The Alamo Hotel can be seen in this Vintage Austin photo from 1947. The 80-room hotel opened to the public in 1925 and sat at 6th and Guadalupe. You can catch a glimpse of the Alamo Hotel in the Clash’s music video for “Rock the Casbah” and Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard’s video for “Pancho and Lefty.” The site will soon be home to Austin’s tallest tower yet, 6 X Guadalupe. Photo Credit: Austin History Center, ND-47-172-01 … [Read more...]
Steiner Ranch Housing Report – June 2020
The June edition of How's the Market in Steiner Ranch is now available. As usual, we’ll talk about the stats but, of course, I will also address the lingering coronavirus impact on real estate.To view summary and detailed sales information for all Steiner Ranch neighborhoods, check out the Neighborhood Home Sale Data section of my website. If you are looking to buy or sell a home in Steiner Ranch, contact me via email or at 512-650-7300. Previous editions of How’s the Market in Steiner Ranch are also available. If … [Read more...]
Vintage Austin: Dairy Princess
This Vintage Austin photo features the participants of the Dairy Princess contest of 1959. Since 1937, June has been designated as National Dairy Month because, according to the banner hanging behind the contestants June’s Best Meals Start with Dairy. … [Read more...]
Steiner Ranch Housing Report – May 2020
The May edition of How's the Market in Steiner Ranch is now available. In it, I discuss the April sales statistics and review the numbers for the last six-months. I also briefly discuss how the Coronavirus has effected the April statistics as the shelter-at-home order was in place for the entire month. To view summary and detailed sales information for all Steiner Ranch neighborhoods, check out the Neighborhood Home Sale Data section of my website. If you are looking to buy or sell a home in Steiner Ranch, … [Read more...]
Vintage Austin: O. Henry House
The home of author William Sidney Porter is in this Vintage Austin photo being moved from its original location at 308 East 4th Street to its present-day location at 409 East 5th Street. The home was built in 1886 and Porter lived there with his wife and daughter between 1893 & 1895. In 1930, the home was going to be demolished but was saved by a committee of women who proposed that the city accept the home as a donation. The women restored the home and it opened as a museum in 1934. The O. Henry House is … [Read more...]
Coronavirus Market Stat Update 18
The number of new listings hitting the market in the Austin MLS is slowly increasing each week. Compared to April 19 (through yesterday), the number of homes listed is down 28.5%. This is a bit more than earlier in the week and it is driven by the numbers last year being quite strong. Usually at this time of year we start to see the number of new listings increasing each week. While that is happening again this year, the increase is certainly not as great. Again, I will say that given the stay-at-home orders, which … [Read more...]
Coronavirus Market Stat Update 17
The market is slowly beginning to improve. As I mentioned last week, we have enough time in under the stay-at-home order that it makes sense to start comparing longer periods of time from this year to last year. The number of new residential listings across the entire Austin MLS is down 27.4% so far in the month of April (through April 20). In my opinion, this is really a resilient market given the coronavirus situation. While real estate can and is being conducted, we are still listing almost 75% as … [Read more...]
Coronavirus Market Stat Update 16
At first, I did daily updates looking at weekly numbers compared to the previous week so we could see how coronavirus was changing the market in the short term. Then I started to comparing weeks to the corresponding week last year so we could see that impact. We've now reached the point with enough data now to compare more than one week to more than one week last year. However, I will start that comparison next week because Easter was last weekend but in 2019 was in the upcoming Sunday so I want to make … [Read more...]
Mortgage Update with Michael Scott
The guidelines for lending are changing rapidly. I asked Michael Scott from Capstar Lending to share with us what changes are occurring and how they are impacting real estate. In this conversation we cover changes in credit scores, reserves, and employment for conventional, FHA, and jumbo loans. We also talk about what buyers and sellers should expect to experience as these changes unfold. If you have any questions, leave them here or contact either of us directly. You can reach Michael at 512-289-8783 or … [Read more...]
Coronavirus Market Stat Update 15
The number of new listings over the past several days continues to decline, both compared to previous weeks and compared to last year. For the seven day period ending Monday, April 13, there were 732 new listings in the Austin MLS which was down 41% from last year. The declines over the preceding weeks were 17%, 21%, and 37%, respectively. The number of contracts for the seven days ending Sunday, April 12, was 548. This number will increase a bit, though, because, for reasons that have always eluded me, some … [Read more...]
Coronavirus Market Stat Update 14
The numbers have changed a bit so let's take a look. For the seven days ending yesterday, Thursday, April 9, the number of new listings in the Austin MLS is down 33% from the same week last year. This seven day moving average has been steadily increasing over the past few weeks. With over 800 new listings during this time, though, there are still a lot of sellers entering the market. The change in the number of contracts is not changing much, though. Over the seven day period ending Wednesday, April 8, the number … [Read more...]
Unemployment Rates and Home Sales
I'm starting to hear rumblings from people worried that we are heading into another housing crisis given the amount of unemployment we are experiencing. Here is a graph that shows that, surprisingly, the unemployment rate and home sales are not very correlated. The unemployment rate was rising between 1992-1993, yet home sales increased. The unemployment rate was rising between 2001-2003, and home sales increased. The unemployment rate was rising between 2007-2010, and home sales significantly decreased. The … [Read more...]
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