Are Austin Home Sales Cooling?

I went to a class Tuesday where Wilshire Homes was the sponsor. Here's a tip: Builders are nice to agents when they have trouble selling homes. Not to say Wilshire is this way, but there are certain builders who start treating agents badly when inventory is selling quickly. Now, we've noticed more builders buying lunches, sponsoring education classes and generally be nice to the agent population.

Now seems to be a great time to buy new homes because many builders are offering incentives and being generally being more flexible.

I STILL HAVE GOOD NEWS FOR AUSTIN HOME SELLERS

The good news is that, if your home is priced well, it still sells quickly. Sellers who price ahead of the market thinking they can "negotiate down" typically lose money and severely impact how fast their home will sell. The best strategy is to price the home so well that it appears to be the best deal for the condition on the market. If buyers want to compete, they will. Last week, one of our listings in Buda sold in a matter of days following this strategy.

So, if you're having a hard time selling your home or you're looking to buy in our area, the best bet is to buy right and sell right. It seems pretty simple, but you should contact a market expert to find out the current value of a property before making a buying or selling decision. 

Comments

[Austin Realtor's Wife]

1. I affirm your assertion to get a CURRENT evaluation. I would add that finding an experienced, well educated REALTOR is the best route to getting your home sold.

2. I would argue that home sales aren't cooling; the builders are mostly publicly traded and they have made certain promises that they have to uphold. You're right, they're having an extra lunch here and there but I believe that they simply got excited and had too many housing starts in South Austin (and now they're paying for it). That's not the story up here (North Austin) where the builders aren't begging for business- even Liberty Hill has lowered commissions. Like I said earlier, an experience Realtor (like you, Dee or my husband :) ) are the best way to go when buying or selling.