Austin TX Real Estate - Hill Country Austin Lakeway Homes for Sale: May 2008

Last Summer of 2007, I blogged about a listing I had back in 2006.  That same house has been on the market a month shy of 2 years.  Yes, 2 years!  You might be thinking, "There aren't as many buyers in the million dollar price range as there were two years ago," and you might be right, however, this house is ONLY worth $125 'ish.

There are plenty of buyers in this first time home buyer range.  Why hasn't this house sold after two years?  Two years ago, I told them they might get $125k if they were lucky.  I also told them that if they did this, this, and this, that they would be able to get much more, into the $130's.

This house is built in the early '80s and everything in the house is original.  Original appliances, original flooring, original mini blinds, original wallpaper, original everything.  Their current listing, after going back and forth through a couple of different agents, is listed at $129k. 

Why are they still overpricing after 2 years??  If it hasn't sold in 2 years for $129k, it's not going to sell now.  At this point, this is what we call a stale listing and people now probably have a stigma about the property, and best of luck to the seller.

What I find sad is that this was a referral 2 years ago, and in the past 2 years, I've sold houses for three people they know and helped those people buy new houses... they just won't learn; not from me, not from their friends, not from anyone.  Very sad...

Back in February, I blogged about a situation I was in with a potential listing who wanted to overprice their listing.  I have an update for you.

Just to refresh your memory, I said the house barely comp'd at $350k and that it would likely sell for less, but the sellers were in the red at $350k so they wanted to list at $369,900 (after I very bluntly said no to $375k).  They decided to list with another agent.

It's now 3 months later, and after reducing the asking price to $349,900, they sold the house yesterday for $340k.  So, would it have taken 3 months to sell if it was priced correctly to begin with?  Probably not.  Just another example of how a Realtor who knows their market never knows the market as well as a seller who thinks they know it all.

Congrats to the sellers who sold while in the red!

I'm sure you have received your 2008 Property Tax Appraisals by now.  If not, you need to call your county appraisal district.  Some areas only send out the noticed if your value has changed.  If you are planning on fighting your value, you have less than 1 week, as you need to send notice by June 2, 2008.

If your value increased by more than $5000, it would be a pretty smart idea to inquire about the increase.  If you would like specific information going on in your neighborhood, I would be more than happy to help you out.  In most cases, I can get you the information the same day, all for only $89.

The information I would need is your name, address, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, number of stories, number of garage/carport spaces, do you have a pool, any outstanding repairs or updates that need to be done to the house in order to help lower the tax value because those repairs have not been made.  Also, what is the proposed value they're trying to give you?

You only have 1 week left, so let me know as soon as possible.  You can contact me via email at donna@donnahomes.com or at 972-407-3908.

As of May 16, Alyssa is now 6 months old.  For those who have been following along, this past weekend was my first Mother's Day, and this same weekend last year is when we announced to our friends and family the news.

She is hitting milestones sooner than most babies.  She's been rolling over since she was 3 ½ months.  She broke her first tooth through on April 30 and her second tooth followed on May 10.  She's also sitting up on her own, which the doctor is amazed by all these things. 

She amazes me everyday!  Boy, how the time has flown by.  Here are some pictures of us and her.

It looks as though I might "have to" relocate to Austin.  It a really bad time for me because my business is BOOMING, but my husband might be told that he has an option of being laid off or move to Austin.  He's from Austin (well, lived there from when he was 8 years old), but has been in Dallas for 10 years.  He doesn't understand how much Austin has changed and thinks it's the same 'ol small town, though he voices his frustration of the growth each time we go to visit his family.

I am looking for opinions from people who have lived in both Austin and Dallas and need honest opinions about why you like whichever one better, and Austin being a "slower pace" means nothing to me because I am high energy and a slower pace will frustrate me even more.

Also, if you're living in one of these places but would love to move to the other, why?  All opinions are welcome so I can fight to keep my business in Dallas!