Category: market

One of the biggest home-selling myths!

I recently read this article on the Texas Association of Realtors website.  The short post addresses a few of the most common myths about home-selling.  All three points are spot on- but I liked this one in particular:

Myth: If I price my home higher than market value, I’m leaving room for negotiations.

Truth: Buyers have no idea you’re employing this strategy and won’t understand why your price is too high. Many won’t even view your home, much less put in an offer. When your home is priced improperly, it’s more likely to sit on the market, making potential buyers think there’s something wrong it. When that happens, you’ll probably wind up with lower offers than if you had priced the home fairly at the start.

Home sellers in the Austin area are in maybe the hottest seller’s market we’ve ever seen.  However, REALITY CHECK:  A seller’s market doesn’t mean a stupid market!  What’s really interesting about our current market is that buyers have also never been more savvy than they are now.  Prospective home buyers have access to more information at their fingertips than at any other point in human history.  Many buyers in the modern era know- even without the help of a Realtor- if a home is overpriced.

Even in this crazy seller’s market, overpricing is by far the most costly mistake you can make when selling your home.

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Barrett Raven
barrettraven@gmail.com
512.970.2648

February Market Update! (January’s numbers…and 2016 Wrap-up!)…from the Outback!

February Market Update! (January’s numbers…and 2016 Wrap-up!)…from the Outback!

Wow!  It’s been a wild and crazy start to the year!  I’ve been focusing (apart from normal business activities) a lot on trying to get all of my blog posts cleaned up and reformatted- starting with the oldest.  After moving brokerages back in October, I also changed blogging platforms and moved all of my YouTube videos over to my personal YouTube account.  Sounds easy, right?  HAH!  So, apologies for the scarcity in new blog posts as of late- but they’re coming!

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Me and my other homies on the board of Austin Young Real Estate Professionals at the Austin Board of Realtors’ (ABOR) event where we celebrated the year that was 2016 and looked forward, with hope, at the prospects of 2017 with the installation of our new ABOR President, Brandie Guthrie.  Woohoo!

In light of that, what better way to come back than with a 2016 year-end wrap-up!  Unless you’ve been living under an enchanted rock, you know that 2016 was a nutty year in Austin real estate.  You’re either feeling squeezed by rising rental rates or rising property taxes.

It’s a catch-22 really.  I mean, we love Austin because it’s an amazing city to live in.  Almost no one can deny that.  However, because it’s such an amazing city, the number of people wanting/willing to relocate here is ever-increasing.  For those of you feeling the financial squeeze of housing costs, I hate to tell you- but I think the pressure will continue for a while.  The good news:  I don’t think the acceleration of the intensity will be quite like it has been the past few years.

Check out the video below where I break down Austin’s most recent market numbers for the month of January.  Additionally, I go over the stats for 2016 as a whole and attempt to take stock of where the heck we’re at with the housing market in this sweet town.  (If the video doesn’t show up below, check it out HERE on my YouTube channel!)

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Barrett Raven
barrettraven@gmail.com
512.970.2648

A market update for normal people…(aka-November’s Market Stats Update!)

The Austin Board of Realtors recently released the market statistics for the month of October.  Check out the video at the bottom of this post for an update!

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The face of new construction in Austin.  Not exactly what I’d call affordable.  (But if you think you can afford this house, call me.  Right now.

This month is a very basic stats update focusing solely on the city of Austin (proper).  If you were to ask almost any Austin real estate agent What’s the market doing right now?, they will tell you that change is in the air.  I’m not saying we need to brace ourselves for a market crash or anything- but something is changing.  I’ve spoken with several listing agents in recent weeks who say things like, “We’re getting lots of showings but no offers.” or “We can’t get anyone through the dang door!” or “I’m dreading talking to my seller about a price reduction…but that’s definitely going to have to happen.”

I recently had the following exchange with an agent-friend of mine:
Agent:  My listing has been on the market for months.  This market is declining!
Me:  I think you’re just overpriced.  
Agent:  But my seller thinks we’re priced correctly.
Me:  Your seller is crazy.  (or just delusional)
Agent:  But there are lots of homes that are not selling right now.
Me:  Lots of sellers are crazy.

Seriously, though, I don’t think the Austin market is in decline.  We still have the same problem we’ve had for years:  Significantly more people want to move here than those who want to move away.  Regarding my friend’s predicament- I’m sure that if they were to reduce the price gradually each week by $10,000, they would end up selling it at a price that is about 8% more than they could have sold it for at this time last year.  Instead, they are likely trying to sell the property for 25% more than they could have sold it for last year, which is insane.  Our market can support moderate appreciation; it cannot support insanity.

Keep up with the blog for future market updates!  (If you don’t see the video below, check it out HERE on my YouTube channel!)

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Barrett Raven
barrettraven@gmail.com
512.970.2648

Math Lesson! (September’s Market Stats Update for August)

The Austin Board of Realtors just released the newest round of stats for the month of August.  Check out the video below where I break down (what I think are) the most important take-aways!  Everyone knows this market is a bit nutty.  But how nutty is it, you ask?  Watch the video and judge for yourself!

If the video doesn’t show up below, check it out HERE on my YouTube channel.

The Beast (July’s Market Stats Update for June!)

The Austin Board of Realtors recently release their June stats for the Austin area.  Honestly, last month was more of the same (for the most part).  Average and median prices are increasing; inventory is super-tight; more and more Austinites are moving to the suburbs for more reasonable prices; at the same time, migration to Austin is growing evermore!.

 

What I personally find interesting is digging into the numbers of specific areas/zip codes.  Check out the video below where I take a tiny dive into the stats of one central Austin zip code.

 

If the video doesn’t show up above, check it out HERE on my YouTube channel.

 

"Williamson vs. Travis County"…(June’s) May Market Stats Update!

If you are a home-seller in Austin, TX, you’ve still got the upper hand.  As long as you are priced somewhere in the range of what’s reasonable, you should sell very quickly…and you’ll likely have several interested parties.  Multiple offers have really become the norm.

Background photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
In the video below, though, I talk a bit about an area that is growing significantly in popularity.  With pretty good schools, easy access to I-35, MoPac, HWY 183, etc., and relatively affordable prices, Williamson County (Cedar Park, Round Rock, Leander, Georgetown, etc.) is experiencing somewhat of a boom.      

The Austin Board of Realtors just released their market stats numbers for May 2016.  Check out the video below where I run through some of the numbers!  (If the video doesn’t show up below, check it out HERE on my YouTube channel.)








Barrett Raven
C:  512-970-2648
O:  512-910-7403

Test-driving a Tiny House…

Over the last couple of years, I have had periodic requests from buyers who are interested in exploring tiny house living.  (Check out Austin’s own Kenga Room Systems– sweet prefabbed tiny houses.)  

Background photo courtesy of WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
The reality is that tiny house living is getting more popular by the hour- especially in dense metro areas like Austin.  Real wages are simply not growing at the same rate of home prices.  Therefore, those of us that desire to live in the city are having to be creative in order to make it work.  For example, I’ve heard of many families going in on a home together and then splitting the house payment 50/50 and just living together.  Others are renovating garage apartments or ADUs in order to offset higher house payments.  I also know quite a few families who head out of town almost every weekend so that they can rent their house out as a vacation rental to out-of-towners.  

Another option that is gaining in popularity is the tiny house.  The miniature dwelling are cheaper to build and more efficient to heat, cool, and power.  If you can find a lot big enough to hold your tiny house, it’s very likely that you will be saving money hand over fist.  The only real challenge is…you have to live in a house that’s really tiny!  

I came across this video (below) on the New York Times website where Penelope Green “test-drives” a 300 square-foot apartment in Manhattan’s new Carmel Place building.  

Enjoy!









Barrett Raven
C:  512-970-2648
O:  512-910-7403