The report cites two big indicators of the banks making more credit available.  Banks are now lending amounts up to 3.5 times borrower earnings, up from a low during the crisis of 3.2 times borrower earnings.  Secondly, the Loan-to-Value Ratio (LTV) has risen from an average of 74% at the height of the credit crunch to 82%.  Both of these show banks are willing to lend more to individuals.

How does this affect us in the Austin area?  With our already strong economy and big population increase, this reports indicates that we could see home prices rise faster than expected.  Our strong high-end, high-tech job market is bringing in an influx of very well qualified buyers from out of the area.  I often see multiple offers on well priced, well located properties.

I think the time of the bargain basement deal in Austin is officially over.  It’s not quite a seller’s market out there but looking at the numbers, we have been in an equilibrium for over a year and it looks like loosening credit and a growing economy could push things towards a seller’s market.

Most of the job gains will be in sectors such as retail, education, health, hospitality and manufacturing. That could drop the current local unemployment rate of about 6 percent below 5 percent in about a year, but Angelou warned that many of the jobs being added pay low wages.  These jobs will put the squeeze on an already tight rental market here in the Austin area.

Single-family home sales and inventory levels are close to healthy and Austin will see even more housing starts in 2012 and 2013. But with only 6,100 new home starts last year, we were far below the average of 13,000 new homes.  This could cause a noticeable leap in resale home prices in the near future.

Much of the growth in jobs and housing can be traced back to population growth. Last year, about 39,000 people moved to Austin. This year, Angelou expects 42,000 new residents and 48,000 in 2013. Austin is now the 14th-largest city in the U.S.!

Angelou said Austin has the opportunity to make huge gains in the following sectors: automotive (due to the new F1 track), clean energy, creative media, data centers, entrepreneurship, health care and manufacturing.

Great news for our local economy and great news for those of you waiting for home prices to go up!

Austin is among the top 50 U.S. cities where it is “Much Less Expensive to Buy Than rent”, coming in at #35. What does that mean? Well, when you look at the average home price vs. the average monthly cost of rent in Austin, the numbers show that it is significantly more affordable to buy in most areas of the city. With rental rates increasing and interest rates at historic lows, buying is financially the smarter choice. So, is buying right now the right choice for you? This is a sampling of Austin MLS areas:

Rent Vs. Buy MLS Area Comparisons

This “perfect storm” of home buying conditions aren’t going to last for long. Take advantage of low mortgage rates and low home prices. There’s never been a better time to buy than now.

If you have questions on the Austin housing market or want to get started on buying a home, call Chuck Stephens, our buying expert, at 512-947-8077 or drop him an email at cstephens@cbunited.com.  To see current inventory, visit our web site www.dmtx.com.

Night Skyline

Austin’s excellent quality of life, strong economy and high employment rates made it a top choice among American cities in several recent studies and best of lists for 2011.  Here’s a quick re-cap of some of the bigger accolades as compiled by the Austin Business Journal:

•In July, Forbes and the Praxis Strategy Group named Austin America’s No. 1 “boom town.”

•Earlier this month, Austin was ranked by the Milken Institute as the fourth best-performing city in the U.S.

•Austin was ranked this month as the top city for the highest job levels in a decade but Forbes magazine cited a 19 percent drop in high-tech jobs over the past decade when it ranked Austin No. 32 on a list of best cities for tech jobs.

•In September, Austin snagged fifth on a list of U.S. cities with the most healthy employment outlooks.

•The Brookings Institution named Austin among the best green job generators in its “Sizing the Clean Economy: A National and Regional Green Jobs Assessment” report.

•Ajilon Professional Staffing said Austin has the second best jobs market in the U.S. but Forbes ranked the Capital City No. 3 for best jobs market in its January report.

•Austin leads the nation for having the most favorable conditions for small businesses, an April report said.

•Businessweek listed Austin among the best places to live, Business Review USA chose Austin as one of the eight best places to live and work in the U.S., and RelocateAmerica named the Capital City as one of the 100 finalists in its 14th annual best places to live contest.

For a more expanded list, read the full article here.

Austin Area Sales and Stats October 2011

This week there are currently 9,223 active listings in the Austin MLS.  The same week last year, there were 11,228! The Austin real estate market continues to move closer to equilibrium as the number of sales continues to outpace the number of new listings coming onto the market. October 2011 sales stats show the Austin housing market is remaining strong as it has all year.

1,468 homes were sold in October of 2011 compared to 1,165 homes sold in October 2010.  That’s a 26% increase. More significantly, pending sales were also up with 1,783 last month as compared to 1,505 in October 2010.  New listings could not keep pace with the number of sales with only a 1.35% increase in the number of new listings as compared to last year.

Another indicator of our strong housing market is the change in expired and withdrawn listings (i.e., homes that couldn’t sell).  1,108 homes were withdrawn and 774 homes expired in October 2010 as compared to only 804 withdrawn and 468 expired in October of 2011.  That’s a 28% decrease in withdrawn and an almost 40% decrease in expireds!

BUT, it’s still a buyer’s market out there.  Homes prices took a dip this month as the average sales price was down 3.08% as compared to last year.  Sellers are willing to take less to get their home sold and it seem that many buyers are taking advantage of it.

If you are interested in purchasing a property for investment purposes, now is the time. The facts about the Austin real estate market remain the same.  We have a booming population, mortgages are cheap and rents are rising. As inventory decreases and demand for homes increases, home prices will start increasing too.

If you have questions on the Austin housing market and whether or not it’s the right time to buy or sell, feel free to give Chuck Stephens, our buying expert, a call at 512-947-8077 or drop him an email at cstephens@cbunited.com.  To see current inventory, visit our web site www.dmtx.com.

Good news on the strength of our local economy and the strength of the housing market.  Inman.com recently reported on the thriving Austin economy, citing our big population growth, AAA municipal bond rating and, most importantly, the growing job market as the major contributors to our robust economy.

The article goes on to interview several area realtors who all come to the same consensus.  Rental rates are rising fast and homes that are reasonably priced, in good shape and close to downtown are selling fast.

September sales stats show that home sales are picking up.  1,480 homes were sold in September of 2011 as compared to 1,171 homes sold in September 2010.  Pending sales were also up significantly with 1,783 last month as compared to 1,502 in September 2010.  New listings continued the downward trend from previous months with 2,284 new listings this past September as compared to 2,505 in September of last year.

We are continuing to see a tightening of the market with new listings decreasing and sales increasing.  However, home prices are staying relatively flat.  That’s due to a tight mortgage market shutting out many potential buyers.  Although mortgage rates are very low, many buyers are still unable to get a loan because of strict loan qualification policies.  This creates a lot of pent-up demand.  In the coming months, mortgage rates will rise and banks will start to loosen loan qualification standards.  This will open the market to a lot of new buyers and we will see home prices on the rise.

If you are thinking of buying, now is the time.

Parenting magazine recently named Austin the #2 city for families right behind Washington, D.C.  The magazine compiled data based on quality of schools, affordability of homes, strong job market, parkland space and cultural activities.  The article noted our city’s 27,000 acres of parkland(!), abundance of pools to keep us cool, Town Lake, great schools and many pediatricians.  It also mentions the many year round festivals in Austin and, most importantly, the many innovative companies who make Austin a progressive city.  Other cities include Honolulu, Omaha, Seattle and Boston.

Average sales price fell to $272,606 from $276,278 in August 2010. Not as bad as the dramatic decrease we saw in July. This is still directly attributed to a big decrease in home sales in the luxury market. $500K+ home sales in August of 2010 contributed 9.7% total volume compared to only 8.3% in August of this year.

In price ranges that are affordable for most buyers, home sales are remaining steady or increasing. Mortgage rates are low and loans are readily available for qualified buyers.

If you are interested in purchasing home for investment purposes, now is the time. The facts about the Austin real estate market remain the same. We have a booming population, mortgages are cheap and rents are rising. Check out this great recent Wall Street Journal Article for six mistakes to avoid when looking for a home investment.

If you have questions on the Austin housing market and whether or not it’s the right time to buy or sell, feel free to give Chuck Stephens, our buying expert, a call at 512-947-8077 or drop him an email at cstephens@cbunited.com. To see current inventory, visit our web site www.dmtx.com.

Average sales price fell to $275,266 from $294,180 in July 2010.  This is directly attributed to a big decrease in home sales in the luxury market.  $500K+ home sales in July of 2010 contributed 11% to total volume compared to only 9.1% in July of this year.

So, what do the numbers mean?  In price ranges that are affordable for most buyers, home sales are increasing.  Mortgage rates are low and loans are readily available for qualified buyers.  With the recent downgrading of the U.S. government credit rating, we have seen a dip in the U.S. government borrowing rate – which directly affects mortgage rates.

It’s mixed reviews out there as to what affect the recent downgrading of the credit rating of the U.S. government will have on the mortgage rate.  It’s safe to say that interest rates will move in the same direction as the U.S. government borrowing rate because there is government backing of mortgages on nearly all mortgage originations in today’s market.  It’s also possible it could have no affect at all.  With economic turmoil throughout the world and credit rating agencies not looking so “credible” after having awarded the best triple-A ratings to subprime mortgage bundles during the housing bubble years, the U.S. government still looks like one of the safest bets out there.

Even with bad news all around, the facts about the Austin real estate market remain the same.  We have a booming population, mortgages are cheap and rents are rising. As the above stats show, it’s becoming increasingly apparent to many buyers that buying is cheaper than renting and owning a home in Austin is a much better investment than betting that savings on the roller coaster that is the U.S. stock market.

If you have questions on the Austin housing market and whether or not it’s the right time to buy or sell, feel free to give Chuck Stephens, our buying expert, a call at 512-947-8077 or drop him an email at cstephens@cbunited.com.  To see current inventory, visit our web site www.dmtx.com.

The median price was $205,000 last month, about the same price as June 2010. The total volume of sales was $583,137,555.

Average days on market for June 2011 was 75 days, 7 % longer than June 2010. New listings were down 4% this past June when compared with the same time last year, continuing the tightening of the market. Currently, 9,687 active single-family home listings are on the market, or 18% less than in June 2010. 2,114 sales were pending in June, a 31% increase from June 2010.  Sales are trending up while actual inventory is trending down.  The less inventory out there, the more competition there is going to be for homes and home prices are going to start rising.

The volume of leasing activity in Austin grew in June 2011 with 1,730 properties leased. That’s 16%  more than June 2010 and a big leap from May’s volume of 1,269 leased properties.  The median lease price of $1,300, was 7 percent higher than June 2010.  As more and more people move to Austin, rents are going to continue to rise.  If you are renting, now is the time to consider making an investment in a home.

Give Chuck Stephens, our buying expert, a call at 512-947-8077 or drop him an email at cstephens@cbunited.com.  To see current inventory, visit our web site www.dmtx.com.