There have been so many articles written about the Austin, Texas area lately that I don’t have room to even discuss them all. Everyone needs to wake up and understand the rest of the country might be in a slump but not our area. Sure sales are down this year, but you are measuring against record years in sales. I will take today anyday over other cities around the US.

I hear agents crying at times about how slow it is. My response is where?? I am covered up! Granted this does depend on what area you work. The general Austin area is still doing well.

I attended a presentation yesterday that was given by a prominent forecaster. The guy is brilliant to me. He had facts and I was shocked at how much he knew about any area you could name around Austin and surrounding cities. His advice to us? If you have any clients looking at homes now in Austin, Texas, you better tell them to buy this year. He said prices are going up next year. They are already up in a lot of areas, especially Central Austin. Northwest Austin is doing well and Southwest Austin is doing well. Some of these areas are starting to remind me of California. Do I think they are worth the prices they are selling for? Well, no. But that is my opinion. Our market is being driven now but outside sources. They are willing to pay what we think of as outrageous prices in a lot of cases. Of course we live here and work here and that is easy to do. For people coming in from California or Phoenix, for example, our prices are dirt cheap! So a lot of people are probably overpaying now as the demand is there. But give it some time and things should catch up. The feeding frenzy for old homes near downtown Austin and as far out as 15 miles away even, are driven by outside buyers. What I mean by outside buyers, is buyers who are not from our area. We are thankful for them as a lot of Austin people have made a small fortune off of them. Locals wouldn’t pay those prices.

This is a catch 22 now though. Now locals can’t afford to live in the areas, or at least a lot of them. So people are being pushed out further. The bottom line is, shop but not too long. Before you know it the market will get away from  you. I see areas everyday that I think are bargains. The forecaster even said that some of these new subdivisions are selling houses so cheap they can’t be replaced for what they are selling them for. So look for next year to be a hot year for us. Yeah, you might get other opinions on this. We all have our own opinions. I have been doing this for 19 years though and feel that we are on the edge of our market starting back on its path before this little slowdown a few months ago. I see so many agents who have been in the business for a few months or a couple of years and call themselves experts. Please! You have a long ways to go before you can call yourself that. Heck after 19 years, I consider myself sharp on the market, but no one can know everything. So beware of what you read in the papers. Don’t mixup the national economy with our stable local economy. They are two different things. Does the national economy have an effect on us? Sure given enough time and that is what we are seeing now. However, all eyes are on Austin now and I think we will see a new wave of people moving in for many reasons.

Foxnews.com just listed Austin as one of the top 50 cities to make a lot of money and spend a little. Keep your eyes and ears open. If you hear a rumble, you know it is the new stampede of buyers who are wanting to move to Austin, Texas. Call me and I can help!