Austin Property Talk

Priceless!

This video is absolute genius.  This is Rich Iacovetta who is a mortgage broker in California.  He began "Facebook Friday" (about a year ago as a platform to relay mortgage news to his network.  His videos usually involve a little or a lot of humor, but this one takes the cake.  Enjoy!

First Newsletter of the New Year

It's the time of the month again.   My first Newsletter of the New Year has been printed and posted.  I'm adding some new fun things to the mix this year.   If you haven't yet been introduced to my newsletter, its a variety of interesting tidbits, short stories, personal stories and the occasional Austin Real Estate article.  Mainly it's just a fun top keep in touch with friends, family and clients on a regular basis. 

I always post a copy of my newsletter on my Blog by the middle of the month.  However, I make sure to mail out a copy the first week of the month to an exclusive list of subscribers.  If you are not a subscriber to my newsletter and would like to be, shoot me an email - ryan@stonehavenrealty.com. 

Or, you can access my Newsletter Archives.  Enjoy!

2009 Real Estate Market Summary

Every once in a while I like to give myself a good research project.  It's funny because I didn't realize how much I enjoyed reading and studying until I got away from school.  Now, I get to read and study the things that actually interest me. 

This time around I decided to do a detailed 2009 analysis of the Austin real estate market.  I especially wanted to focus on the differences between resale, short sale and foreclosure sales and how they reacted differently to market dynamics.  I also focused only on house sales.

Foreclosures and distressed sales are the most popular thing with buyers.  Everybody wants a deal but I wanted to explore more about whether or not they really were good deals or just hype.   Keep in mind this is a very unscientific study.  The market data included the entire Austin MLS Area which spans a large area.  The number of regular resale transactions far exceeds foreclosure sales and even more so short sales (therefore the short sale numbers are a bit skewed)  

Id be happy to send the spreadsheet to anyone who is interested, but here are some highlights from the analysis.  In 2009 there were 18537 house sales tallied overall across the Austin market.

• The Median Sales Price for all House Sales in Austin for 2009 was $190,000
• The highest level of sales occurred in June (2051) followed by July (2013)
  
• The highest median sales price occurred in June ($200,000) followed by May, July and December, surprisingly (all $195,000)
  
• The average time it took to sell a house in 2009 was 75 days and the median was 47
• On Average, all Sales yielded 93% of Original List Price

There were 2195 Foreclosure Sales on Austin MLS for 2009 only about 12% of all recorded sales.         

• The Median Sales Price for foreclosures in Austin was only $122,000 for 2009
• The Average Sales Price was $153,203
• On Average, it took only 45 Days for Foreclosures to Sell (29 Median)
• The Quarterly Breakdown of Foreclosure Sales was evenly distributed (545, 604, 590, 514)
• On Average Foreclosure Sales yielded 93% of Original List Price
  

There were 506 Recorded Short Sale on Austin MLS for 2009 - about 3% of all recorded sales.  (These were sales that were accurately marked as short sales, there could have been more that were not labeled)

• The Median Sales Price for 2009 Austin Short Sales was $140,000
  
• The Average Sales Price for 2009 Short Sales was $191,306
  
• On Average, it took 102 Days to Complete a Short Sale with 80 days the Median
  
• The highest number of Recorded Short Sales took place in December 2009
• On Average, Short Sales yielded 90% of their Original List Price

For a detailed breakdown of the MLS Sales for all areas of the Austin Real Estate Market, you can download the comprehensive report here.  Plus a link to the MLS Area map for reference. 

2010-2011 Austin Economic Forecast (Angelou Economics)

Good News on the Foreclosure Front

This past Friday, HUD secretary Shaun Donovan announced a temporary lift on the FHA mortgage seasoning requirement.  This change will allow for quicker resale of many properties in short sale or foreclosure. 

Since that probably didn't make any sense to you, lets try that again in English.  Up until Friday, when this announcement was made, if the current owner of a property did not own that property  for a minimum of 90 days, it could not be sold to a buyer who planned on using FHA financing.  FHA financing is a government insured loan program that has become the program of choice for many home buyers these days due to its qualifying criteria and lower down payment requirements.  

The original primary reason for the "seasoning" requirement was valid.  HUD wanted to ensure that prospective house flippers were not purchasing properties under the premise of owner occupancy, using the lower down payment requirement, rehabbing the houses, and turning around and selling them quickly for a profit.  That part of it made sense.  However, a secondary effect was that many short sale or foreclosed properties that were held or purchased by an intermediary were no longer eligible for the FHA financing until they became "seasoned".  Thus, many would-be buyers were turned away as a result.

This temporary change will have a broader effect on areas outside of Austin and Texas that have been hard hit by foreclosure activity, but it hit very close to home last week.  

I am currently working with a first time buyer couple who's only option at this point is FHA financing.  Fortunately, we received news last we that we'd "won" out in a multiple offer situation on a great short sale deal, only to find out that it came with a stipulation:  No FHA financing.  It turns out that the loss mitigation company (short sale negotiation company) currently has an option to purchase the property and turn right around and sell it almost simultaneously.  This is a huge benefit to the seller because he almost assuredly avoids foreclosure, but we found ourselves in a situation where the "seasoning" requirement was not going to be met.  Talk about frustrating!

Then low and behold, the real estate Gods looked favorably upon us and this announcement was made on the very day that we had to make some sort of decision.

I know all of this might be a little confusing, but trust that this is going to benefit the Austin Real Estate market as a whole. Though our foreclosure numbers are lower than some, the quicker they sell, the quicker resale prices will come back in some areas.  

Tomorrow

He was going to be all that a mortal could be. . . Tomorrow.
None should be kinder or braver than he. . . Tomorrow.
A friend who was troubled and weary he knew,
Who’d be glad of a lift and who needed it, too,
On him he would call to see what he could do. . . Tomorrow. 
Each morning he'd stack up the letters he'd write. . . Tomorrow.
And he thought of the friends he would fill with delight. . . Tomorrow.
It was too bad indeed; he was busy each day, 
And hadn't a minute to stop on his way;
"More time I’ll give to others," he’d say. . ."Tomorrow."
The greatest of workers this man would have been. . . Tomorrow.
The world would have known him, had he ever seen. . . Tomorrow.
But the fact is he died, and faded from view,
And all that he left here when living was through 

Was a mountain of things he intended to do. . . Tomorrow.

This is a poem by Edgar Guest about taking advantage of today rather than waiting for "tomorrow."  I'd imagine at this point in the New Year, there are many who are struggling with the discipline needed to either form or sustain new behaviors that will help to achieve goals and objectives set for 2010. 

Believe it or not, this is about as far as most people get with a New Year's resolution.  We do not struggle with our plans, we struggle with taking the action necessary to get the ball rolling.  It's tough - no doubt.  As Don Marquis says, "procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday." 

How often have you looked at your list of things to do today and rationalized that "I will do that tomorrow?"  Too often we miss out on the opportunity to do something decisive today.  What one thing can you do today to put yourself on the path to success tomorrow?

1000 Ways to Pick the Right Realtor

As a fellow blogger, but more so as an inquiring mind, I personally subscribe to and read a number of other blogs written by other real estate professionals and entrepreneurs.  My purpose for reading other blogs is really a number of things; it starts with learning first and foremost.  It also includes coming up with good ideas to implement, share, comment on or imitate (yes, I said it, it does happen).  Every once in a while an added benefit is that I come across a blog entry written by someone else that I know I could not possibly duplicate and frankly there is no need to try because it is written too perfectly by the original writer.  I have no problem giving credit where credit is due.  

This morning I came across an entry written by Greg Nino who is a RE/MAX Realtor in Houston.   Apparently Greg is putting together a series of posts this year about 1000 Ways to Pick the Right Realtor.   Its somewhat humorous & comical but as an active participant in the business, I know that it is also very accurate.   I don't think that buyers and sellers take nearly enough time to make sure they are working with a person that understands what they are trying to accomplish. 

The truth is that as Realtors, even though we like to fool ourselves into thinking we can be all things to all people, sometimes that is not always in the best interest of the client.  Click on the link to read Greg's insight.

That is not a picture of Greg by the way or me, (just in case you were wondering).

36 Books to Read in 2010

 I have a plan to read these books this year. Some I have read before and are worth reading again each year.  For those of you that are keeping score at home, that is 36 books (one not pictured because I already lent it to someone).  It looks like a lot, but its only 28 pages a day (9975 total). In fact, Chances are very good that I will surpass this now that I think about it.  The books on the bottom row will take priority over the novels on the top.  I usually am working on 3 at a time.  Books read:  Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin.  Reading:  The Purpose Driven Life, First Things First and Camel Club. If you click on the picture to the left, it will take you to an interactive bookshelf on shelfari.com - pretty cool.

2009 The Year that Was (in pictures)

CLICK THROUGH TO SEE ENTIRE ALBUM

30 Days to Becoming an Early Riser

Needless to say this time of the year there is a lot of talk about resolutions, goals and creating better habits for the new year.  I was actually surprised recently to read that only 14 percent of all people actually set some sort of resolution or goal for the New Year.  I was not surprised, however, to read that typical lifespan on those resolutions that are set is only 3 weeks.   Sad but True.

Ill have to admit that I’ve fallen into that latter category before on many occasions.  Not from lack of ambition, but from lack of follow through.  I always take the time to put together a set of goals for the new year or any part of the year for that matter. Once the excitement subsides and it becomes nothing but honest intention and hard work, sometimes I stray from the path.  Ultimately I end up batting about .500 - probably better than most people but not the standard Id like to set.  

Again, I have a detailed 2010 Personal Success Plan for persistent growth and accomplishment.  However in an effort to get better results this year, I’ve decided to give myself intermittent 30-day focus challenges that coincide with those goals. 

It’s kind of like a 30 day free trial just without the trial part.   I’ve carefully chosen actions that I know will bring huge benefit this year if I take the time to form them into habits.  I’ve made a non-negotiable agreement with myself to stick with each for 30-40 days until they are ingrained in my daily routine.  

My initial challenge for the New Year is to become and Early Riser – to join the 5:00ish club.  So for the first 30 days of the New Year (rain or shine, weekday or weekend), I will set my alarm for 5:15am, allowing myself 15 minutes to shower and be ready to start my day by 5:30.  At 5:30 I will begin my Smart Start Morning ritual (more to come on that later) which will help put me in the right frame of mind for a successful day.  An added benefit is that I might be able to end my day a little bit earlier too (appointments notwithstanding).  I’ve done this previously but left out the non-negotiable concept and wouldn’t you know it, the snooze button got easier and easier to push over time.   

This challenge also comes with bonus challenges.   The first thing that I will do each morning is to read a chapter from The Purpose Driven Life.   I’ve read the book a handful of times before but it’s been a few years.  There are 40 chapters in the book and since these two challenges essentially go hand in hand, perhaps this first challenge of the New Year will be a 40 day challenge.   If I haven’t ingrained the habit after 40 days then it’s going to be a long year ;)

Stay tuned . . .

The Power of a Decade

It’s amazing how much things can change over the course of one year, much less 10 years.  I’ll have to admit , until recently, when I started to see the various countdowns of the decade on TV stations, I hadn’t given much thought to the fact that 2009 was indeed the end of the decade. 

Over this past week Kristin has spent some time chronologically sorting boxes of pictures that have been neglected for a while.   From time to time, she will call me in and ask, “when was this?”   And we will sit there and try to hash it out, basing our rationale on hair-dos or Christmas presents in the pictures etc . . . It’s a real inexact science, but the truth is that some years are just more memorable than others.   That got me to thinking about how my life really did change over the past 10 years.  When you think about the fact that 10 years is a full third of my life to present, it is pretty profound.  I woke up on New Year’s Day 2000 half way through my Sophomore year at the University of Texas.   

Just to give some context of the impact of a decade, can you even remember what was “normal” pre-9/11?  In the year 2000, American Idol was still two years away from debuting.   The New England Patriots were coming off of a 5-11 season having finished 4^th or worse in their own division 3 years in a row.  The Dow Jones closed at 11,497 on 12/31/09 (more than 1000 pts higher than it would 10 years later).  Tim Tebow was in his 3^rd year at Flori . . . ., I mean in Middle School (seems like he’s been at Florida that long).  Google was fresh off of Beta Testing.  Mack Brown was just the guy who followed John Mackovic and National Championships weren’t even a figment of the imagination.  When you reflect on that, you realize just how much can over that period of time.

I’ve been extremely blessed over the past decade, having had the chance to play in the 2000 College World Series and win the National Championship in 2002.  I graduated college in 2003 and was given the chance to chase my dream of playing professional baseball the following spring with the Houston Astros.   The Horns won the National Championship in January of 2006, the same year that I started a new career.  I purchased my first home in 2008 and was engaged a few months later.  I married the love of my life this past year – and only after only a decade’s worth of dating.   Those are just some of the highlights but an amazing 10 years it has been.  

Maybe I’m just getting older but for some reason I woke up this morning with a new appreciation for what the New Year brings.  Not because I’m looking to bury this past year.  In fact, quite the opposite, it was a fabulous year of personal and professional growth.   Its just that I have a peaceful feeling that 2010 is going to be the best year ever and I cannot wait to attack it with passion.