand the situation better from a sort of strategic vantage. You need to know where the builders are coming from on this so that you can get the best possible sales price. If you’re thinking about buying luxury real estate in great falls, Virginia consider this scenario.

One factor to consider upfront is do you have experience negotiating with builders. Do you know where they’re coming from? Most of you buying these homes have zero.

Two, are you going to bring the builder any more buyers? After you purchase this home, are you going to close more deals with this builder? Chances are the answer is no. If you’re the builder and you walk in there and you have an agent with you, especially if the agent is sort of at the top of the game closing dozens and dozens of transactions a year, or you Google the address and you come to this agent’s website so they’re constantly getting people inquiring about the builders properties.

If you’re that builder and you see this buyer with this agent next to him, are you likely to give this buyer a better price than you would have if the buyer were just by himself? Because if you’re just by yourself, you’re a floater and if you don’t pay the price the builder wants, the next floater will pay the price the builder wants. It’s just a matter of time and waiting and now, most builders can do that as long they’re in the general ballpark.

But if you go in there with the right agent next to you, there’s a huge financial interest here of the builder if that agent has a good experience and good experience is defined as the buyer’s agent believes that his buyer got a better deal than the floaters did. Then the other people came and then bought without an excellent agent.

If that agent feels good about it, he will steer more buyers to the builder. He will brag about the deal he got for the builder and you see where that leads to. Often, I’d close for example up to five deals with the builder before. So with an excellent agent next to you who is influential in the marketplace, you are a different scenario to the builder than you are on your own. When you’re with that agent, you’re represent an opportunity for him to reign in and form a working relationship with an agent and to get more buyers for his properties.

On your own, you’re a floater. You’re nice. We can all be polite and get along and close the deal but you will pay more on your own than you will with an excellent agent. Not to mention the fact that commissions are already set and the contract with the listing agent and the listing agent either gets to keep it off with himself or they’ll send half of it over to an agent like who negotiates the price down for my buyer.

So things to keep in mind. You are much more empowered as a consumer to buy Arlington Virginia real estate listings with me next to your or one of my agents next to you and negotiating a price down than you are on your own because of the long-term interest of the builder. Of course this is particularly true if you’re going in with the right type of agent, an accomplished agent etc. My website gets about 15,000 visitors a month uniquely. Many of the builders have properties. If you Google the address, they come to my website etc. So I’m the right person you should be dealing with. And I look forward to meeting you at the builder’s office.  Bye bye.

Austin has many multi-million dollar homes. In fact, most people are surprised to learn how many there actually are –  250 homes sold in 2010 alone in Austin for $1,000,000 or more. Below we’ve shared the 3 most expensive that are currently for sale.

#3

12021 Selma Hughes Park Rd – Offered at $9,900,000

This “Cottage” Mansion inspired Lake Austin waterfront estate replicates the grandeur found in summer havens from the turn of the century in Newport, Rhode Island. Built in 2001 and originally priced at $13,500,000, this house has been on and off the market since October 2003. At 15,500 square feet on 4 acres, this home features a guest house complete with a helicopter hangar, 2 boat slips, and a negative edge pool with a swim up bar. 7 bedrooms (including 2 master suites), 9 full baths, 3 half baths, 2 living, 2 dining, library, office, & wine room. Listed by Congress Realty.

#2

7014 Greenshores Dr – Offered at $12,900,000

Built in 2004, this 11,100 square foot estate on 6+ acres features 300 feet of frontage on Lake Austin. Spanish oaks, cedars, and pecan trees over 80 years old envelope this craftsman 3-story and create a private setting. In addition to the main house, this estate features a boathouse with 2 slips & a screened in great room above giving 180 degree views of the lake, a 2 bedroom, 2 bath guest house complete with kitchen, living, and it’s own gym, a nadatorium complete with a 20′ x 40′ pool with Italian glass tile & 18 sets of double glass doors & it’s own summer kitchen and grill, and a gate 1350 square foot gate house complete with a 1 bedroom, 1 bath staff quarters out of sight from the other structures. Estate has been on the market since March 2010, and contains 9 bedrooms, 11 full baths, 2 half baths, 6 living, 2 dining, & a 3 car air-conditioned garage. Listed by Capital City Sothebys.

#1

1750 Far Gallant Dr – Offered at $15,000,000

A nearly 11 acre lot located just 12 minutes from Downtown Austin in Westlake Hills, this 15,779 square foot masterpiece is adjoining the Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve to total 80 acres of private settings. Just listed in June 2010, this breathtaking property with resort-style amenities contains 6 bedrooms, 7 full baths, 2 half baths, a stunning 8 living, 3 dining, & a fabulous 9 car garage. Listed by Moreland Properties.

Drivers with a prior DWI conviction may be facing a new change on their driver’s license under a new bill proposed by State Representative Pete Gallego. The proposal would require placement of a symbol on an offender’s license to indicate their prior drunk driving conviction. Gallego says the symbol emphasizes to bartenders and officers alike that the person has had prior drinking problems in the past, so that they may act accordingly. Perhaps if your bartender knows you’ve made the poor decision to drink-and-drive in the past, he’ll know to stop serving you sooner.

Gallego claims his line of thought in making this change is no different than past and successful attempts to reduce underage drinking. You may have noticed the license of individuals under 21  displays vertically instead of horizontally, an indication to bartenders that removes the math from the situation and allows them to immediately recognize that the person is too young to be served.

John Bush of Texans for Accountable Government disagrees, stating that the proposed “scarlet letter law” is nothing short of unconstitutional. According to Bush, the law violates our right as citizens against cruel and unusual punishment. Bush claims that stigmatizing individuals for a crime after they have re-payed their debt to society  is nothing short of this type of constitutionally prohibited punishment.

What do you think?

[polldaddy poll=4336439]

It’s a few days post-Christmas now – and while the eggnog and holiday cheer are naturally wearing thin, your real and beautiful Christmas tree is slowly becoming a bigger mess. Before your pine needle collection overruns your patience, consider recycling it as an alternative to hauling it off to the landfill.

Fortunately for us Austinites, the city has provided many options to convert your former beauty-queen into a pile of dirt and mulch. The most popular of those, curbside pickup, has already begun. All trees under 6ft tall will be accepted – and for those taller, well, cut them in half! Just leave your decoration-free tree on your curb and it will be picked up on your regular trash collection day.

Apartment and condo residents shouldn’t feel left out of all the fun. The city will also be accepting drop-offs at Zilker Park (near the Polo Fields), from 10am to 2pm, on the following dates:

• Sunday, Jan. 2, 2011
• Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011
• Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011
• Saturday, Jan. 15, 2011

According to KXAN.com:

And that’s not all. The mulch being generated will be given out for free sometime next month. Here’s to looking forward to spring!

In today’s real estate market, there are many potential buyers who are waiting for prices to hit rock bottom before making their purchases. There are many experts who feel that the market is in rebound mode, while there are others who suggest we are heading into a double dip. However, one thing most industry experts agree is on is that today’s historically low interest rates are bound to increase in the foreseeable future. So how will that impact potential buyers? Rather than talk in abstract economic principles, it would be easier to illustrate the point by providing an example:

Scenario 1 – Joe buys home in Austin for $249K (average price). He finances with a 30 year mortgage at 4.5% interest rate and puts 10% down. His monthly payment is $1,135.

Scenario 2 – Joe waits a year, during which time Austin average prices go down by 10% (not a likely probability), but interest rates increase by 1% (which is completely within the realm of possibility). So he buys a home for $224K, again financing with a 30 year mortgage at 5.5% interest rate and putting 10% down. His monthly payment will be $1,145.

Scenario 3 – Joe waits a year, Austin prices remain the same, but interest rates increase by 1%. He wants to purchase a property for $249K, financing via a 30 year mortgage at 5.5% interest rate and 10% down. His monthly payment would now be $1,272.

It is highly advisable for qualified buyers to look at the total cost of purchase (including financing), rather than fixating on the final sales price and waiting for market prices to further decrease (for which there is no certainty). There are many factors that will influence the direction of the real estate market, but what is certain is that now is a great time to buy.

About the Author: Alex Cortez is a real estate agent in Hawaii, specializing in Maui condos for sale. Should you wish further information about the Maui real estate market or to preview foreclosures and short sales in Maui, visit his site.