Win a Mercedes and a Trip to Germany - 10/31/09 02:25 PM
Every year for the last 5 years the Rotary Club I am part of has raffled a Mercedes to raise money for scholarships for needy students.  The drawing is Nov. 5, which is this coming Thursday.  We printed 1200 tickets, but haven't even sold 400 yet so the odds are looking good.  But this drawing is for more than a car.
The winner also gets a trip for two to Germany, where he or she will choose between a C300 or a GLK.  After touring the factory and picking up the car, the winner gets a 5 day, 4 night vacation … (0 comments)

People With College Degrees Moving to Austin Even Without Jobs - 10/28/09 04:56 PM
Recently released census data from 2006-2008 shows that people with college degrees are moving to cities like Austin, Charlotte, Raleigh and Portland.  Makes perfect sense to me.  These high-tech, highly educated and pretty hip cities have a lot to offer.
The cities these folks are leaving are cities with a high rate of foreclosures and job losses.  Gosh, who would have figured!  Two cities on that list are Cleveland and Detroit.  I don't know if cities like that can ever recover.  With car manufacturers that can't compete even with government help and other heavy industry, these cities will struggle to retain … (0 comments)

Austin Has 2nd Strongest Economy of U.S. Metro Areas - 10/28/09 12:19 PM
BusinessWeek.com ranked the country's 40 strongest economies using information from the Brookings Institution's MetroMonitor and Austin had the second strongest economy.  Only San Antonio was better.  Of the top 10, 5 were Texas metro areas.  Of the remainder, all were in southern states.  The study job growth, unemployment, economic output and home prices.  Click here for the story.  The oil and gas industry as well as a relatively healthy housing market had big impacts.
If you are interested in Austin real estate of Lake Travis property, please call me at 512-293-2422.
 
 
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Can You Guess What This Is? - 10/26/09 10:47 AM

If you think you know what this is, please leave a comment.
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Lake Travis On the Way Up - 10/22/09 11:05 AM
Thanks to heavy rain last night, Lake Travis is up 5 feet and still rising.  Should be up another 7 feet in a few days.  Great news!  Below is what the main body of the lake looked like a month ago.

Anyone interested in Lake Travis waterfront property, feel free to call me at 512-293-2422.  I can answer questions about Austin real estate as well.
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Will Resetting ARMs Cause another Wave of Foreclosures - 10/21/09 12:54 PM
Next year we will see Alt-A and other ARMs reset.  A lot of people think that will set off another wave of foreclosures, but will it?  I am hearing that many of the people who bought with these loans have seen the writing on the walls and have already stopped making payments.  In other words, we may be see many of these going into foreclosure now.  That gives me a little hope about not seeing a significant rise in foreclosures next year, but we will have to wait and see.
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Keller Williams Lakeway Halloween Carnival - 10/21/09 12:46 PM

My Keller Williams office is hosting a Halloween carnival at our office in Lakeway.  We will have booths with Halloween activities in the parking garage blow the building.  There will also be trick or treating in halls of the building.  Most agents with offices have done a great job decorating doors and the office looks great. 
This will be a great alternative or addition to traditional Lakeway area trick or treating.  The event will be on Thursday, October 29th from 5:00 to 8:00 PM.  The address is 1921 Lohman's Crossing, Lakeway, TX 78734.  We're right next to The Summit.
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Cash For Clunkers Was a Dud - 10/21/09 12:22 PM
I listened to a presentation by Stewart Title's economist, Ted Jones, this morning.  Lots of stats about jobs, home sales, etc., but the thing that caught my attention was what the cash for clunkers program resulted in.
The goal of the program was to put U.S. car manufacturing workers back to work.  Ted said that over 690,000 cars were sold, but only 38.6% were built in the U.S.  Of those, most were foreign brands.  So the net effect was that a bunch of people got new cars, we lined the pockets of foreign car manufacturers and nobody went back to work.  … (6 comments)

Austin Real Estate Market Statistics Update - 10/19/09 01:47 PM
I just got this from Alamo Title Co.
The number of active listings are down 11.93% from last year.
The number of new listings are down this week 6.02% (compared to 10/12/08 - 10/18/08).
Pendings are up this week 73.70%.
Sold residential units are up 50.29% compared to the same week last year.
The Week in Review Units for Sale: Oct. 11 - Oct. 17, 2009 (compared to the same week in 2008)New listings down this week 6.02% Pendings are up 73.70% Solds are up 50.29% As for Average Prices: Oct. 11 - Oct. 17, 2009 Sold average sales prices increased … (0 comments)

Blog Post Got Me a Plate - 10/09/09 02:32 PM
A new restaurant opened in Lakeway a few months ago and some friends and I had lunch there to check it out.  I liked the place, called Non La, and wrote a blog post about it.  The owner found the post and thanked me by naming a plate after me.  It is a dish you can have with chicken or beef that has curry, ginger (lots of ginger), onions and green beans.  I had the Sam Chapman Holiday plate with chicken for lunch today and it was fabulous.  I met the owners today and they were very nice.  Sean Le wanted … (2 comments)

When We Were Kids - 10/07/09 01:31 PM
You may have seen this go around in emails, but felt like sharing it here.
To Those of You Born 1930 - 1979
At the end of this email is a quote of the month by Jay Leno. If you don't read anything else, please read what he said.
Very well stated, Mr. Leno.
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that … (6 comments)

 
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Sam Chapman

Lakeway, TX

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of Private Label Realty

Address: 8300 N Mopac #110, Austin, TX, 78759

Office Phone: (512) 293-2422

Cell Phone: (512) 293-2422

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Information and observations on the Austin real estate market including market stats and developments in and around Austin that affect residential real estate conditions. Perhaps a few other odds & ends as well!


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