Moving inside Austin city limits could bring sweet music to your ears -- and pocketbook.
"Austin is a captivating city full of diversity, beauty, entertainment and a wealth of job opportunities. Whether you are looking for a home in the rolling hills or a condo with cityscape view, you can find it not too far from the vibrant musical culture and gorgeous parks downtown," say Realtors Rob and Carolyn Abbott . "In Austin, whether you choose to enjoy an afternoon of major college football, dine at any of the hundreds of fantastic restaurants, or relax in a spring-fed pool amidst the beautiful preserved greenbelts of Zilker Park is up to you ... it's your city to explore in your time. Austin brings a little something for everyone."
They continue, "Our current characterization of the market is positive, with upward movement. August saw some changing conditions from last month -- that being an increase in new sales along with pending sales and homes that have actually closed and sold. We're at the moment leaning more toward a neutral stance as the amount of investor activity in Austin is strong with it's excellent (undervalued) home prices (Austin homes were recently ranked about 5 percent undervalued according to USA Today)."
Realtor Geno Perez remarks, "Austin's residential market is a classic example showing that high home price-to-rent ratios may signal negative or lower price appreciation in later periods or even a home price bubble. The city experienced home price appreciation of 43 percent from 1996 to 2000. During that period, the home price-to-rent ratio rose from 17 to 22.8. The ratio of home price to rent fell to 18.1 in 2004, and the city recorded a decline in home prices in 2003."
He notes that it is important to remember that "houses are both investment goods and consumption goods. While a share of stock has no intrinsic value, people purchase houses to live in, as an investment or both. Home prices are determined not only by the present value of net rents but also by competition among homebuyers who want to live in the most desirable places (location, location, location!) and their willingness and ability to pay for their homes. Thus, in analyzing house prices, the relationship between rents and home prices as well as the relationship between family income and home prices must be considered."
Realtor Julie Nelson says, "The $300k to $500k sector has rebounded and under $400k is a sellers market. High inventory -- and thus houses just sitting on the market, equals uneasy sellers and include the outlying areas of Round Rock, Pflugerville, Hays and Buda. California investors are taking quite an interest in Austin ... certainly lower prices than CA and an optimistic economic outlook. We have a lot of CA 1031 exchange investors buying up properties in Austin, particularly new spec homes with huge builder incentives. My advice to sellers: price it right, give it some fresh paint and put your stuff in storage to move it fast."
