What to Consider When Buying a Home

The key turns, the door opens, the excitement mounts. Will this be the home of your dreams or a potential nightmare? What items should you beware of when checking out a home to buy? Follow this simple list below to help make sure that you are not just looking at the outward appearance of the home but also at the inward “bones” or structure of the home as well.

What to Look for When Buying a Home:

1.     Turn on faucets and even the shower—Does the home have the kind of water pressure that you like or need? If not, could this be easily fixed?

2.     A/C Unit-Air conditioning units are a major expense, and some houses can have multiple units that need upkeep or replacing. Make sure to take a look at the physical unit for signs of rust or decay and note how the home feels. Is the A/C working well to regulate the temperature? Ask the seller for the age of the unit or to see the service record & upkeep of the unit over the years.

3.     Roof-A new roof is a major expense. A quick visual examination of the roof will give you an initial idea of its age and condition, but you really will need an inspector to get up and walk on the roof to truly know how many more years you will be able to get out of it. Make sure to ask the sellers for the age of the roof and for a list of any roof repairs that have been done along the way!

4.     Appliances-Open all appliances that convey with the home and look inside of them. Don’t be afraid to turn them on and make sure they work properly (and then turn them back OFF again!). If you are planning on replacing appliances, take measurements to make sure that your new appliance will fit within the alcove/space of the current appliance!

5.     Ceilings-Many buyers forget to look up and take note of the condition of the ceiling. Make sure to notice if there are any visible water leaks or if there are ceiling patches and fresh paint. If so, ask questions about roof leaks and past water damage. Take note of cracking and settling lines as well. If the cracks run along the seams of the house, then they could just be regular settling. However, if the cracks run down a wall or in an unusual pattern, then they could be evidence of a larger foundation problem.

6.    Foundation-In addition to looking up, make sure to look down and all around the house at the foundation. Does it look like it is in good visible condition? Do you see any cracks on the outside of the house running in an unusual pattern through the exterior of the home? A foundation repair is one of the most major repairs you can do on a house—and a good reason to run the other way when considering a home purchase.

7.     Loose wires— Any loose wires that you see are obviously a safety issue. Make sure to ask questions about any light fixtures or electrical outlets where you see loose wires that don’t make sense.

8.     Under the sink—Make sure to take the time to look under all sinks at the pipes. Do any pipes look cracked or rusted? Do you see any water stains on the cabinetry or flooring below?

9.     Windows—Make sure to go over by the windows and stand for a while. Can you feel the outside air? Note the quality of the windows (single paned? double paned?) and how well they are doing at keeping the weather out of the home. This will have direct impact on your energy bills!

10.  Outside—Make sure to note the environment outside of the home. Is it located on a busy traffic street? Take a listen and make sure you like what you hear. Is it located in a potential flood zone?  Do you see any fire hazards?  Is there anything you need to be made aware of about living on or near a gas line? Make sure you are aware of any outside environmental hazards that could impact your peace of mind in your new home.

11.  Smell-Take note of how the home smells as you enter and remember that smells are hard to get out of a home.  Whether it’s cigarette smoke, a sewage line, mildew, etc, these odors can be difficult to expunge and should be considered when purchasing an existing home.

12.  Turn on all lights & open all cabinets –Make sure everything works well in the home.  For example: Is there a kitchen cabinet that collides directly with the dishwasher door when it is open? These are the sorts of functional, spatial issues that many buyers overlook when considering the purchase of a home.

13.  Flooring/countertop surfaces- Take note of the materials and condition of the flooring and countertops in the home. Although these may not be a deal breaker, they can be expensive to replace and need to be taken into consideration when considering the price tag of a home.

14. Think through the design & layout of the home—Does it fit with your lifestyle? Will there be a functional place to use most of your existing furniture? Is there wall space for your favorite wall hangings? Does the layout line up with what you value? For example, if you value hosting large parties, is there a great room space where people could mingle that would help facilitate this value?

15. Part of town/school districts—Location is a huge part of a home and can be one of the largest determiners of resale value. Make sure to do your homework about neighborhoods and schools before you begin looking!

What to Overlook:

1.     Paint- Many buyers let paint colors persuade them too much in the sale or refusal of a home. Remember that paint is a relatively cheap fix and can easily be changed in a matter of days in a home. If you love the home and the above list checks out, then overlook the paint color!

2.     Normal settling lines-As houses age, they develop normal cracks and settling along the seams of the house. However, these cracks can be “unsettling,” especially to first-time home buyers. If the foundation checks out, you do not need to worry about these normal crack lines (they can be caulked!), and the home is still safe to purchase.

3.     Small repairs- I’ve seen home buyers walk away from a home because they didn’t like the stone surrounding the fireplace, or the tile on the backsplash of the kitchen. Keep in mind that, on the grand scale of things, these are small jobs that can be replaced for anywhere from $800-$1000. So, if the rest of the house is wonderful, don’t let a small job like a fireplace surround or kitchen backsplash throw you off of your game.

4. If it isn’t PERFECT—Here’s a little secret for you: no house is totally perfect and there is a bit of compromise involved in every home transaction. So, if the home meets the most important criteria on your list then don’t eliminate it just yet. Continue to develop its potential in your head and see if the advantages of the home significantly outweigh the disadvantages. If so, then this still may be the home for you! For example, one client loved all the natural light in the house but was frustrated that there was not a window directly above the kitchen sink to look out of. After many weeks of debate, the clients decided to go ahead and get the house as the lack of window was the only hiccup for them. The clients then ended up using a mirror in that space instead that reflected all the natural light from the house, kept the kitchen light and bright, and helped the homeowners keep an eye on their kids while they were doing the dishes! The moral of this story is to keep an open mind about the home and know that you are looking for the home that speaks to you and your family’s needs the most!

Austin's Changing Skyline--Downtown Development in ATX

Austin continues to boom. Business Insider says Austin had the second highest rate of job growth among the 40 largest metro areas in America, with employment rising 3.7 percent between February 2017 and February 2018. The most visible representation of our rapid economic development is our ever changing downtown skyline. Just think about this: of the 8 tallest buildings in downtown Austin today, not a single one of them existed 10 years ago!

According to the Austin Downtown Alliance, downtown will grow by 50 percent if it only completes projects currently under construction and those proposed for redevelopment. However, downtown Austin has the potential to double in size if it reaches its full build out potential in the next 5 years.

Below is just a glimpse of the developments that are shaping or will continue to shape the Austin skyline…

1. 6th X Guadalupe St—when completed this will be the tallest building in Austin. 837 feet high & 66 stories of apartments and offices stacked atop each other. An acre of parks in the sky are in the plans for this skyscraper.

2. The Independent— luxury high rise condominiums and currently Austin's tallest building, taking the title away from The Austonian, which laid claim to the tallest building in Austin for about eight years.

3. The Republic at 401 W Fourth St, just south of Republic Square Park, will have 711,401 square feet of office and 21,463 square feet of retail.

4. 70 Rainey—a 34-story skyscraper with 164 condos that tower over Rainey Street.

5. 48 East Ave—a 33-story, 215 condo tower also located in the Rainey Street Historic District.

6. Waller Park Place—more than 3 million square feet of residential, commercial and office space at Red River and East Cesar Chavez streets. This will be a big property—roughly the size of six Frost Bank Towers!

7. Block 71—Indeed Inc. will lease the top 10 floors of this office tower under construction at the intersection of Sixth Street and Colorado Avenue.

8. 5th & West—154 luxury condos that stand 37-stories tall.

9. The Austin Proper Hotel—a 32-story luxury hotel and residential combo.

10. Third + Shoal — an office tower near The Independent, the new library and Google’s tower — with tenants such as Facebook and Bank of America.

11. 300 Colorado Office— at Colorado and Third Street will be redeveloped into a 32-story office tower with about 390,000 square feet of space.  Fourteen of the building’s 32 floors will be dedicated to parking. 

12. ZaZa Tower—This 24-story tower on West Fourth Street near Lavaca Street will offer more than 200 apartments and more than 150 rooms at Hotel ZaZa. Retail stores will line the bottom of the building.

13. Genesis Real Estate plans to build a 50-story apartment tower in the Rainey Street area on the site of the vacant Villas on Town Lake condos.

14. Block 185— Google has leased the entire building. set to start construction in 2019. This building will take on a sail-like shape due to its proximity to Lady Bird Lake and Shoal Creek.

15. 93 Red River—347 Units; 40 stories of Multifamily, Office & Retail including five levels of underground parking and seven levels of above ground parking.

16. 405 Colorado—a 197,056 SF building with 12 stories of parking with 12 levels of office space on top.

How do you feel about Austin’s dynamic skyline and economic boom? Like it our not, our city is currently one of the most rapidly changing metro areas in the country, so we need to be prepared to flex and change with it, especially in the real estate sector.

Property Taxes...Should I Escrow or Not?

Many first time homeowners have questions about taxes + insurance and how they will impact a monthly mortgage payment. When you set up your mortgage, you may have some choices in regards to how often you pay toward your property taxes and insurance, but first it’s important to see what category you fit in to better understand your options:

Category One: If you are putting less than 20% down on your home OR if you have an FHA loan, you will likely be required to set up an escrow account with your lender. An escrow account is part of your loan paperwork and agreed upon at closing. Each month, your lender collects the required insurance and tax payments from you along with your mortgage amount. The money then gets held in an escrow account and used to pay off the insurance and property taxes either annually or semi-annually, whenever they are due. The lender takes care of these payments for you out of your escrow account and pays directly into the insurance company and county tax office for you. While these payments are collected at the same time as your monthly mortgage payment, they are technically separate. The convenience of an escrow account is that it forces you to save for these big annual or semi-annual bills every month along the way. However, many times the lender does not grant any interest on the money sitting in an escrow account whereas if it were sitting in your own private account, the same money could have some interest earning potential.

Category Two: If you are putting more than 20% down on your home or have your home paid off, you have some different options when it comes to property taxes and insurance. Instead of setting up a required escrow account, you can accumulate the money you need for insurances and taxes on your own, earning interest on that money all the way up until the time it is due. When the bill comes, you are in charge of paying the taxes directly to your county tax collector and the insurance payment directly to your insurance company. In Austin, the tax bill always arrives around Christmas and is due at the end of January. The disadvantage to this method is that it requires discipline to make monthly payments to yourself in your savings account and earmark that money for insurance and taxes. You do not want to be surprised by a hefty annual bill (right at Christmastime) and have no accumulated savings to pay it. However, avoiding escrow does ensure that your mortgage payments are consistent from month to month throughout the year. If you have an escrow account and your property tax bill or your insurance premiums suddenly jump, you might not be made aware of the change until the end of the year when you see the breakdown from the lending company.

Whatever your decision when it comes to paying insurance and property taxes, it is important to discuss your options with your realtor and financial lender to make the most financially sound decision for you!

2015-2018 ATX Urban Core Growth Trends

The final 2018 numbers are in, and the data confirms that the Austin real estate market continues to be on the rise in the urban core.

When comparing the numbers from 2017 to 2018, the median price, median price per square foot, overall dollar transactions in the urban core, highest price per square foot, and highest overall price all increased from 2017 to 2018. For example, the median price of a home in the urban core in 2017 was $434,000; in 2018, that same number increased to $450,000. The median price per square foot back in 2015 was $273.38. That number has increased almost $50 per square foot over the past 4 years, resulting in a median price per square foot in 2018 of $320.64.

Will prices continue to be on the rise for 2019? With Apple’s company announcement and the arrival of a major league soccer team in ATX, expansion and growth do not seem to be slowing down anytime in the real estate market of Austin, TX. Check out my urban core trends and market analysis below! For more market statistics and analysis in the downtown area specifically, click here!

Are you considering purchasing a property in the urban core of Austin? Jump in now before prices continue to rise! Contact me today to help you find the home of your dreams!

Supply and Demand in the Austin Housing Market

Real estate is a business of supply and demand.  For the past four plus years in Austin, Texas, there has consistently been less than four months’ worth of housing inventory available. Data shows that low supply in the housing market also has driven up the median home price.   

In a relatively short period of time, there’s been a dramatic shift in home sales by price range. In 2011, 67 percent of houses that were sold were priced below $250,000, while 32 percent were priced from $250,000 to just under $1 million. By 2017, those percentages flipped: 63 percent of sales were above $250,000, and 35 percent were below.

The trends of low supply and high demand look to continue as Austin’s population is projected to increase from 1 million in 2014 to an estimated 2.3 million by the end of 2020.  In 2017, Austin saw 151 net new people move to Austin every single day!

In the past 10 years, the median home price in the Austin area has soared as well. In 2018, the Austin median home price was $319,000, up 66 percent from $192,000 in 2008, and median home prices in recent years have seen a year-over-year increase of 5.4%.  In May of 2020, the median home price rose to $424,050 with an average of only 1.7 months of available inventory.

What does all of this mean for the continued growth of the housing market?  There are some that think there will be an inevitable “normalization” of this strong market curve, while others that think the housing market will continue to boom if the city’s economy and job markets continue to prosper. 

What, if anything, could cause a downturn in the market in coming years?  Perhaps another U.S. Presidential election? Other potential factors could be trade/tariff issues, labor shortages, increased traffic and potential water-supply developments as the city continues to expand.  And of course, we have yet to see the full impact of the global pandemic on the housing market.

However, for now, we are enjoying a real estate market that continues to boom with demand significantly higher demand than supply in Austin, Texas. 

Are you wondering what the fair market price of your home is?  Contact me for a complimentary home evaluation today!  

Articles sourced:

1. http://austin.culturemap.com/news/city-life/09-15-15-what-will-austin-look-like-in-2020-new-lawnstarter-report-confirms-rapid-growth/

2. https://www.statesman.com/business/20180627/expert-outlook-bright-for-austin-economy-housing-market

3. https://communityimpact.com/austin/central-austin/development-construction/2018/02/01/austin-housing-market-expected-to-continue-growth-despite-low-supply-and-increasing-interest-rates/

4. https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2018/03/22/austins-population-keeps-popping-heres-how-many.html