Austin Real Estate Scene

Austin is one of Top 10 Cities to Earn a Living

Terrill Fischer — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 23:08:38 +0000

Austin is again one of the top cities to earn a living in. It still has a positive job growth and many businesses starting up all the time.

Top 10 Cities to Earn a Living

The best cities to earn a living are those that have plenty of companies doing business in high-paying, growth industries.

Combine that with a high-quality business environment, job growth, and a low cost of living and you get a select-few locations
where the pay check is generous and the cost of necessities like food and housing is modest.

Here are the top 10 cities where Forbes magazine says this is the economic reality now and the conditions are likely to get
even better as health care, technology, and energy draw more employees into their ranks:

1. Dallas
2. Houston
3. Minneapolis
4. Austin, Texas
5. Washington, D.C.
6. St. Louis
7. Seattle
8. Atlanta
9. Kansas City, Mo.
10. Denver

Source: Forbes, Francesca Levy (09/03/2009)

Future of Austin TX Population Growth

Terrill Fischer — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:39:17 +0000

I was reading in the Austin Business Journal about the population growth for Austin over the 15 years making it the highest growth city in Texas. With that growth, it is likely that the demand for homes will outpace the number homes available. Builders will have to also have to increase their building substantially as the demand new housing units goes up. This will also cause real estate prices to increase across the Austin area due the excess demand.

if you are thinking about buying a home right now in this market, it is to your advantage to do it before that high growth kicks in otherwise you will be spending more money for a home. (see the complete article below)

AUSTIN (Austin Business Journal) – The population of the Austin metro area is projected to grow by more than 2.7 million by 2025, according to an analysis by bizjournals.

Austin’s projected growth rate ranks fifth among 250 U.S. metros studied.

Bizjournals forecasts an 87 percent growth rate from the area’s 2005 estimated population of 1.5 million to a 2025 projected population of 2.7 million, giving it the highest growth rate of any Texas city.

The McAllen-Edinburg area is projected to be the second-fastest growing area in Texas with an estimated 56 percent growth in population.

Among other Texas cities:

Dallas-Fort Worth – 50 percent increase to 8.8 million

Houston – 48 percent increase to 7.9 million

San Antonio – 41 percent increase to 2.7 million

8 Good Reasons to Remodel

Terrill Fischer — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 16:44:08 +0000

I often get questions from clients about remodeling. Some are just curious and others want to enhance the value of their home. The site below offers 8 good reasons to remodel. I liked because it covers all the bases for remodeling. I still advocate planning on having twice as much money as it’s going to cost for the remodel because of unforseen issues & overruns in the project. Remodeling without enough money is hell.

http://www.remodelormove.com/content/article/article.cfm/decide/eight_reasons_to_remodel

Austin Real Estate Stats for March 2009

Terrill Fischer — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:42:08 +0000

Units for Sale: (compared to March 2008)

New listings were down 12.40%. Pendings were down 12.15%. Solds decreased by 27.30%.

As for Average Prices:

The “New Listings” average list price is up 6.89% to 348,183. In March 2008 the average list price was $325,734. Sold average sales prices decreased 2.66% to $228,938. For March 2008 it was $235,198.

The 2009 First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit

Terrill Fischer — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 18:00:29 +0000

All you first time home buyers out there read this post about the Tax Credit you can get on your first home purchase. This explains the tax form you have to claim. It is – Everything you need to know about IRS form 5405. I think it is a must read. http://tinyurl.com/1stTimehomebuyers