Although they didn't place, a big thank you to the rest of the kickers for putting on a great halftime event:  Hannah Collins (girls golf), Ali Jones (girls swimming), Alex Kotlarz (PALS), Andrew Locascia (broadcast), Elise Patterson (girls soccer), Collin Stobart (wrestling), and Madison Tierney (softball).

I also want to thank VHS band director Jeremy Spicer and band booster Cathy Sorsby.  I appreciate all their help in turning Kicking for Cash from an idea into a real event.  Thanks to everyone else who helped on the field, in the booth, and behind the scenes.

Read more, including the rules, www.KickingForCash.com.

For information on homes for sale within the Vandegrift boundaries, click here.

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• 1498 properties in the greater Austin area are scheduled for auction on September 7th.  That is a new record beating out the 1481 from October 2009.  This is 26% higher than the 1,193 from last month (August 2010).  The filings incresed 40% from the 1071 in September 2009.
• For the past 20 months, foreclosures in greater Austin have surpassed 1,000 filings each month.  In 11 of these months, the number was greater than 1,200.  Five months have exceeded 1,400.

Click here to search foreclosure homes currently for sale in the MLS.  If you are interested in learning more about investing in real estate, specifically foreclosures, be sure to attend one of my free workshops in October.

In short, the numbers were terrible.  Of course, this was expected because of the hangover left from the buyer tax credits.  The numbers were the worst in the lower price ranges which were the prime targets of the tax credit recipients.

Nationally, the number of homes sold last month compared to June 2010 declined 27.2%.  On a year-over-year basis, the number of homes sold in July 2010 dropped by 25.5% over July 2009.  The July levels were the lowest since May 1995.  I expect that we'll see poor numbers through at least November.  38% of the buyers in July were first-time buyers (19% were investors and 43% were repeat).  Distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) accounted for 32% of the national sales in July (unchanged from June and up slightly from 31% in July 2009).  70% of the sales were financed with a mortgage.

The Austin numbers look pretty similar.  Compared to July 2009, the number of homes sold was down 27.4%.  This is the second month in a row that this number has declined (after 9 months of increases).  I expect that the next few months will also show declines.   Prices, however, were up significantly (see chart below).  This does not mean that prices have jumped in Austin.  Because the tax credits skewed to the lower side of the housing market, far fewer of those sold in July.  As a result, the percentage of homes with higher prices increased, tilting the average and median prices.  The number of contracts being accepted on homes continues to decline (down by 17%).

July 2010 Existing Home Sales

* National numbers are seasonally adjusted so no year-to-date numbers are provided.

In addition, a team from STARFlight will be on hand with a helicopter.  Other emergency equipment will be there, too.  Keep in mind, though, that STARFlight is subject to cancelation if their emergency services are needed at that time.

As usual, there will be activities for the kids, restaurant vendors selling food, and a host of other sponsors will be on hand with give-aways, too.  I'll be handing out bottles of water so when you get thirsty, look for my moving truck to quench your thirst.  I'll have a few other goodies with me as well as information on my upcoming real estate workshops.

Steiner Ranch Concert in the Park is held at the Towne Square Community Center (the corner of Country Trails Lane and Quinlan Park Road).  Here is a map. 

This is a great family event just before school starts.  I look forward to seeing you there!

Other school districts will be forthcoming.  If you have any comments or suggestions on how to improve these school searches, please don't hesitate to let me know.

A meeting is scheduled for August 19th at 7:00pm to discuss the school district's budget and the public is invited.  It will be held in the Cedar Park Middle School cafeteria at 2100 Sun Chase in Cedar Park.

As the property values in the district have pulled back, so have the appraised values from the Central Appraisal Districts (both Travis and Williamson).  The total taxable value of property in the Leander ISD dropped by 1.91% in 2010 from 2009.

Click here to search for homes in the Leander ISD.

Children's Miracle Network is one of the RE/MAX corporate charities.  To date, RE/MAX Associates have donated over $100 million to CMN.  Locally, all of our donations go to Dell Children's Hospital.  When you buy or sell a house with me, I make a contribution to your choice of Dell Children's Hospital or the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Austin ISD - Academically Acceptable.  32 exemplary schools, 36 recognized schools, 41 academically acceptable schools, and 1 academically unacceptable school.

Del Valle ISD - Recognized.  1 exemplary school, 7 recognized schools, and 2 academically acceptable schools.

Dripping Springs ISD - Recognized.  3 exemplary schools and 2 recognized schools.

Eanes ISD - Exemplary.  All 9 schools exemplary.

Georgetown ISD - Academically Acceptable.  7 exemplary schools, 7 recognized schools, and 1 academically acceptable school.

Hays CISD -  Academically Acceptable.  4 exemplary schools, 10 recognized schools, and 4 academically acceptable schools.

Hutto ISD - Recognized.  4 recognized schools and 4 academically acceptable schools.

Lago Vista ISD - Exemplary.  2 exemplary schools and 1 recognized school.

Lake Travis ISD - Exemplary.  6 exemplary schools and 2 recognized schools.

Leander ISD - Recognized.  21 exemplary schools, 11 recognized schools, and 2 academically acceptable schools.

Liberty Hill ISD - Recognized.  1 exemplary school and 4 recognized schools.

Manor ISD - Academically Acceptable.  5 recognized schools, 5 academically acceptable schools, and 1 academically unacceptable school.

Pflugerville ISD - Academically Acceptable.  5 exemplary schools, 15 recognized schools, and 5 academically acceptable schools.

Round Rock ISD - Recognized.  25 exemplary schools, 16 recognized schools, and 3 academically acceptable schools.

Taylor ISD - Academically Acceptable.  1 recognized school and 3 academically acceptable schools.

The first is an entry level home for Steiner Ranch.  Priced at $284,900, the home at 3900 John Simpson Trail has been recently updated with about $65,000 worth of improvements.  It is a 2662 square foot, two-story home with 3 bedrooms (all upstairs) and a game room.  The kitchen and master bathroom look great with their updates and the whole house has been refreshed with carpet and paint.  The yard isn't as big as others in the neighborhood, but it is very private.  For more information, click here. 

The second home is towards the other end of the Steiner Ranch pricing spectrum.  13820 Flat Top Ranch Road is priced at $869,000.  It sits on approximately 1.4 acres with great views.  The back yard has a pool and spa - great for entertaining.  The interior is loaded with features you'd expect in this price range and has been cared for extemely well.  The house has 4,362 square feet (appraiser), 4 bedrooms, 3.1 bathrooms, and a 3-car garage.  The 4th bedroom is currently used as an expansion of the game room, but can be converted back.  For more information, click here. 

If you are interested in viewing either of these great homes and aren't working with a Realtor, contact me via email, online form, or at 512-735-7200 to arrange a showing.  Of course, I can help you find a home anywhere throughout the Austin area if these two don't fit your needs.

Nationally, the number of homes sold compared to May 2010 declined 5.1%.  On a year-over-year basis, the number of homes sold in June 2010 increased by 9.8% over June 2009.  The year-over-year increase is because of the buyer tax credits that ended in April, but houses under contract have until September 30 to close (this was extended from the original June 30th deadline).  It will be interesting to see just how low the July numbers are when they are reported next month because we borrowed so many buyers from later months because of the tax credit.  43% of the buyers in June were first-time buyers (13% were investors and 44% were repeat).  Distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) accounted for 32% of the national sales in June (up from 31% the previous month - June 2009 was also at 31%).  76% of the sales were financed with a mortgage.

The Austin numbers look good.  Compared to June 2009, the number of homes sold was down 2.5%.  This is the first time in nine months that this year-over-year comparison has declined.  I expect that the next few months will also show declines.   Prices, however, were up (see chart below).  The number of contracts being accepted on homes continues to be down as we experience the aftermath of the buyer tax credits.  Because the tax credits essentially moved the housing calender up a few months this year, it is hard to make accurate comparisons to prior years.  We are at an interesting point in Austin right now and we'll have to see if we continue to slide down or stabalize again.  I think by this time next month, we'll have a better idea.

June 2010 Existing Home Sales

* National numbers are seasonally adjusted so no year-to-date numbers are provided.

Here is the list of homes currently available within the boundaries of River Place Elementary.  There is still plenty of time to move into one of these homes before the first day of school.  To get started, contact me via email, online form, or at 512-735-7200.

Nationally, the number of homes sold compared to April 2010 declined 2.2%.  On a year-over-year basis, the number of homes sold in May 2010 increased by 19.2% over May 2009.  The year-over-year increase owes credit to the buyer tax credits that ended in April, but houses under contract have until June 30 to close.  Numerous "experts" were surprised by the month-to-month drop as they had expected an increase.  Wait until they see the July sales numbers (which are reported in August)!  46% of the buyers in May were first-time buyers (14% were investors and 40% were repeat).  Distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) accounted for 31% of the national sales in May(down from 33% the previous month).  75% of the sales were financed with a mortgage.

The Austin numbers look good.  Compared to May 2009, the number of homes sold was up a very solid 23.3%.  Austin has now shown 9 months in a row of year-over-year comparison increases (prior to this streak we had 27 months in a row of declines for the year-over-year numbers).  I expect that we will see this trend continue in June.  However, I expect this number to turn down in July.  Unlike the national numbers, compared with the prior month, the May sales were up 2.0%.  Prices, however, were down (see chart below).  With the expiration of the buyer tax credits, the number of contracts accepted so far in June is running at about two-thirds the rate of April (which is better than the May numbers).  Given the time it takes to close on a house, we won't see this drop noted in the stats until the next month or two.

In Texas, the May sales figures show a mixed bag.  The year-over-year comparison to May 2009 shows a sales increase, but less than Austin and the nation.  The median and average prices were mixed, but both hovered near flat.

May 2010 Existing Home Sales

* National numbers are seasonally adjusted so no year-to-date numbers are provided.

If the House passes a similar bill and the president signs it, it would qualify only for those who are currently under contract - it does not do anything to reopen the tax credit to those who missed the April 30 deadline.

The market in Austin slowed quite a bit in May following the expiration of the tax credit (the number of contracts accepted in Austin in May was off 50.4% from April).  The first fifteen days of May have shown improvement, though as the 837 contracts were accepted throughout the MLS area as compared to 627 in the first fifteen days of May.

Even though the tax credit is gone, the interest rates are unexpectedly low because of the European crisis.  This is like have a price cut on every home in the MLS.  For more information on this, read one of my earlier articles.

If you are ready to buy a house in the Austin, Texas area, contact me via email, online form, or at 512-735-7200.

Throughout the MLS, 13.64% of the 8,629 properties that sold were foreclosures.  The foreclosures took an average of 41 days to sell while the non-foreclosures averaged a month more at 72 days - a whopping 75% longer.  The numbers for properties currently pending are quite similar with 13.37% of those being foreclosures.  The average foreclosure market time was 40 days compared to 71 for non-foreclosures.

The change in numbers is intesting for homes that are currently for sale (active).  Only 4.05% of the homes on the market are foreclosures.  Non-foreclosure days on market are 48% higher than foreclosures (98 days versus 66 days).

We can also examine the sales price to list price ratio and the sales price to original list price ratio to learn some more.  The sales price to list price ratio compares the sales price to the list price on the house at the time of the contract.  The banks sold their houses for 97.52% of their list price while the rest of the market was at 96.91%.  However, when looking at the sales price to original list price ratio, the banks are at 93.16% compared to 94.47% for the rest of the market.  This indicates that the banks are more likely to drop the price in an effort to get a contract, especially when you consider that their houses sell so much faster.

Finally, the foreclosures are skewed to the lower side of the market.  As a result, these homes are within the budgets of more home buyers and are also attractive to investors which helps them sell faster.  While some of the price difference can be explained away in condition and banks willingness to sell for less to move the house quickly, I don't believe that makes up the whole spread - the remainder is simply that more lower-end homes are foreclosed upon.  The median sales price of a foreclosure house through the area covered by the MLS was $117,000 while the median price for a non-foreclosure house was $194,000.  For pendings, the numbers are $115,950 versus $205,395.  For actives, the foreclosures median price is $139,900 and non-foreclosure is $239,750.

While foreclosures can be a great opportunity, keep in mind that not all foreclosures are great buys and not all great buys are foreclosures.  It is good to keep an open mind and look at the options available to you across the market spectrum.  With that said, here is a link to the foreclosures available in the Austin area.  If you would like to purchase a home in which to live or are ready to start owning investment property, today's low interest rates are a great reason to buy soon.  You can reach me via email, online form, or at 512-735-7200.

They are looking for people buying in Austin as well as three other cities.  You need to complete the purchase by the end of 2010.  You can choose your own Realtor, and, as luck would have it, I'm available to help you!

For more information, or to apply, visit the producer's website.  Here is the relevant page from the HGTV website.

If you are looking to buy your first home, but don't care to share the experience with America, just contact me (email, online form, or 512-735-7200) and I'll be sure to leave the cameras at home.

If you are looking for a summer home in Alaska, be sure to contact my colleague Kristan Cole - nobody is better than Kristan when it comes to Alaska real estate!  If you prefer something a little closer to Austin, then contact me via email, online, or at 512-735-7200.