ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark Strüb has happily called Austin home for 10 whole years. While that doesn’t make him a native, he feels it gives him sufficient rights to the popular Austinite catch-phrase “I remember when…” In addition to talking about the unpaved used car lot that gave way to Whole Foods' World Headquarters, he enjoys Alamo Drafthouse, dining outdoors, shopping and traveling. But nothing brings Mark greater joy than spending quality time with his 5 year old son, Jack, at their home in Hyde Park. Mark has a B.S. in Radio-TV-Film from UT and makes his living helping people buy and sell homes.

SEARCH

November 14, 2011

December 29, 2010

Tony DeLisi, Director of Research for the Austin Chamber of Commerce provides a wealth of information pulled from the 5 year US Census surveys. These reports are NOT based on the recent census conducted every 10 years but rather a summary of the American Community Survey done annually. By incorporating the data over the last five years, Tony provides an accurate and up-to-date profile of the Austin Region.

The article below notes that:

· Household Income: $57,109 for Austin vs. $48,199 for Texas and $51,425 for the US. 24% of Austin area residents earn above $100,000 a year.

· Education: 39% of Austin residents hold a Bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 25% in Texas and 28% nationally

· In-migration of Educated Workers: High income and education levels in the Austin region and attracting new businesses have been drive by the influx of educated workers from across the state, nation, and world

· Mobility Patterns: Mobility patterns show that only an estimated 77% of residents lived in the same house one year previously, with 13% moving locally within their county, 6% moving from within Texas, 3% coming from out of state, and 1% coming from abroad

· Housing Vacancy: The residential real estate market had only an estimated 8% housing vacancy rate over the 5-year period

· Median Home Value: Heat maps are provided showing the median home value and change in median home value since 2000

· Median Rents: Heat maps are also provided showing the same information for Rents

Link to article: http://austinchamber.com/LiveWork/Economic/report.html

December 14, 2010

Austin Market Stats :: Week Ending December 11

Properties For Sale:

[compared to the same week in 2009]

Active Listings + 2.01%

New listings – 14.13%.

Pendings + 17.13%

Solds units + 14.12%

Average Prices:

[compared to the same week in 2009]

Sold average sales prices – 3.19% to $256,508.

In 2009 it was $266,938.

Austin had 10,005 active listings during the same week in 2009.

Today there are 10,206 active listings.

That is + 2.01% from last year.

Home Inspector

Phillips Property Inspections


3502 Eldorado Trail
Austin, TX 78739
(512) 934-8789

Scott Phillips is very knowledgeable. And he takes the time to dish out that knowledge in digestible chunks so as not to overwhelm or terrify the home buyer. I call this bedside manner, and Scott's is superior to many other inspectors I have worked with.

His written reports are intense. In a good way. They are chock full of photographs and he uses his tablet PC to fill in the blanks on site so you get his real time observation of issues versus a foggy memory.

I was originally introduced to Scott a couple of years ago when he brought lunch to a class that I was attending as part of my continuing education as a REALTOR. In exchange for his sandwich payola, the room listened while he did a short commercial for his business. That's how it works.

I related to Scott's approach immediately. Attentiveness, technology, follow-through. I decided right away to add him to my list of preferred vendors.

Since then, Scott has served a dozen or more of my clients and counting. He consistently wins their trust and business not for being the cheapest inspection, but for giving them confidence that they will learn everything they need to know during this HUGE purchase decision.

Bravo, PPI. Keep up the great work!

December 6, 2010

Austin Market Stats :: Week Ending December 4

Properties for Sale:
Nov. 28 - Dec. 4, 2010
[compared to the same week in 2009]
New listings - 15.54%.
Pendings + 10.78%
Solds + 1.34%

Average Prices:
[compared to the same week in 2009]
Sold average sales prices - 4.77% to $250,928. In 2009 it was $263,488 for the same week.

We had 10,055 active listings during the same week in 2009. Today there is 10,331 active listings! That is 2.74% increase from last year.

December 2, 2010

Austin Market Stats :: NOV 2010

Proerties for Sale: (compared to November 2009)
New listings - 19.77%.
Pendings + 1.97%.

Solds - by 27.05%

Average Prices:

The "New Listings" average list price - .08% to $298,104. In November 2009 the average list price was $298,353.

Sold average sales prices + 4.63% to $244,026. For November 2009 it was $233,225.

November 4, 2010

Austin Market Stats :: OCT 2010

Properties for Sale: (compared to October 2009)
New listings - 16.41%.
Pendings - 22.86%.

Solds - 34.51%

As for Average Prices:

The "New Listings" average list price + 8.64% to $300,898. In October 2009 the average list price was $276,975.

Sold average sales prices + 10.37% to $258,626. For October 2009 it was $234,320.

October 6, 2010

Austin Market Stats :: SEPT 2010

Properties for Sale: (compared to September 2009)
New listings - 12.90%.
Pendings - 26.66%.

Solds - 32.31%

Average Prices:

The "New Listings" average list price is - 6.73% to $281,120. In September 2009 the average list price was $301,416.

Sold average sales prices + 4.29% to $249,017. For September 2009 it was $238,763.