April 2013 Austin Real Estate Market Update

This month’s market update will be brief as I will allow my new blog to do most of the talking. The April real estate numbers came out on May 20th and I got a little verklempt. Let’s just say that the market continues to surprise the experts by leaps and bounds.

· Low inventory has raised prices once again despite there being 10% more new listings. Only 2.7 months of inventory.

· Aggressive buyers are not giving the market a chance to replenish itself and sellers continue to list properties off market.

If you remember, I promised an update on the mid century home that clients of mine recently purchased. When I spoke to you last, we had just signed the contract and were in escrow. All was kosher and we were on autopilot when we received the appraisal.

We expected, based on a specific comparable, for the home to appraise close to the list price. The comparable just happened to be the Roland Roessner home that started this whole process in November 2012. Of course the appraiser did not use this comparable and knew nothing of the historical significance of our home. He came in really low. Extremely low! Needless to say, after speaking with him, he wasn’t budging. Even after finding the original blueprints in the Austin History Museum, he was not budging.

We had no choice but to abandon the loan and start over. Luckily, the seller was sympathetic as we pursued other financing options. As it turns out, my buyers went to a local credit union and got a better rate and the home appraised for 10K over list price. Of course we were ready this time with a mountain of comparable data that we dumped on the new appraiser. Lesson learned.

To the blog! I hope you enjoy the visual guide to Austin Real Estate. Feel free to join Tumblr and “Follow me” every time I post new properties, market updates, or interesting real estate articles. Most of the time it will be pictures of properties that I find interesting or my own listings. Of course, pass the link on to friends and family who you feel would benefit from the knowledge or who might enjoy the visuals. Thanks in advance

http://blog.787-realty.com/post/50992301003/april-2013-mls-stats