My wife and I had our greenhouse/shed was profiled in the Los Angeles Times Home & Garden section last week. We built this shed 4 years ago in the backyard of our home here in Austin, TX neighborhood of Tarrytown. It continues to get media attention because it's so different then any other shed or greenhouse out there. I call it the "Taj Mahal of Greenhouses".

Check it out as uses standard-issue materials such as polycarbonate greenhouse siding and aluminum studs to create a one of a kind “mod pod”.

Here is the link for it. Sheds and hideaways like you've never seen before!

This was also posted on our other blog www.austintexasrealtyteam.com/blog

Austin was host to a big green building expo this past weekend. You have probably noticed over the past year how much Green Building is now the rage for the housing market. All it means is when you build you are using environmentally friendly building practices and materials. It requires sustainable construction materials to be used. For a lot of builders it has become the standard practice for construction. I would venture to say that the builders how aren't using it better start or they may find themselves out of business in the near future. Builders are now working on becoming Certified Green Professionals which is new designation to show home buyers home buyers that their builder or remodeler applies green practices.

The National Association of Home Builders also has expanded National Green Building Standard, which includes guidelines for single- and multifamily housing, residential remodeling and lot and site development.

It's time for us to start riding the Green Wave or at least be aware this trend is going to continue.

Read the full article on Green Building in the Austin American Statesman:
Austin Green Building

In an article published the day after Christmas in the Austin American Statesman showed that Austin is one of the top markets for buying undervalued real estate. This is compared to the rest of the country where many markets are overvalued with their home prices. Investors should take note that Austin is still a good place to buy homes because they are going to see solid appreciation. As always check with a Realtor on specific areas. some neighborhoods are appreciating faster then others.

Find this article at: Austin Real Estate Market a Bargain

The state of Texas hasn't been plagued with that nasty bubble like the rest of county. That;s due to a rising job market and prices not appreciating dramatically. However I still get investors and buyers who think Austin prices are going to fall. Well they aren't as far as can tell. If a buyer decides to wait 6 more months because they think the prices will drop then they will experience trying to buy a home where the prices have gone up another 6%. The market is appreciating at about 6-7% a year.

Austin, TX - August 2007 Stats

Solds decreased by 14.63%

As for Average Prices:

The "New Listings" average list price is up 14.56% to 299,055.

Sold average sales prices increased 8.33% to $256,035 compared to $236,355 in 2006.

What do these numbers mean? The Realtors I've spoken to are seeing a decrease in showings on their listings yet there are still plenty of buyers out there to keep a lot of us busy as the market continues to move forward.  The number one thing that pops out to me the most is the continued rise in listing prices even though there are increased listings and decreased solds. There are more Expireds and Withdrawns happening now too.

If you are selling a home and want to stay behind that curve on pricing your home too aggressively because then you'll be forced to follow the rest of the listings on the way down. I'm seeing a lot more price reductions now as a number of sellers where pricing their homes 5-10% above the market. Only in Super hot areas would anything like that sell.  Otherwise is most areas those homes just sat on the market with very little showings and are now starting to lower their prices to where the market is currently for their area. We should continue to see plenty of buyers between now and the end of the year, but there will also be some good deals as motivated sellers will start to realize their over priced listings may not sell thus they then find themselves chasing the downward curve.

Austin, TX - August 2007 Stats

Solds decreased by 14.63%

As for Average Prices:

The "New Listings" average list price is up 14.56% to 299,055.

Sold average sales prices increased 8.33% to $256,035 compared to $236,355 in 2006.

What do these numbers mean? The Realtors I've spoken to are seeing a decrease in showings on their listings yet there are still plenty of buyers out there to keep a lot of us busy as the market continues to move forward.  The number one thing that pops out to me the most is the continued rise in listing prices even though there are increased listings and decreased solds. There are more Expireds and Withdrawns happening now too.

If you are selling a home and want to stay behind that curve on pricing your home too aggressively because then you'll be forced to follow the rest of the listings on the way down. I'm seeing a lot more price reductions now as a number of sellers where pricing their homes 5-10% above the market. Only in Super hot areas would anything like that sell.  Otherwise is most areas those homes just sat on the market with very little showings and are now starting to lower their prices to where the market is currently for their area. We should continue to see plenty of buyers between now and the end of the year, but there will also be some good deals as motivated sellers will start to realize their over priced listings may not sell thus they then find themselves chasing the downward curve.

Mueller Austin Re-Development Transformation

 The Re-Development of the old Robert Mueller airport is creating a boost for economic development in Central East Austin. This area was just a wide swath of open land and warehouses is turning into a up and coming neighborhood. Ground has recently broken for a 348 single-family residential phase in the redevelopment, ranging from $120,000 to $700,000. Homeowners will move into the first phase by the end of the year through early 2008.

The development is designed to be community and pedestrian friendly. Bike lanes and sidewalks will be included on all streets.

The homes will be built with front porches and garages in the backs of the houses.

Approximately 4,500 homes will be built in the next 10 to 15 years.

The former airport will become  a 711-acre development with housing, stores, offices and medical facilities. It is being designed as a pedestrian-friendly community with park space and an emphasis on green building.

Roads are being built for the next phase, which will have 360 homes. Construction will begin in mid-2008. The options will include the same yard, row and garden court home styles as in the first phase. But there also will be live-work units, which have retail on the bottom with living space above, and Mueller houses, designed to look like mansions but housing several condominium units.

Austin City Council Member Sheryl Cole says....

"It's been so many years that East Austin has not had this kind of development or investment in the infrastructure that I think it's just great," Cole said.

The first phase will include about 350 homes ranging from $120,000 to $700,000.

Whelan says about 70 of the homes are targeted for affordable housing.

"They will be designed to the same architectural standard - the same green building standard - and they will be interspersed throughout the area to create a true mixed income community."

The development is designed to be community and pedestrian friendly. Bike lanes and sidewalks will be included on all streets.

The homes will be built with front porches and garages in the backs of the houses.

If someone is looking for new construction in central Austin, then they definitely need to consider buying a home at Mueller. This piece of real estate will offer people opportunity to buy a new home in Austin at an affordable price and be part of great new community. Here are the builders buyers can choose: http://www.muelleraustin.com/builders.html

Sources: [KVUE News]

I ran across a very interesting article about the trend of single women buying homes from the Hermann Trend Report.  I'd be interested in seeing how true this here in Austin with the influx of more people buying condos especially in the downtown and central areas.

As more women postpone marriage and family, we see them choosing to buy their own homes as individuals. Some say they are taking a stand for "financial independence" and others say they say they are investing for the future. Whatever the reason, there is a definite trend towards more single women buying homes of their own.

Right now, the bulk of home buyers are still married couples (60 percent). However, a recent study by the National Association of Realtors shows unmarried women represent 22 percent of the total homes purchased in the United States; up from 14 percent in 1995. That is a more than 50 percent increase in only 12 years.

Last summer, a study issued by Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies found that unmarried women buy about one million homes every year; and between 2002 and 2003, they spent $550 billion on residential real estate.

According to this Harvard study, single women prefer homes in the city to the suburbs and generally will not choose new construction. Seeking a stronger sense of safety, while requiring less maintenance, most women buy smaller homes or less-expensive condominiums.

Builders are taking notice of this growing trend as are the leading edge Realtors. For years, builders have targeted women by decorating their model homes with lighter and brighter colors and showing kitchen upgrades, as well as promoting the security of attached garages. Smart real estate brokers marketing to women home buyers emphasize the safety of neighborhoods.

What is behind this interesting phenomenon is a major societal shift. Women are waiting longer to marry and have families and certainly now have greater financial independence, due to their economic gains realized in the workforce. Moreover, according to a 2006 study by the Rutgers University's National Marriage Project, married women who get divorced are less likely to remarry; these divorced women also remarry more slowly than their male counterparts.

Globally, we are seeing more young women becoming more independent. From some countries in Asia to others in South America, we will see this home buying trend emerge in other countries, besides the U.S.

"From ‘The Herman Trend Alert,' by Joyce Gioia-Herman, Strategic Business Futurist. (800) 227-3566 or http://www.hermangroup.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group of Companies, Inc."  

I'm curious to know if other Realtors have noticed this trend with single women buyers. I personally have only worked with a few single female clients but I've heard this happening in our market here in Austin.

Being in the Real Estate business sometimes has us running around like crazy trying to deal with many issues with our clients or prospects that sucks our energy down... But for some reason we like the ADRENALIN we get from it!

If you've often wondered if you run on adrenaline-get wired, do too much at the same time, always have "drama" going on in your life, etc., then find out for sure. Take our test! Answer the question, am I an adrenaline junkie, once and for all. Then, if you are-do something about it. Read the following questions and answer YES or NO. Go with your first response-that's your gut response and probably the most accurate.

1.     Yes ___ No ___ Do you feel guilty or get frantic when you don't work at least 60 hours per week?

2.     Yes ___ No ___ Are you always racing to get to your next meeting or destination?

3.     Yes ___ No ___ Do you think relaxation and meditation are for old people or young hippies only?

4.     Yes ___ No ___ Are you incredibly impatient about waiting in lines?

5.     Yes ___ No ___ Do you love living "on the edge?"

6.     Yes ___ No ___ Do you always do at least two things at a time, if not three or more?

7.     Yes ___ No ___ Can you leave your personal calendar at home on the weekend?

8.     Yes ___ No ___ Do you feel like you're constantly spinning your wheels, but realize you're actually                                             not going anywhere?

9.     Yes ___ No ___ Do you drink several cups of coffee or other caffeine drinks to jolt you throughout the                                      day?

10.  Yes ___ No ___ Did you hate the amount of time it took you to take this test?

SCORING:

If you had all No answers, then you are a Zen Master of your universe, and your probably out of  touch with reality.

If you had 2 yes answers, then your OK as long as stay with the one cup of coffee in the morning.

If you had 3-4 yes answers, then your day planner weighs more than 5lbs and hurts your arm.

If you had 5-6 yes answers, then you probably like to put your food in the microwave and yell "Hurry Up!"

If you had over 6 yes answers, and keep getting stuck in your blood pressure machine, then you're definitely an ADRENALIN JUNKIE.

The Austin, Texas Real Estate Month in Review for April 2007

New listings were down by 23.05%.

Number of Solds increased by 17.34%. 

As for Average Prices:

"New Listings" average list price is up 18.61% to 332,105.

Sold average sales prices increased 5.87% to $243,425 compared to $229,921 in 2006.

Did You Know...?

That we had 8,874 active listings during the same week in 2006?  Today there are 9,332 active listings!  But many of areas of Austin have a shortage of listings and that has driven up prices.

May is normally one of the busiest sales months for real estate in Austin. So stay tuned for some HOT activity to happen. Lots of new listings and plenty of SALES.

Green condo project to have greenbelt view

A new 4 story condo project that will have 69 units on South Lamar is set to begin construction in early June. It's called The View at 3600 S. Lamar. The four-story project is on the edge of the Barton Creek canyon lands and will feature one and two-bedroom units priced from $260,000 to $850,000.

This green building project will feature such environmentally sensitive components as solar energy panels, separate recycling chutes and a water collection system for landscaping.

There will be a dramatic wall-of-glass views in many of the units. The ceilings will be 11.5 feet tall and all the units will have spacious gourmet kitchens with dining bars.

They are taking reservations on right now. If you are interested contact me for more details. For more information go their website at The View On Lamar.

This listing agents for this project work at AvenueOne Properties so I know you can start reserving units now before the formal sales process starts. The reservations start at $1500 and the buildout won't start until June or July of this year.