Secrets to Selling Your San Antonio Home

We get a fair number of calls from San Antonio real estate sellers asking us for our opinions on why their home hasn’t sold. We try to help as many people as we can, but sometimes they really aren’t looking for our honest opinion, they want us to confirm their thoughts, which we can’t do. We have to give the information that we know is right. It’s not easy, but this video from real estate maven Barbara Corcoran offers tips, tricks, good ideas and just plain old good-advice. Some of this, however, is really aimed at seller's in depressed markets, which San Antonio is not, but buyer's are still tentative so this advice is universal. Here are some common mistakes when selling your San Antonio home: 1. Making small price reductions. Price you home right from the beginning or make one large price reduction, but don't make make small price reductions. 2. Hiring the wrong agent. Having a competent, professional agent is more important than ever. 3. Waiting “out” the market. There are many, many, many people thinking that exact same thing. 4. Showing a cluttered home. The competition is stiff, folks. Clean, paint and unclutter. 5. Not taking the first offer. Two out of three times, the first offer is YOUR best offer! For more tips, please visit sanantoniohousingblog.com!

San Antonio Builder Leaving San Antonio?

Standard Pacific Homes, a California based home builder, has sold their lot inventory of 2500 homes to Forest City Land Group business unit and joint venture partner Covington Capital Corporation. Standard Pacific Homes, which has been in the San Antonio market since 2005, builds homes in the $100k to $200K price range. That price point is extemely competive in the San Antonio market, with over 25 builders building in that price range, from Fortune 500 builders like KB Home, Centex, And DR Horton, to local and reigional builders.

Is this a sign that the San Antonio market is following the path to decline of other housing markets? Probably not, as San Antonio is not the market in which Standard Pacific is selling their home lot inventory. More likely, Standard Pacific is consonsolidating due to problems in other markets and concentrating on their core, more established markets, which San Antonio is not for them.

Indeed, one of the reasons Forest City purchased these lots is due to the attractiveness of the San Antonio real estate market. In their press release,:

"This is an example of our stated strategy of taking advantage of national market conditions to selectively acquire properties and land in key markets. The solid underlying fundamentals of the San Antonio market, including job growth, attractive cost of living and the recreational opportunities provided by the Hill Country area all provide a positive outlook for the single-family market in the long-term," said Bob Monchein, President of Forest City Land Group.

Seeing a similar pattern of growth, Cassie Gibson of Residential Strategies, Inc., stated, "The outlook for the Greater San Antonio new home market remains positive, despite the overall national housing market and credit market woes."

What does this all mean if you are looking to buy or sell a home in San Antonio. If you are a new homebuyer, they remain focused on reducing their inventory which means that they will continue to provide incentives that should be very attractive to you. If you want to know what they are offering, feel free to contact us and we will let you know.

If you are thinking of selling your home, this is positive news as well. With Forest City having confidence in the San Antonio home market, they believe that there are still buyers to buy. However, it does mean that pricing your home right, maximum marketing exposure, and proper home staging is extremely important. If you are thinking about selling your home, we would be more than happy to consult with you.

For more news abou the San Antonio Houing market, visit San Antonio Housing Blog.

San Antonio Cost of Living Lower Than Other Major Cities

The San Antonio housing market remains strong in part to San Antonio's attractive cost of living compared to other major metro areas. As people continue to move to Texas more than any other state, I believe that our lower cost of living has be to a major factor. So how much less expensive is to live in San Antonio? Well lets take a look at the numbers from Salary.com:

• Austin, TX   -10.1%
• Tampa, FL  -10.4%
• Houston, TX  - 11.0%
• Las Vegas, NV -14.8%
• Phoeniz, AZ -16.2%
• Dallas, TX -19.2%
• Denver, CO -20.1%
• Atlanta, GA - 23.2%
• Philadelphia, PA -28.6%
• Seattle, WA - 29.1%
• San Diego, CA -41.6%
• New York, NY -62.9%

As long as the cost of living in San Antonio remains so attractive, I believe that will cushion San Antonio against any major housing price decline, because San Antonio will remain attractive to employers looking to relocate, retirees looking for a winter home, and investors looking for stable rental properties.

*Visit my new blog, San Antonio Housing Blog, and tell me what you think!*

San Antonio a Top Market for Rental Home Investment

NuWire Investor, a company that provides news and information about real estate investment, has named San Antonio a Top 10 Cash Flow Property Market.  According to Nuwire:

4. San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio ranked number one on our list of the Top 10 Places to Invest for 2007 and second on our list of the Top 10 Foreclosure Markets for 2007. Home to 1,273,374 people as of 2006, San Antonio retains affordable home prices, with a median of $96,300, in spite of its growing population. Median monthly upkeep is only $374 per month, with an estimated mortgage costing $486.95 per month. The rental vacancy rate for the city is 10.3 percent—on the lower side of this list—and the median gross rent is $678 per month.

Cah flow in it's simplest definition is the amount of money the property brings in (rent) versus the amount going out (mortgage, taxes, maintaince, etc.). If you have a property that you have thought would make a great investment and here is a great online calculator.

While many parts of the country are suffering from a housing decline, San Antonio remains a "steady wins the race" market.

We would be happy to help you or your clients pursue investment opportunities in the San Antonio market, and of course we pay referrals.

NEW BLOG: Please Comment

Hello fellow Realtors,

I have launched a new blog aimed at consumers, sanantoniohousingblog.com, aimed at prospectived home buyers and sellers in the San Antonio market. I would apprciate any feedback on the look and content of the blog and any ideas on how to make the blog better.

Thank you,

Rex Blackburn

S.A. keeps head above 'ugly' home-sale slump

That was this mornings headline in the San Antonio Express News. It seems that San Antonio will avoid the housing downturn that the rest of the country is experiencing for now...but it will be interesting to see how 2008 plays out for us.

According to the Express News:

"San Antonio, however, seems to be escaping the brunt of the housing downturn because a strong job market and affordable prices have kept the city, as well as the rest of Texas, relatively insulated from the most distressing problems facing other parts of the country.

In September, the annual new-home sales rate was 16,371 in the San Antonio area, down just 1.8 percent from the annual rate for September 2006, according to the most recent data available from the housing research firm Metrostudy. Builders this year, however, have increased incentives to buyers to unload their excess inventory.

While there were fewer new home sales and housing starts, 2007 is likely to be the third-best year on record for new-home construction in San Antonio, with builders starting 14,328 homes between September 2006 and September 2007, according to Metrostudy.

That's a 27 percent drop from the record set between the same period in 2005 and 2006, when there were 19,600 home-starts."

 

Credit Score Changes May Effect Your Interest Rate!!!

If you are thinking about buying a home in '08, you need to be be aware of the new credit score changes, because it will effect how much you pay for your mortgage. According to this article in the Wall Street Journal, "The company that cooks up credit scores for millions of Americans is changing its recipe -- and that could affect how easily you get credit in the future."

Generally the higher your credit score, the better the interest rate, allowing you to receive a smaller mortgage payment or purchase a more expensive home. The difference between a 620 score and a 660 score can mean the difference of a 1%, which on a $200,000 home loan can mean over $100 per month over 30 years, or a whopping $36,000.

If you have had some credit challenges, it can also mean the difference between getting a loan and not. For many first time home buyers, the FHA loan is a popular choice because of its low down payment and low interest rate, but many lenders require a minimum score of 580. You may qualify for that today, but with the changes to the credit scoring system, that could change. If you are unsure what you score is, have it checked out at Equifax Credit. If you want to raise your score, check out Veracity Credit Optimization, a company that many mortgage companies refer clients too.

$1000 per Mile! Yikes!

According to the most recent MLS figures, the San Antonio median home price is $62,000 dollars less than Austin’s…quite a big difference for an hour drive…that’s why we love the Hill Country, because we are in between the 2 unique Texas cities and can be to either city in less than an hour and can find any type and price of home you want…