Jun

06

2013

Austin Texas: A Seller’s Market in 2013: What does it mean for buyers?

Jun. 06. 2013

Last year as predominantly a buyer’s agent I had time for my clients to gather 3-6 homes they wanted to view for our appointment a few days in advanced. We’d go out, take a look, decide what offer to make on which property. I was able to negotiate for them, get seller’s to pay closing costs (depending on the deal of course) and I was able to make everyone happy–my main common goal in my career (and life–in general).

marah and Nick

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This year is a different story! I knew it was coming too. As the last quarter or so started to dwindle down in inventory in 2012 I noticed that 2013 would be very different. Each week I would read statistics from Title Co. regarding the decline in listings, the increase of people moving here. Yep. The cat was out of the bag that Austin is a cool town to live in. And as this IT, green, outdoorsy, fun, young, semi-alcoholic filled, laid back, intelligent city started to attract more people, the prices started to rise and people who are currently living here want to stay here.

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Now it is 2013 and we are in a shortage. In case you hadn’t heard, Austin is in a Seller’s market. I do not look like a buyer’s agent Rockstar any more. I am in a secret Facebook group with agents who share Pre-MLS listings, I have even sent out letters to home owners where my buyers are looking to see if they want to sell. I haven’t started door-knocking yet, but I am strongly considering it. The one thing I am trying to maintain is a positive attitude. Has it been easy, no? But really, is it ever in this business? No. But I think with persistence, knowledge, staying in the loop with other agents and thinking of my client’s needs, I can still manage to make my clients happy, but honestly it may have taken them losing out on a few properties to get to a point of aggressiveness. Hard to compete with cash in this market too. It is still a great time to buy if you ask me, however. Maybe you aren’t getting the “deal” you necessarily dreamed of, however securing a low interest rate and purchasing when Austin is projected to be the next best city for the decade isn’t such a bad deal.

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Will we have a bubble? People keep asking me if we are going to burst, like California did. I am no Economist, but based on what I read and hear, here are my over all thoughts:

  • We have steady job growth here (this isn’t a dot.com era where a bunch of companies keep popping up out of nowhere, many various markets are expanding and growing).
  • We have a diverse job market, maybe not as diverse as Houston (which is also doing really well, interesting article on why Houston should be the capital-read here)
  • Projected to be the next best city of the decade (wow!)
  • Consumer confidence is at a 5yr high currently

I feel like I have now been in various cycles of the real estate market. From the absolute bottom, when there was virtually no activity, to when it picked back up and was booming and now the extreme-a competitive rental and buyer’s market. This ever-changing market definitely keeps me on my toes. Being that I work with a lot of buyers, a lot of my blogging and advice is geared toward just that. If you have any questions regarding buying or selling in Austin, Tx please don’t hesitate to ask.

welcome home

As always, thanks for reading! (And yes I took all those photos myself, around Austin etc.!) Start your real estate search here today and let me know if I can be of any help!

ashley3-Ashley