Duh! Finally the Government Sees the Bubble

Hmm. I didn't know that your property values keep rising due the the ten percent maximum annual increase rule even when your property didn't actually rise in that year. That helps explain why people thought property hadn't really fallen in Austin in 2008-9. Much of the data was driven by the TCAD values due to the fact that nobody release the MLS data.

- Mr. Bubble

Travis property values face first drop since 2003

5.3 percent projected decline would mean a $6.5 billion hit to tax rolls.

By Laylan Copelin and Shonda Novak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Published: 11:44 p.m. Friday, April 9, 2010
The recession that wiped out thousands of jobs in Central Texas also erased $6.5 billion from the market value of Travis County properties.
The 5.3 percent drop in values from 2009 was the first decline since 2003, according to preliminary figures from the Travis Central Appraisal District.

more...

Beware of Pocket Listings

Pocket listings are quite common in Austin.  I think many sellers are denied maximum market prices for these deals and we are all denied the price information the sale contains. Do yourself a favor, list in the MLS and require your agent to present you with all offers.

- Mr. Bubble

 

Happens Every Day

Reno attorney and real estate investor William Thornton has filed a complaint with the Nevada Real Estate Division against local real estate figures Karen Greathouse and Nancy Fennell of Dickson Realty.

March Austin List Prices from Zillow

Hmm? Interesting trend in Austin list prices... recovery?

- Mr. Bubble

Median List Price

More West Lake Hills Home Value

Median List Price

More Austin Home Values

Fixed-Mortgage Rates Jump - WSJ.com

Fixed-Mortgage Rates Jump - WSJ.com

Posted using ShareThis

Austin Feb Home Prices Down 3% over Feb 2009

 Sure sounds different than what the realtors say doesn't it?

- Mr. Bubble

	Sales	Change from Last Year	Median Price	Change from Last Year	Months' Inventory
Austin	1,276	up 7%	$182,000	down 3%	6.2
Dallas	2,707	down 9%	$149,200	up 1%	6.1
Fort Bend	510	down 7%	$188,700	up 8%	4.8
Fort Worth	538	up 5%	$106,000	down 3%	6.5
Houston	3,615	down 4%	$146,600	up 6%	6.6
Longview-Marshall	116	down 12%	$120,000	up 1%	8.9
Odessa	67	up 26%	$123,100	down 5%	5.8
San Antonio	1,239	up 7%	$140,700	down 1%	7.8
Temple-Belton	94	down 10%	$110,800	down 11%	6.7
Victoria	61	up 33%	$109,200	down 23%	6.6
Texas	13,064	down 2%	$141,100	up 2%	6.9

Attention Barton Creek, Westlake, Tarrytown, Downtown Sellers

The article speaks for itself but there's one thing they miss. The writers say that now is the best time to buy because rates are rising. Then they give this example of how your payment goes up as rates rise. Well, duh, don't you think prices will fall as these rates rise?

- Mr. Bubble

Castles for the Common Man - WSJ.com

Time to Storm the Castle?

At the High End, a Bit More Money Yields Lots More Home; 14 Acres and an Orchard

Daniel Horowitz is ready to bargain.
The 55-year-old trial lawyer is trying to sell a four-bedroom villa with marble imported from Italy, a winery and a fruit orchard on 14 acres in Lafayette, Calif. Mr. Horowitz already chopped the price to $3.2 million from $4 million, the amount he estimates having spent on the land and construction. "We thought it would sell right away," he says. But it hasn't, and he is willing to consider lower offers, he says.

Mansions for Sale

View Slideshow

Three years into the housing bust, steep discounts are emerging in the market for high-end homes, which had been the real-estate industry's last redoubt until now. Despite the budding economic recovery, demand for pricey properties is falling as potential buyers struggle to come up with money for big down payments and find it difficult to qualify for large mortgages. With buyers dropping out and homes languishing on the market, sellers are beginning to capitulate, cutting prices to move their properties.


Posted using ShareThis

What Spin!

 All of you real estate cheerleaders should take note of this. Unemployment in Austin is RISING, rates are going up, foreclosures are increasing, and federal homeowner subsidies are ending.

- Mr. Bubble

Austin job losses moderate in February | Statesman Business Blog

By American-Statesman staff | Thursday, March 25, 2010, 09:19 AM 

The Austin area lost jobs at a 0.6 percent annual rate in February, compared to a 1.3 percent year-over-year drop in January.

The Texas Workforce Commission said the area’s unemployment rate was 7.2 percent, down from 7.6 percent in January but up from 6.6 percent a year earlier.

The steepest losses continue to be in the construction and manufacturing sectors, which combined lost 5,500 jobs between February 2009 and last month.
But the leisure and hospitality sector — such as hotels and restaurants — gained 5,000 jobs over the same period.

Statewide, the Workforce Commission said the unemployment rate was 8.2 percent last month, the level it has held at for four months in a row.


Posted using ShareThis