Austin TX Real Estate - Hill Country Austin Lakeway Homes for Sale

Real Estate - Austin TX - Foreclosures are Not very Prevalent

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:47:06 -0600

I get calls and emails all the time from Austin TX Home Buyers saying "I want to buy a foreclosure because I want a deal!"

Well, I'm here to say, "Stop watching the National News!!"

I'll tell you up front, yes, sometimes, you can find a good deal. However, EVERYONE is looking for the same great deal so it's usually gone before you even hear about it.

Here is what is going on around the Austin TX area. We do not have the foreclosure market like other areas of the countries. To show you facts, I pulled up several zip codes. It's easier by zip codes because many areas aren't within "city limits" so pulling information up by city wouldn't be very accurate.

Zipcode - # of Actives - # of Foreclsoures
78738 - 209 - 2
78734 - 327 - 13
78733 - 77 - 2
78735 - 95 - 3
78746 - 163 - 0
78736 - 28 - 0
78704 - 144 - 2

Some people are looking at the above list thinking, but all you listed are the more expensive areas and those people are more well-off than lower-end areas. That has two sides. The first side, the higher priced people made lots of mistakes too as there are many multi-million dollar homes in foreclosure across the country. The second side is that the higher priced areas should be better off with more people understanding how to manage their money.

Are these generalizations? Yes they are, as there are plenty of people living in a modest home who know how to manage their money... but they're also in the group of people who utilized the 100% financing more frequently.

So, to see some "average" neighborhood stats, look at these numbers...

78613 - 402 - 11
78717 - 106 - 5
78664/78665 - 484 - 22
78732 - 154 - 9
78723 - 111 - 4

As you can see, foreclosures are not that prevalent in the Austin TX area. Ok, East Round Rock has 22 foreclosures, but they also have 484 active listings on the market to choose from! Why narrow your search down to less than 5% of the listings?

Cedar Park has 11 foreclosures, but with 402 active listings on the market, wouldn't you be more likely to find your "needs and wants" with a larger pool of homes?

Basically, I'm just pointing out that we're all looking for "the deal", but don't limit your pool of possibilities with such a large transaction. This isn't a $50 shirt you're getting on sale for $39. Secure a great Buyers Agent who will represent you and your needs, and you'll be sure to get a "deal"... especially if you contact me!

**Are You Packed Yet?**

Donna Harris, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Austin Skyline
www.DonnaHomes.com
Donna@DonnaHomes.com

Austin TX Real Estate and the surrounding areas of Lakeway, Bee Cave, West Lake Hills, Cedar Park, Round Rock, Spicewood, Circle-C, Steiner Ranch, and everywhere in between... Hill Country Austin TX Real Estate and beyond. Whether you're buying or selling an Austin home, I'll be with you every step of the way.

For real time Austin TX listings, click here.

** #1 Agent in my Office for all of 2008 **

Copyright© 2010 By Donna Harris, All Rights Reserved. You may re-blog with links back to this post.
* Real Estate - Austin TX - Foreclosures are Not very Prevalent * was first published on donnahomesblog.com

SXSW® Coming to Austin TX March 12 - 21, 2010

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:37:35 -0600

SXSW® - South By SouthWest is coming back to Austin TX March 12-21, 2010. What is SXSW®? It's "the premier destination for discovery". Oh, what does that mean? It's basically a ten day event for conferences and festivals with live music and independent files and new technologies and trade shows.

The schedule for SXSW® is pretty intense with something happening at every second of each day starting at 9am on Friday, March 12.

How do you get in? You must have some kind of badge, paid in advance. They started selling tickets last year, and if you bought a Platinum Badge by September 25, 2009, you only paid $920. This same badge is $1225 at the door. The lowest badge is the Interactive Badge and prior to September 25, you could have paid only $395, but now it's $550. Make note of this for next year if you want discounted rates. You can find more details of the prices at the SXSW® registration page.

Come early, stay late, avoid the traffic.

**Are You Packed Yet?**

Donna Harris, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Austin Skyline
www.DonnaHomes.com
Donna@DonnaHomes.com

For real time Austin TX listings, click here.

** #1 Agent in my Office for all of 2008 **

Copyright© 2010 By Donna Harris, All Rights Reserved. You may re-blog with links back to this post.
* SXSW® Coming to Austin TX March 12 - 21, 2010 * was first published on donnahomesblog.com

Real Estate - Lakeway TX - West of Austin TX

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:19:46 -0600

Lakeway Austin TX was once a sleepy, retirement community West of Austin TX, but now it's experiencing growth and new construction, and many people call Lakeway TX home, from the old to the young.

Currently, there is a house listed for $154,000 as well as one listed for $2,195,000. That's a huge range of properties, but for the most part, the area median is just about $400k.

Even with the current market conditions being flat, it's not stopping people from buying and selling houses in Lakeway Austin TX. Just in the past 30 days, there have been 37 new listings come active on the market. The flip side, as you can see from this below chart, is that there are 59 properties that have been on the market over 120 days, ouch!

Lakeway Austin TX has new homes, pre-owned homes, houses, condos, greenbelt properties, golf course properties, properties with views, and even waterfront properties. What's your fancy?

**Are You Packed Yet?**

Donna Harris, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Austin Skyline
www.DonnaHomes.com
Donna@DonnaHomes.com

For real time Austin TX listings, click here.

** #1 Agent in my Office for all of 2008 **

Copyright© 2010 By Donna Harris, All Rights Reserved. You may re-blog with links back to this post.
* Real Estate - Lakeway TX - West of Austin TX * was first published on donnahomesblog.com

Speechless Sunday - View from The Oasis at Lake Travis Austin TX

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:43:56 -0600

This is an actual house, not a hotel...

**Are You Packed Yet?**

Donna Harris, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Austin Skyline
www.DonnaHomes.com
Donna@DonnaHomes.com

For real time Austin TX listings, click here.

** #1 Agent in my Office for all of 2008 **

**Are You Packed Yet?**

Donna Harris, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Austin Skyline
www.DonnaHomes.com
Donna@DonnaHomes.com

For real time Austin TX listings, click here.

** #1 Agent in my Office for all of 2008 **

Copyright© 2010 By Donna Harris, All Rights Reserved. You may re-blog with links back to this post.
* Real Estate - Austin TX Homes for Sale are Selling Strong * was first published on donnahomesblog.com

* was first published on donnahomesblog.com

Senna Hills - Austin TX - Homes for Sale Market Report

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 20:24:05 -0600

Senna Hills Austin TX is having a great year thus far. It's only March and look at the market activity and homes for sale happening around here.

As you can see, there are still several Active listings on the market, but you can also see that within the past three months, several have sold.

What pattern do we continue to see in Senna Hills Austin Texas with the homes for sale? We continue to see homes newly Active on the market coming in priced higher than what is selling. Is this hurting them? Honestly, I think it is. When you look at the asking verse selling prices, you want that to be as close to 100% as possible. Real estate isn't a game of, "Let's see how high we can start to come down in negotiations later..." but many home owners are viewing it as such.

Buyers are wise to that game, and they'll come in even lower than what you anticipate, and you'll end up selling much lower than what you thought you would get. Giving yourself the "buffer" to negotiate eats your margins. Pricing properly from the beginning helps to better ensure a higher selling price.

But who am I? I'm just a REALTOR® interpreting the numbers with almost 10 years experience under my belt...

**Are You Packed Yet?**

Donna Harris, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Austin Skyline
www.DonnaHomes.com
Donna@DonnaHomes.com

For real time Austin TX listings, click here.

** #1 Agent in my Office for all of 2008 **

Falconhead Spillman Ranch - Bee Cave Austin TX - Market Activity

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:43:34 -0600

Falconhead Spillman Ranch in Bee Cave Austin TX is having some great activity going on. There have been several new listings come on the market, and a handful of sales happening as well.

Here is a chart showing the Active and Sold listings. The blue line shows the days on the market. Some are high, while others are low. It's all about price and presentation right now.

This chart shows the breakdown of how long properties have been on the market. As you can see, this past month has been busy! However, there are still listings sitting and sitting, just waiting for that right buyer.

Falconhead Spillman Ranch is the lead-in community to Falconhead West behind it, and some people are selling their homes in Falconhead Spillman Ranch to move to the new section of Falconhead West. All activity is good activity, and being a personal resident of Falconhead West, I welcome everyone!

**Are You Packed Yet?**

Donna Harris, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Austin Skyline
www.DonnaHomes.com
Donna@DonnaHomes.com

For real time Falconhead Spillman Ranch Bee Cave Austin TX listings, click here.

** #1 Agent in my Office for all of 2008 **

Copyright© 2010 By Donna Harris, All Rights Reserved. You may re-blog with links back to this post.
* Falconhead Spillman Ranch - Bee Cave Austin TX - Market Activity * was first published on donnahomesblog.com

Falconhead West - Bee Cave - Austin TX - Community Park and Playground

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:20:29 -0600

Falconhead West Bee Cave TX is moving quickly on the community park and playground now.

In my last update, the Falconhead West playground was only the pavillion and the big playscape. They have now added the smaller playscape! YEAH!

Hopefully, we're just a couple of more weeks out, and ready for the awesome Austin TX Weather we're having!!

**Are You Packed Yet?**

Donna Harris, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Austin Skyline
www.DonnaHomes.com
Donna@DonnaHomes.com

For real time Falconhead West Bee Cave Austin TX listings, click here.

** #1 Agent in my Office for all of 2008 **

Copyright© 2010 By Donna Harris, All Rights Reserved. You may re-blog with links back to this post.
* Falconhead West - Bee Cave - Austin TX - Community Park and Playground * was first published on donnahomesblog.com

Creating an Internet Presence & Converting Cyberleads at Trinity Title of Texas

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 10:17:11 -0600

Because of the lovely SNOWY weather we had last week, this class was rescheduled for tomorrow. Note the time difference. It's at 1:30 instead of 1pm. We also changed the room from Building 3 to Building 1. Hope to see you there!

**Are You Packed Yet?**

Donna Harris, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Austin Skyline
www.DonnaHomes.com
Donna@DonnaHomes.com

For real time Austin TX listings, click here.

** #1 Agent in my Office for all of 2008 **

Copyright© 2010 By Donna Harris, All Rights Reserved. You may re-blog with links back to this post.
* Creating an Internet Presence & Converting Cyberleads at Trinity Title of Texas * was first published on donnahomesblog.com

Austin TX Weather - After the Snow

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 11:15:38 -0600

Earlier this week, Austin TX Weather was crazy and we received a lot of snow on Tuesday. We were able to make snowmen and have a lot of fun.

Here is what our big snowman looked like on Thursday morning, a couple of days later.

Here is what that same snowman looked like Thursday afternoon...

At least it came, we saw, and we had a lot of fun!

**Are You Packed Yet?**

Donna Harris, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Austin Skyline
www.DonnaHomes.com
Donna@DonnaHomes.com

For real time Austin TX listings, click here.

** #1 Agent in my Office for all of 2008 **

Copyright© 2010 By Donna Harris, All Rights Reserved. You may re-blog with links back to this post.
* Austin TX Weather - After the Snow * was first published on donnahomesblog.com

Neighborhoods Have Home Owner's Associations for a Reason

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 11:06:10 -0600

A neighborhood's Home Owner's Association (HOA) is in place for a reason. I get many buyers asking specifically to look for houses that are not part of an HOA. I always ask them why.

For the most part, they think HOA's are strict. What is their definition of strict? They just don't want to be told what to do.

Do you want your neighborhood to look like this?

This is one of the reasons there are Home Owner's Associations in place throughout Austin TX and the rest of the country. Who wants to see their neighbor's weekend home? Doesn't this look trashy? There is even a cord coming from the garage to the trailer to charge it.

The funny thing is, this house is part of an HOA. A Home Owner's Association is only as strong as the neighbors allow it to be. Has anyone reported this neighbor? I was in this neighborhood twice this week showing houses and it was there both times. I wonder how long it's been there...

**Are You Packed Yet?**

Donna Harris, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Austin Skyline
www.DonnaHomes.com
Donna@DonnaHomes.com

For real time Austin TX listings, click here.

** #1 Agent in my Office for all of 2008 **

Copyright© 2010 By Donna Harris, All Rights Reserved. You may re-blog with links back to this post.
* Neighborhoods Have Home Owner's Associations for a Reason * was first published on donnahomesblog.com

Do You Run A Business or a Circus?

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:31:21 -0600

I am a TREC (Texas Real Estate Commission) approved instructor and teach classes every so often on different real estate topics. About a month ago, I taught one of my classes, and oops, this lady didn't have her $20. Being the nice person I am, I allowed her to pay me later...

Later hasn't arrived yet...

At the class, she gave me her business card, but I don't think she does business from it. She has 3 phone numbers on her card, though two are scratched out. She also has a Hotmail email address, not very professional.

After class, she asked me to email her immediately so she would remember, which I did. I don't check my mail at my office very often, so it was a couple of weeks later that I noticed I didn't receive her check. I emailed her again, since she recommended email in the first place... no response, and no check...

Yesterday, I called her to remind her that I have not received my check yet. Her response...

"Oh, I haven't checked that email account in weeks..."

Why do you have a Business card with an email address on it that you don't regularly check? What if buyers and sellers were trying to get a hold of her? What is she thinking??

Why can't there be a way to weed out agents who are running a circus instead of a business and just don't give a gosh-darn-it!!

**Are You Packed Yet?**

Donna Harris, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Austin Skyline
www.DonnaHomes.com
Donna@DonnaHomes.com

For real time Austin TX listings, click here.

** #1 Agent in my Office for all of 2008 **

Building a Family of Snowmen... the video

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:06:16 -0600

Earlier, I posted the pictures of all the fun in the snow in Bee Cave TX. Below is the video showing the making of the snowmen as well as a time lapse of the snow accumulating in the yard. It was amazing how fast it piled up!

**Are You Packed Yet?**

Donna Harris, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Austin Skyline
www.DonnaHomes.com
Donna@DonnaHomes.com

For real time Austin TX listings, click here.

** #1 Agent in my Office for all of 2008 **

Lots of SNOW in Bee Cave Austin TX - Lots of Pictures

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:21:30 -0600

I can't believe it. I've never seen this much snow in my life!! The flakes were bigger than silver dollars!!

Here are some pictures of fun in the snow with Alyssa and Mike. We ended up with three snowmen and people keep stopping to take pictures. I feel famous! I'll post a video later.

**Are You Packed Yet?**

Donna Harris, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Austin Skyline
www.DonnaHomes.com
Donna@DonnaHomes.com

For real time Austin TX listings, click here.

** #1 Agent in my Office for all of 2008 **

Copyright© 2010 By Donna Harris, All Rights Reserved. You may re-blog with links back to this post.
* Lots of SNOW in Bee Cave Austin TX - Lots of Pictures * was first published on donnahomesblog.com

A Tool from RainCamp - What is Your Klout Score?

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:17:00 -0600

What is your Klout? Do you know? I thought my Klout was strong...

At Raincamp Dallas TX 201 0, one of the tools we learned about was Klout.com. Your Klout score can range from 1-100 and it uses your Twitter username to look you up. It's a calculation of someone's sphere of influence and how much interaction there is between you and your followers on Twitter.

Yikes... I'm not following many people, but I have a lot of followers. I thought this was a good strategy because I didn't want to try to follow too many conversations at once. Well, my Klout score is a 10. Yes, only TEN!

I have started adding new people to follow, and I'll be sure to start participating in conversation more, and let's see if I can get to a 25 by the end of the month!

What is your Klout score?
**graphic courtesy of Klout's website

**Are You Packed Yet?**

Donna Harris, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Austin Skyline
www.DonnaHomes.com
Donna@DonnaHomes.com

For real time Austin TX listings, click here.

** #1 Agent in my Office for all of 2008 **

Copyright© 2010 By Donna Harris, All Rights Reserved. You may re-blog with links back to this post.
* A Tool from RainCamp - What is Your Klout Score? * was first published on donnahomesblog.com

"My Husband Likes the Other Realtor..." WHOA - WHAT??

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 15:55:52 -0600

On Friday, I had to sit at the Texas Association of REALTORS' Winter session for the Professional Standards and Grievance Committee training class that is now mandatory each year instead of every two years. Of course, since it's MCE credit, no external distractions, meaning no phone and no computer.

However, the multi-tasker that I am, right before it started, I checked my email and received a message from a buyer who found five properties she wanted to see and had already spoken with a mortgage person, yadda yadda. I responded back immediately saying that I was at an all day seminar and could I call her that evening or over the weekend.

I was able to check my email a couple of more times during breaks, and conversed back and forth in addition to talking with her Friday evening. We scheduled time on Sunday to view some houses.

We met and I asked how they found me. The husband says, "My wife just really likes you." Really?? Why?

The wife says, "My husband really likes the other Realtor."

WHOA!!! What? Other Realtor??

What happened with the other Realtor? They had been looking at houses for a while, but the Realtor wouldn't show them houses in areas they wanted to be in. They found an area they loved, and even tried to get her to show them houses there, and she ignore the requests. She kept showing them houses in a neighboring community.

The wife decided she needed to do further research, and when I responded immediately to her email, under 5 minutes, she was impressed and told her husband they had to work with me!

We saw five houses this morning, and we're going to write an offer on one tomorrow.

Note to the public: If you're unhappy with the agent you're working with, you're allowed to make a change. You don't have to stay in an unhappy situation.

**Are You Packed Yet?**

Donna Harris, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Austin Skyline
www.DonnaHomes.com
Donna@DonnaHomes.com

For real time Austin TX listings, click here.

** #1 Agent in my Office for all of 2008 **

Copyright© 2010 By Donna Harris, All Rights Reserved. You may re-blog with links back to this post.
* "My Husband Likes the Other Realtor..." WHOA - WHAT?? * was first published on donnahomesblog.com