Texas Realty Blog

Round Rock-based Dell Computer Announces 10% Workforce Layoffs

Round Rock, Texas- Dell Computer just announced that they are cutting 88,100 jobs, approximately 10% of their workforce. The layoffs will occur over the next 12 months and will help keep the company afloat.

It's rumored that approximately 8000 jobs will be in Austin, but that hasn't been confirmed. Last time Dell had massive layoffs back in 2002, the Round Rock, Pflugerville and Austin real estate markets were negatively affected.

Of course, back then, the "tech crash" is what really hurt our city since most jobs were in the tech sector. Now, Greater Austin has a more diverse company mix. Anytime a large company has layoffs, the surrounding real estate markets have a chance of suffering. I'll definitely stay on top of the effects.

Read More: PC World - Dell to Lay Off 10 Percent of Employees.

Zilker Neighborhood Association Blesses Barton Place Condos

I'd previously mentioned that Austin is a tough cookie when it comes to developing here. Many believe that our Zoning and Planning Department has "strict" guidelines. In addition, Austin residents have no problems speaking out to approve or disapprove of neighborhood changes. They want new developments to match their needs, desires and current community feel.

Well at another developer got it right! The project team for the upcoming Barton Place Condos in South Central won over neighbors and the City of Austin by getting their input from the very start. The Zilker Neighborhood Association isn't an easy community to win over, but final approvals are in place. The Barton Place Condominiums will be:

• Environmentally friendly. Developers are working with the Austin Greenbuilding Program.
• Limit heights so neighbors can keep their views.
• Not harm Town Lake.
• Retain as many trees as possible.

The downside is that the Pecan Grove RV Park residents will be overlooked. The pricing on the condos are much too high for the current occupants to afford. I still haven't been made aware of the developers are offering affordable housing options, which is a disappointment.

Read more: Neighborhood satisfied with development

Search all condos and lofts online at AustinMLSonline.com.

Latest Listings May 29th

Here are the latest hot listings and ads in Greater Austin! They're powered by vFlyer, which is a great tool for eBay, Craigslist and other sites.

Zachary Scott Theatre Changes Alarm Austin Citizens

As you may be aware, the recent Austin Quality of Life Bonds in 2006 helped secure $12.5M to double the size of the Zachary Scott Theatre in Austin to 400 seats. The Zachary Scott Theatre is currently the playground of the Austin Film Society and other cultural arts groups.

According to a citizen at the recent Parks and Recreation Board meeting, Zachary Scott Theatre developers were given the right to add 100 more seats to the theatre by legislative approval. While this is normally not a problem, the citizen raised valid concerns.

ISSUES WITH RECENT ZACHARY SCOTT THEATRE CHANGES

• Citizens were not made aware of the request to add 100 more seats and did not get to vote on it. We funded the project at 400 seats, so who is paying for the increased cost?
• According to the speaker at the meeting, the plan calls for 100 additional seats, but does not include room for additional parking. This is an issue because it could mean developers will take additional parkland to provide the parking spaces.
• A new lease amendment proposal would allow a 24-hour restaurant. The Parks and Recreation board initially thought the amendment allowed developers a chance to evaluate having the restaurant, but it was actually an APPROVAL to move forward. After the citizen pointed this out, the board did not take further action until they can look into the matter.

To stay on top of changes a the city level, I suggest attending city commission meetings, which are usually recorded and televised later on Channel 6 webcasts.

I've already asked for a transcript of the meeting and will follow up for more details on the proposed restaurant lease amendment.

Link: City of Austin - Park and Recreation Board Agenda.

Read more about the Proposition 4 Bonds.

Real Estate Blogging Loophole: Writing for Google Ranking

I've been excited to see so many real estate bloggers come on board within the past year. There are some excellent blogs out there that read quite often.

A downside to real estate blogging is that some agents and brokers have latched on to the fact that blogs can push your site very high in search engines with little effort.

Apparently, Google hasn't changed their ranking systems to understand blogs. From what the experts have figured out, Google assumes the following when ranking websites:

• If a site or blog is updated frequently with new content, the content is valuable.
• If the same key words show up on a page that the site is relevant.
• If other "relevant" blogs or sites link to each other, the site must be good.

I've been approached by search engine optimization experts to exploit the real estate blogging loophole, which is:

• Decide which key words that you want to rank high in Google with, for example Austin Real Estate.
• Blog often and use the key words as much as possible. One blog post, for instance, may include Austin Real Estate five or ten times.
• Link to other blogs as much as possible. The higher the rank, the better.

While this is normally fine, the "loophole" is that some blogs can be created for SEO, but be virtually uninformative. I love blogging and enjoy reading good blogs, so hope the industry doesn't fall into the trap of providing poor resources to buyers and sellers in lieu of getting a high ranking in Google.

What do you think? Is blogging for the sake of a high Google ranking really a loophole?

Memorial Weekend: Places to Visit in Texas

Memorial Day weekend is a wonderful time to remember those who have served America. In our time of war, I find it ironic that the gas industry helps us celebrate by hiking gas prices to the highest they've been in American history. I understand that it's customary for gas companies to raise rates during the "travel season" in the U.S, but reporters are speculating we will approach the $4 mark by end of Summer.

You can have much more fun with your $4 in Texas this weekend or others!

• Austin. If you're under 18, you can visit the Bob Bullock Museum for only $3. It's only a few dollars more for the rest of us, but seniors have a discount.
• Southeast Austin. Visit McKinney Falls State Park, which is only $4 per day.
• San Antonio. Park near the River Center Mall and take a stroll down the San Antonio Riverwalk.
• Corpus Christi. Children and Seniors can visit the very beautiful South Texas Botanical Gardens for less than $4. Adults pay only $5.
• Houston. Buffalo Bayou, a very cool master-planned community in Houston, has boat cruises the 2nd Saturday of every month for only $3 for children under 12 years-old. Adults pay $5.

I've reached the pain threshold of paying at the pump, so am looking into buying a motorcycle or moped at Woods Fun Center here in Austin or on Craigslist.

If you like the outdoors, try buying a Texas Parks Pass.

Read more: Gas prices approach record high.

What are some other great things we can do in Texas this weekend instead of spending our $4 on a gallon of gas?

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. 

Houston Real Estate Is Mmm..mmm Good

A lot of real estate investors have been licking their chops to get a taste of the Houston real estate market. It's tough keeping up with the Houston Texas market because the city is the size of a small country.

Here's the latest on some Houston real estate developments:

• Katy will be getting a new overhaul. The Katy economic council recently released their business plan for the area.
  
• Aliana Development has slated a 1.5B mixed-use development for Richmond.
  
• According to the Houston Business Journal, John Laing Homes has purchased Houston-based Lindenwood Homes. John Laing is one of the largest privately held homebuilders and will make a big play on the successful new home market in Houston.
• The Bizjournal also reported an expanding community college. A $7.6 million upgrade will add 70,000 square feet to Houston Community College’s West Loop Campus in Bellaire. The project is part of Houston Community College's $300 million capital improvement plan.

According to other reports, out-of-state firms are scouring Houston's downtown area for building and acquisition. Houston is typically a very stable real estate market. You won't see large swings in appreciation or depreciation, which can be good for buyers or investors who value stability and prefer to live in a large city.

Podcamp San Antonio Was Fabulously Geeky

As promised, I attended Podcamp unConference in SanAntonio last Saturday, which was held at the historic Sunset Station District, a revitalized train station Downtown San Antonio that's only minutes from the Riverwalk and beautiful walking areas. My parents said they used to go "clubbing" there back in the day, which I thought was funny.

SO WHAT WAS THE PODCAMP UNCONFERENCE?

The Podcamp Unconference was a laid-back sharing of ideas around the topic of "emerging media" such as blogging, video blogging, web 2.0, podcasting and video podcasting. Instead of having keynote speakers, bloggers sit in roundtable fashion and can volunteer to teach ad-hoc. If you're interested in a topic, you and your five closest allies can go hang out in a separate area to brainstorm and learn.

AND WHAT DID I LEARN?

Wow. I thought I loved all things geek, but came away with even more passion for Web 2.0 and video blogging. I already enjoy blogging, but there were some passionate, knowledgeable geeks in the room who definitely transcended my own skills and abilities.

Here are some very cool tools and resources they recommended:

• Most bloggers use Skype if they do interviews since it's free and easy to use. Remote mics like the Zoom H4 are popular.
• Audio tools such as Garage Band and Soundforge are the tools of choice if you can use Protools.
• Royalty-free music can be used from the Podsafe Music Network.
• Polish your skills and learn more about podcasting at Podcast Academy and Podcast Pickle.

PODCASTS IN REAL ESTATE
Most agents have already caught onto listing podcast tools such as MLpodcast.com or Shackcasting.  I'm going to do some video blogs and Joomla-style communities. I really like Joomla and it's ease of use. Three new Joomla books are available on pre-order on Amazon.com and there's a Joomla conference on June 21st here in Austin, Texas.

Think you missed Podcamp? Don't worry, it was all recorded and will be available online. Also check out other Podcamps.

Read last week's story about the San Antonio Podcamp from our blog.  Also read another blogger's experience at the Podcamp.

Check out the Texas Realty Blog feed on our website using another cool tool, SpringWidgets.

Real Estate Mortgage Fraud and Investor Show Scams Disappoint Texans

As an investor, it's tough hearing about unscrupulous investors. There are a few recent cases that are notable. A story that's been covered extensively on REIClub.com is the Flip This House case.

Not to be confused with Flip That House, Flip This House follows one or two real estate flippers each season. The original show was started by Richard Davis of Trademark Properties, who has filed a lawsuit against A&E.

The recent season of Flip This House features investors from Atlanta and San Antonio. Residents in the Atlanta Area quickly noted that Sam Leccima had lost his real estate license and accused him scamming buyers. Both Leccima and the Montelegos of San Antonio have been accused of allegedly lying about their volume of transactions as well as how quickly properties sell. In fact, some properties still haven't sold, but the show presented them as if they had.

In other bad news, it was reported that 9 Texans were indicted in a mortgage fraud scheme just last week. Mortgage fraud is serious because it affects unsuspecting buyers and/or sellers as well as lending institutions. You can read more about the Texas mortgage fraud case at the Mortgage Fraud Blog.

Read also onHoustonRealNews.com - Fox News Breaks "Flip This House" Case.

Learn more about real estate investing in Texas.