JP along with myself are Steiner Ranch Residents. Here is an insightful analysis of the real estate market statistics for December that he sent me in an email.
For folks interested in the Steiner Ranch/surrounding area real estate market (which I stay intimately familiar with), I'll be sending out a monthly email containing the data and a short commentary by me.
Attached is December's data...
IMPORTANT: ALL REAL ESTATE IS LOCAL! It's quite possible and is the case, for Austin's market to be a lot better than the national market. It's also quite possible for Steiner's market to be a lot stronger than Round Rock's, which is the case. So be careful when you read stories or hear about "the real estate market."
Important fields are: Average-SP/SqFt , Average-DOM , Average-SqFt.
Average-SqFt.(Average Square Feet of house) This is important because the average house sold in Dec. 08 vs. Dec. 07 was larger by an average of 363 feet. Larger houses, Ceteris Paribus, equate to lower average price per square feet. It's not indicative of the market, it just is what it is. Each additional square foot you tack on a house is costing less money to build.
Average-DOM (Average Days On Market) This is important because it illustrates how long the average house took to sell. Dec 08 Average-DOM is only 3 days longer than Dec 07. This is an indicator of a flat to slightly down market. Combined with more houses on the market than previous year, equates to a buyer's market.
Average-SP/SqFt (Average Sell Price per Square Foot). This is a very important indicator that shows the truest single gauge of appreciation/depreciation. But, you need to factor in the Average-SqFt, and adjust accordingly. Dec 08 Average-SP/SqFt was down $15 per, or 11%. This seems bad, as if the Steiner houses have fallen on average of 11%. In my opinion, this isn't the true picture. If you factor in the 363 foot average increase in house size, this explains some portion of the 11% decline.
Overall, the Steiner market is currently facing headwinds that haven't existed for some time: More inventory, discounted pricing from builders, tougher lending standards, job losses, California investors pulling out of Steiner to enter the California market which is down 50% in some areas. I foresee all of these headwinds subsiding and the Steiner market improving in the next year or two.
Within 2 years, the builder's should have built out Steiner, resulting in little to no new inventory to compete with. The Austin job market should be stronger. The lending standards should be easier. California investors will have stopped leaving, and may even return.
You would not want to sell a house in Steiner in the short term if you didn't have to. I strongly feel that waiting 1-2 years would produce a higher sell price.
Sincerely,
John Paul Krueger
President - Tax Tiger Austin
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