New Homes Section » Austin real estate

Remodel or Buy a New Home? Which is Right For You?

Eric Bramlett — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 18:08:36 +0000

Have you decided that your home isn’t big enough? Or, perhaps your home needs to be updated in order to keep up with your lifestyle or modern conveniences. In either case, you might want to seriously consider purchasing a new home rather than investing a great deal of time and money into remodeling your home. Whether you’re in the Austin real estate market or elsewhere, in addition to the advice contained within, it’s also typically a good idea to check with a local Realtor, as all real estate markets are local.

While the common perception is that remodeling a home is less costly than simply upgrading to a new one, many find the opposite to be true. Or, in most worst case scenarios, making a move to a new home may result in breaking even where your finances are concerned. When it comes to stress and your time, on the other hand, moving to a new home is often the best option. After all, remodeling a home can take months or even years to complete depending upon what you are doing to the home. Furthermore, whether you are doing the remodeling yourself or hiring someone else to do the job, the remodeling process can be quite stressful. Not only do you have to deal with living in a home that is in shambles, but you also have to deal with the stress of waiting on workers and on the materials you need.

Of course, there are times when buying a new home is not the better option. For example, in order to break even or to come out ahead financially, you generally should have lived in the first home for at least 5 years. If you have only lived in a home for a couple of years, you are unlikely to have built up the equity that is needed to move to a new home without taking a loss. Similarly, if you have special ties to a particular neighborhood or if there is something special about your current home, you may be reluctant to move. In this case, the sentimental value of your current home may outweigh the savings you are likely to enjoy by simply moving to a new home. Likewise, some Central Austin homes for sale garner a higher price because of the “charm” associated with older homes, and in these instances you must learn to do a partial or selective remodel if one at all, else face devaluing your home and losing costs associated with the remodel.

Before you decide if it is better to remodel or to move, there are several things you should take into consideration. First, you might be able to avoid either option by simply decluttering your home, refurbishing certain parts of your home or repurposing certain rooms. Clearly, all three of these options would be less costly than buying a new home or completing a full remodel of your home. Furthermore, when considering the costs associated with remodeling, keep all of the following in mind:

The cost of construction
The cost of financing
The added costs of having a larger home, including higher utility costs, property taxes and
homeowner’s insurance

When it comes to figuring the costs of moving to a new home, all of the following should be considered:

Real estate commission costs
The costs of a new mortgage
The increased costs of utility bills, homeowner’s insurance and property taxes if moving to a
larger home
The cost of purchasing new window treatments, furniture and other items if necessary

Clearly, you should also consider your financial situation when deciding which is right for you. For most, purchasing a new home is an easier option because you are absolutely clear on what costs are involved, whereas there are many unknown variables and unexpected costs associated with a remodel.

2010 Austin Real Estate Market Statistics

Austin Real Estate Guy — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 20:38:23 +0000

I was recently asked about Austin real estate market conditions and statistics for 2010 so I did a little research. Below will be 2010 numbers for all residential listings in the Austin real estate market. The following is a breakdown of all residential sales including single-family homes, condos and townhouses.

Price Range	Units Sold	Avg. Sold Price	DOM	% of List
$0-$149,999	6,085	$109,013	65	92%
$150,000-$299,999	8,926	$204,709	72	94%
$300,00-$499,999	3,390	$367,769	81	93%
$500,000-$749,999	917	$574,747	92	92%
$750,000-$999,999	315	$814,651	115	91%
$1 million and up	253	$1,471,098	134	86%

As can clearly be seen, the $300,000 and under price range that saw the most movement. Overall, units sold were down from 2009, but prices were up slightly overall. In the higher price ranges, sales were quite slow and prices dropped in general. This is because so many buyers have been cut out of the Austin market. Some because jumbo mortgages are much more difficult to get and others because they can’t sell a house in another market for the price they want or need.

Sales early in the year through April were pretty good because of the new homebuyer tax credit. After that things really slowed down. Sales close to downtown and in parts of south central Austin were pretty strong throughout the year.

Sales of new homes in Bee Cave, a suburb to the west of Austin, were very hot. Falconhead West saw very strong sales because of several things. One was the low property tax rate. Another was because schools are in the Lake Travis Independent School District and that is one of the strongest districts in the state academically and in other areas. However, resale within the Lake Travis were generally pretty slow.

Sales in master-planned subdivisions like Steiner Ranch and Crystal Falls were fairly good. These communities generally do well because of the amenities and because the production builders building in them can get more aggressive than custom home builders.

Overall 2010 was not a strong year for the Austin real estate market, but it was much better than most other cities in the nation.

New Subdivisions for the Austin Area

Austin Real Estate Guy — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:49:11 +0000

Two real estate developers have plans for new neighborhoods at lower price points than much of what the Austin area has seen in recent years. One is in north Austin and the other is in Dripping Springs just south of Hwy 71 off RR 12, which is around 40 minutes west of downtown Austin in the Hill Country.

the Central Texas Hill Country

Springs at Walnut Creek is the north Austin development. It will be near IH 35 and Yeager Ln. There will be a little over 100 homes priced in the $200,000s. A smaller number of townhomes priced in the $100,000s are also planned. Construction is anticipated to begin next year.

The Dripping Springs project will have just under 250 homes and townhomes priced in the $mid 100,000s to just under $300,000. The Dripping Springs area has been underserved in this price range. This is largely because builders had not been able to purchase lots at a low enough price point to keep home prices lower. Most new Dripping Springs homes at the lower end have been in the $250,000 to $400,000 range. Many buyers want to spend less because of economic uncertainty.

I have talked with a lot of area builders recently and most are quite reluctant to build homes without already having buyers for them. Many still have unsold inventory and some dimply don’t want to take the risk. Because of this, the developer of the Yeager Lane project will build homes if individual builders don’t step up.

The Dripping Springs project expects to have hike and bike trails, a small lake, a series of ponds and some office, retail and restaurant space. The developer hopes to have infrastructure construction starting next year.

Austin Real Estate Neighborhoods

Austin Real Estate Guy — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:05:28 +0000

A lot of local Austin real estate websites feature neighborhood pages. Well written pages talk about the neighborhood, its location, amenities, schools and post links to things of interest in the area. Many talk about neighborhood homes and some actually show all of the active home listings in the neighborhood. Some agent’s neighborhood pages are pretty weak, but some are well done. Joe Cline is an Austin real estate agent who has put together some of the nicer neighborhood pages I have seen. A good example is Joe’s Aqua Verde page. It is attractive and has meaningful and useful information about Aqua Verde. So if you are looking for a real estate agent in Texas or especially in the Austin area make sure that you check out these feature neighborhood pages!