Steiner Ranch Real Estate

In the midst of all the financial and mortgage crisis, the deduction however is that Austin is the most stable, Austin is the place where lenders are less hesitent in giving out loans, both commercial and residential. Of course no-money down loans are a dream now, that may not come true.

The average sales price in area NW for 3rd Quarter in 2008 is higher($243,860) than what it was in 3 Quarter in 2007($242,570).

Some builders(D R Horton, Centex Homes, etc) are pulling out of major home development projects, or holding off, since there’s a major inventory to be cleaned up already at the end of this year. What does this mean for buyers? Free upgrades, incentives, good deals on new homes - cant be a better time to buy a house.

Resales are a slightly different story. A recent article from Stateman said:

Austin has several factors in its favor. Job growth has slowed significantly in the past year but remains about 2 percent, compared with heavy job losses nationally.

“We continue to have high-paying jobs move here compared to other markets,” Sprague said, citing the money management firm Dimensional Fund Advisors as an example. The firm moved from California to Austin in the past year, occupying a brand-new office building in West Lake Hills. “As a state, we created more jobs than the next 14 (highest-ranked) states in job creation, so we’re in a good place.”

Builders also are closely watching the resale market, where the 10,300 listings in August were the fourth-highest on record, according to the Austin Board of Realtors. That is substantial competition for new-home sales.

The resale median price has continued to rise. But there are early signs that could be changing. The August median of $195,000 was up just 2 percent from a year earlier, the smallest increase since September 2005, when the median rose 1 percent.

“Resale in a good location is still selling; it’s just not selling at prices that people were able to get two years ago,” said Helen Edwards, Central Texas regional president of Coldwell Banker United, Realtors.

“We’re seeing signs of activity on the new construction product, new homes that are priced aggressively, so we know that the buyers are still active in the marketplace,” Edwards said. “Plus, we’re hearing loud and clear from many of our sellers that they’re comfortable with lowering their listing prices if it means getting offers and selling quickly.”