Hey Everyone, below are 5 real estate articles I thought would be interesting to you plus some virtual open house tours.  Let me know if you have questions at all about what is going on in the market place. Hope this is helpful.

• Robert’s Insight on the Market
• Homestead Execemptions for Home Buyers (Central Texas)
• 10 Great Cities for Salary Growth (Austin/Round Rock/National)
• Austin Ranks 10^th in U.S. job creation (Austin/National)
• Month in Review (Austin Area)
• Virtual open house tours (Austin, Pflugerville, Spicewood, Round Rock, Coupland)

 

ROBERT’S INSIGHT ON THE MARKET

Opinion

Our local market continues to buck the trend of the National economy, which is great.  Texas, as a whole, has some really great things going for it.  As for local numbers, the good news is our inventory is actually lower than last year.  Average home prices, depending on the area, are either just at the average, a bit above the average, or just below the average – sorry to be vague, but look at it as plus or minus 1-2% of the average.  I say that because you can run the numbers a few different ways.  Quantity of sales are down about 18%, but we do have less inventory.  Buyers are actually out and buying because money is “cheap” with 4.5% – 5% interest rates, so people are taking advantage of buying homes and refinancing.  You’ll see with the below articles, Austin/Round Rock's salary growth is #1 in the Nation and our area is #10 in job creation.  A lot of pretty positive numbers for us. Our local government, universities, and hospital growth continues to be a good solid anchor for our area.  When people ask me about the lower inventory numbers, the only potential down side to it is we have seen more people who couldn’t sell, put their homes up for lease, which takes their home off the market thus lowering the inventory count.  That said, we are seeing the homes that are professionally staged, professionally photographed, professionally marketed, and priced right from the beginning are really selling and still selling in great times.  Doing the right things when selling a house now is more important than ever because buyers are becoming more and more picky.  Some homes may sit 10 -15% longer than normal but are really moving if all the above is true.

I have been having some interesting conversations with builders.  As you’ll see, home builders have slowed down building a bit as there has been some changing laws for how much builders have to put into a project these days, so they are not building as many spec homes. Even more interesting, I was told the number of homes starts in Texas is normally 15,000, but it has now dropped to 7,500.  However, developers have stopped being so aggressive and not developing as many as new areas.  So what this means is normally builders like have a 2 year supply of lot inventory and that has dropped or will drop to a 6 month supply, which is scary for the builders because it makes everything more competitive.  They have suggested the possibility that once things turn around, prices might really jump, as the 6 month supply of lots is not enough to keep them all building at the rates they like.  They mentioned potential hyper inflation as resales and new homes could really start to go once things begin to take traction again.  That said, I’m not too sure I believe all of that, but with a shortage of lots and thus the higher new home prices, I could see in the future how that could ultimately have a good effect on resale prices as well.

That said, if we have really only slowed in terms of the quantity of sales by 18 – 22%, if our average sales price stays relatively the same and if job growth and salary growth continue to do well in our area, then when the National market begins to turn around, our area could be primed for continued long term success. I am an optimist by nature and do realize it could get worse before it gets better, but many feel we are close (less than a year) to coming out of this. Statistically, both Texas and Austin/Round Rock have  held strong in the midst of everything.  Hopefully Austin/Round Rock will continue to dominate the National market in most of the different stat areas, as the buyers are out and homes continue to sell!  Our business continues to be blessed as we hit record numbers last year and see even greater activity moving into 2009.  Thank you for your continued trust and support.

Robert J Fischer – Realtor – Keller Williams Realty –  512-791-0229        

 

 

HOMESTEAD EXCEMPTIONS FOR HOME BUYERS

If you purchased a home in 2008 to live in as your homestead you can now file your homestead excemption for a potential tax break.  Each county has a different form so email me and we'll send you the proper form.  Robert@RobertJFischer.com

 

AUSTIN RANKS 10^TH IN THE U.S IN JOB CREATION

Austin Business Journal, Tuesday, January 6, 2009

The Austin area added 6,200 private-sector jobs in the 12-month period between November 2007 and November 2008—the 10th biggest gain in metro employment in the country—according to figures released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Texas is showing considerable resilience amid a crippled national economy. The two largest markets in the state—Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth—registered the nation’s biggest private-sector employment gains.

The Houston area added 42,400 jobs between November 2007 and November 2008, and Dallas-Fort Worth picked up 35,100. No other U.S. market gained more than 15,600 private-sector jobs during the 12-month period.

All four of Texas’ major metro areas ranked among the top 10 in job creation in the last year. San Antonio was No. 4 with 11,700 new jobs.

But the rest of the country isn’t faring nearly so well. Just one-fifth of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas managed to add any jobs at all. Seventy-eight suffered losses, 21 posted increases, and one was unchanged.

Detroit was hit with the biggest loss of private-sector jobs, 67,700 in 12 months. November 2008 brought the 38th straight monthly decline for Detroit.

Four other markets lost more than 50,000 private-sector jobs during the past year: Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami-Fort Lauderdale and Phoenix.

The following are the 20 biggest labor markets in America, ranked according to raw change in private-sector employment between November 2007 and November 2008:

1. Houston, up 42,400 jobs

2. Dallas-Fort Worth, up 35,100 jobs

3. Washington, up 15,600 jobs

4. San Antonio, up 11,700 jobs

5. Seattle, up 9,900 jobs

6. Virginia Beach-Norfolk, up 9,100 jobs

7. Oklahoma City, up 8,100 jobs

8. New Orleans, up 7,200 jobs

9. McAllen-Edinburg, Texas, up 6,700 jobs

10. Austin, up 6,200 jobs

11. Boston, up 4,600 jobs

11. Raleigh, up 4,600 jobs

13. El Paso, Texas, up 4,100 jobs

14. Hartford, up 3,600 jobs

15. Columbus, up 2,900 jobs

16. Baton Rouge, La., up 2,800 jobs

17. Bakersfield, Calif., up 2,000 jobs

18. Omaha, up 1,100 jobs

19. Youngstown, Ohio, up 500 jobs

20. New Haven, Conn., up 300 jobs

 

10 GREAT CITIES FOR SALARY GROWTH

Siri Anderson, PayScale.com, Yahoo! HotJobs

We all want to know what's going to happen with the job market in 2009, especially where salaries are concerned. Is a raise in your future? It might just come down to where you live.

Yet the most recent and complete numbers for salary growth in metropolitan areas are from 2007, and with everything our economy has been through in recent months -- unstable markets, major businesses collapsing, and an official announcement of a U.S. recession -- those numbers seem all but obsolete.

So, how do you know which city might offer you a salary boost? According to Laurence Shatkin, author of the recently published "150 Recession-Proof Jobs," there is a pattern to discover in the places that do well in a recession. Industries such as basic health care, education, transportation services and government jobs stay strong in a recession because they cater to more basic societal needs. These industries will frequently concentrate in the same areas -- quite often state capitals -- maintaining job growth and wage increases, while other areas suffer more.

Below are some profiles of the top-performing large cities of 2008 and their 2007 statistics on personal income growth, according to the Bureau of Economic Research. Looking at these numbers and how "recession-proof" their main industries are will hopefully give an idea how well they'll continue to perform into 2009.

Austin-Round Rock, TX - pop. 840,066 - 7.7% avg. salary increase
Building off of an already robust government labor sector, the University of Texas at Austin is a huge source of innovation. The area has been using UT's excellent programs from bioengineering to pharmaceutical research programs to invigorate both the technology and burgeoning pharmaceutical industries.

Bakersfield, CA - pop. 315, 837 - 6.6% avg. salary increase
Oilfields and other natural resources created a lot of opportunity for growth around this city recently, and increased demand for services has spurred along the education and health-care sectors. Wages grew here much faster than the national average in recent years, and though that rate is expected to taper, nearby Edwards Air Base and Chevron should help to stabilize the economy and maintain a decent wage growth for transportation and logistics jobs.

Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, SC - pop. 245,472 - 8.1% avg. salary increase
The Medical University of South Carolina gives weight to this area's healthcare industry and is inspiring recent investment in the biosciences. This adds to Charleston's already strong transportation/logistics industry -- the Port of Charleston is among the most efficient ports in North America, and that should keep business rolling and wages rising.

Huntsville, AL - pop. 171, 327 - 6.4% avg. salary increase
Yet another city whose strong and growing economy is due to the technology industry, Huntsville's U.S. Army post is also expected to grow over the next few years. In addition, it has just opened the doors to HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology which should only encourage more growth in jobs and wages in 2009.

McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX - pop. 197, 183 - 7.1% avg. salary increase
Call centers established by Convergys and T-Mobile in this area have created a healthy chunk of jobs recently. The area has also strengthened its home healthcare industry, which is now the second largest employment sector after state and local government. Drawing off these "recession-proof" industries gives hope that wages will continue to grow.

Orlando-Kissimmee, FL - pop. 289,684 - 5.2% avg. salary increase
The health-care industry has been the impetus behind this area's growth, so odds are that the downturn won't hit this area very hard. The Burnham Institute for Medical Research and a new medical school at the University of Central Florida are expected to attract other industries to the area, particularly high-tech firms, all of which point to good chances for wage growth.

Provo-Orem, UT - pop. 210,670 - 9.7% avg. salary increase
Benefiting from the innovative brain-power of Brigham-Young University, the information service industry in this city has been fueling rapid growth over the last five years. Business investment in the tech sector remains strong, which should help Provo-Orem ride out the ,slowdown in good form.

Raleigh-Cary, NC - pop. 375,806 - 8.7% avg. salary increase
State government employment gives this capital city a sturdy backbone for economic security. High quality educational centers (North Carolina State; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) inject creative brainpower into Raleigh's thriving tech companies and its growing biopharmaceutical sector -- all good signs for strength in the coming year.

Salt Lake City, UT - pop 180,651 - 9.2% avg. salary increase
Like Raleigh, Salt Lake City boasts great tech and government jobs. In addition, health care (Intermountain Health Care) and education (University of Utah) add extra spark to SLC's economic fire. Based on this, expectations are high that wage growth will remain comparatively strong.

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA - pop. 912,077 - 8.4% avg. salary increase
Microsoft and Boeing are the main jolts of force behind this area's continued growth. Looking into the future, with the heightened interest in green technology, Boeing's push for a more fuel-efficient commercial aircraft will likely reap great rewards. Strong health-care and research institutions also keep paychecks growing in slower economic times.

Sources: Best Performing Cities 2008 (Milken Institute and Greenstreet Partners, September 2008); Personal Income for Metropolitan Areas 2007 (Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, August 2008); "150 Best Recession-Proof Jobs" (Laurence Shatkin, Ph.D.)

 

MONTH IN REVIEW

December 2008

Units for Sale: (compared to December 2007)

New listings were down 12.84%. Pendings were up 34.86%.  Solds decreased by 16.01%.

As for Average Prices:

The "New Listings" average list price is up 2.36% to 300,316.  In December 2007 the average list price was $293,392.   Sold average sales prices decreased 5.66% to $238,867.  For December 2007 it was $253,205

 

VIRTUAL OPEN HOUSE TOURS

-14301 Mowsbury-Austin-$182,500-Best price & deal in Avery Ranch-won’t last long!  1 story 3/2 w/extended patio on corner lot. Sprinkler system, fans in all bedrooms & family room.  White stone fireplace.  Click to view virtual tour now:  http://www.visualtour.com/shownp.asp?T=1779503

-17717 Ice Age Trails-Pflugerville-$159,000-Beautiful 2 story 3/2.5 with game room.  Formal dining, formal living & family room all open to kitchen.  Open floorplan! Nice decorator colors throughout!  Click to view virtual tour now:  http://www.visualtour.com/shownp.asp?T=1734086

-2916 Cliff Overlook-Spicewood-$1,214,000- ALL NEW PICTURES  1 story  lakefront property across street from Arnold Palmer golf course! Travertine tile, granite counters, Hanson barrel roof.  Click to view virtual tour now: http://www.visualtour.com/shownp.asp?T=1455903  or www.2916CliffOverlook.com

-1918 Mulligan-Round Rock-$55,000-Good deal & best lot in established golf course community!  Nice flat lot at great price.  Choose your own builder.  Click to view virtual tour now:  http://www.visualtour.com/shownp.asp?T=1538788

-386 CR 495-Coupland-178+ acres of farm land or gentleman’s ranch-$694,200-REDUCED- Great all weather access right off CR 495-current share crop and hay crop-fronts to Brushy Creek for about .25  to .5 miles-Build your own home to overlook the entire property.  Click to view virtual tour now: http://www.visualtour.com/shownp.asp?T=1610400

Hope this was helpful.  Let me know if you have any questions,

Robert

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