Austin’s Rosedale Neighborhood Update…

What’s going on in Rosedale? Some of you know others may not…what is Rosedale and where is it? - Rosedale is a great little neighborhood in north-central Austin near MoPac Highway. It is bounded by Lamar Boulevard to the east, Shoal Creek to the west, Hancock Drive to the north, and 38th Street to the south. Rosedale contains some 1,200 households, as well as a park, a library, and a medical complex nearby.

Built on farm and dairy land during the late 1800's and early 1900's, Rosedale has preserved many of its original houses and architecture. The large trees which provide shade to the neighborhood are legacies left by residents from the early 1900s. Rosedale, while paying homage to the past, has a new vibrancy as well. New homes, remodels and businesses make Rosedale a neighborhood firmly rooted in the present without loosing it’s historical charm.

One of the central features of the Rosedale neighborhood is Ramsey Park, found between 42nd and 44th streets on Rosedale Avenue. This 5-acre park has a swimming pool, tennis and basketball courts, playground, and numerous picnic tables. Ramsey Park is a popular place for residents to gather, exercise or relax.

The Rosedale community is very active, led by a well-organized neighborhood association. Formed in the 1970s following successful efforts by area residents to stop the closure of neighborhood Fire Station #12, the Rosedale NA sponsors neighborhood activities, advocates local positions on city issues, and works to promote the beauty and safety of Rosedale.

Alright here’s the deal- There are currently 16 homes available in the Rosedale neighborhood with 7 other under contract. Over the past 3 months 6 homes have sold. With this rate of absorption there is 8 months of inventory. Equilibrium is 6 months, so this number is a little high, but not bad.

Sales in Rosedale were a bit sluggish in December and January with 4 and 3 respectively. The current environment is much brighter. 7 homes under contract is really exciting, especially for the size of this neighborhood. This shows a sharp increase in activity and looks like it could indicate a promising summer. The average list to sale price is a very solid 95% (original list to sale is also 95%). The homes under contract found their buyers on average in 25 days (the homes that sold did so in 25 days!)! Buyers are getting back into the market and they are not wasting time. Rosedale sellers have to be pleased and buyers know that the good inventory goes fast.

This bodes well for Rosedale and the summer should be busy.

Austin rents will rise, options in short supply...

Austin continues to be above rental market saturation. What does that mean? Rentals are hard to find...and expensive. Click the article to read more.

Very interesting article about the economy and the affluent...

Hi All,

I just read this article posted by the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing. It is a very interesting article about current trends with the affluent in America. It's always interesting to hear about that market, because it plays such are large roll in our economy (affluent, business owners etc.). I found it interesting that they are more likely, as a group, to purchase big ticket items soon; like a vacation home etc. Remember the "pretend and extend" is coming to an end and we are starting to see signs of inflation. When inflation hits, it will hit big! Solid assets continue to be a great way to protect and build wealth. If you thinking about investing or parking some money in a vacation home or rental unit call me, I would love to chat with you. 512.921.3111

Take care and enjoy the article.

Best,

Marcus Cox

Half the affluent opting-out of social media

Posted: 26 Apr 2011 01:45 PM PDT

Anti-social or just busy with other things, half of the affluent say they do not participate in any type of social media according to the Spring 2011 Affluent Market Tracking Study conducted by The American Affluence Research Center.

Some highlights from the study:

• In contrast to the March general Consumer Confidence Index of The Conference Board, which fell over 10% to the low levels last seen in Fall 2010, the affluent, who account for about half of all consumer spending, report a better outlook for the economy and their personal spending plans.
• Spending plans for all 17 products and services tracked by these surveys are much stronger than in the Fall 2010 survey.
• There is also improvement in the plans to make major expenditures such as for a new auto, a cruise, and a vacation home.
• While 65% of the affluent own a smart phone or a tablet (or both), the remainder have regular access to a computer. Half of the affluent say they do not participate in any type of social media.
• Among those that do participate in social media, only a quarter say they use social media to receive regular communications about product and related information from a manufacturer or retailer. In other words, only 12.5% of the affluent say they are using social media to receive regular product information from a manufacturer or retailer. This relatively low number (12.5% of the affluent) may be surprising given all the amazing statistics being circulated by various research and traffic tracking companies about the volume and growth of e-commerce, the ubiquitous mobile devices, and the urgent emphasis to invest time and money into various forms of mobile apps and promotional activities online through proprietary sites and social media. It is important to understand who will actually be reached through mobile devices and social media (and whether the ROI is reasonable), what technology is needed to be compatible with the various different mobile and other receiving devices, and who might be missed if communications are limited exclusively to these channels.
• About 59% of the affluent say they are not familiar with the concepts of private residence or destination clubs. Concept familiarity, which is essentially the same as in 2007, is strongest among the younger (59 and under), higher income, and higher net worth groups.
• About 10% of the affluent say they will seriously consider acquiring access to a vacation home during the next 12 months. Plans to make an acquisition increase as age declines, income increases, and net worth increases. About 2.9% are considering two types of vacation home acquisition. Wholly-owned homes are the most favored type of vacation home access. Wholly-owned homes used primarily on a seasonal basis are more popular than those used frequently throughout the year. The only exceptions are the 50 to 59 age group, the under $200K income group, and the lowest net worth group.

Overall, this is good news. Among the successful, outlooks are more positive and spending plans are up.

Remember that insights based on good research and data can help you identify opportunities and threats and adjust your marketing strategies and plans accordingly.

Austin Continues to Rank Well...In Everything...

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SoCo / South Congress Austin Real Estate Update...

Good afternoon and happy Friday!

Ok, I have had several clients interested in the South Congress/SoCo area in Austin. Things have been changing in this area so I thought you all might like to hear about the latest and the greatest.

Here's the deal: There are currently 49 active homes available in the South Congress area with 21 others under contract. Over the past 3 months 21 homes have sold. At this rate of absorption there is 7 months of inventory. Equilibrium is 6 months, so these numbers are not particularly high, but does show availability in the market place.

I am pleased with the number of homes under contract. This shows that activity in this area has started to increase. Sales in SoCo were somewhat sluggish in November and December of last year. 6 Homes sold in November with an average days on market (DOM) of 91 days. The original list to sales price (OL/SP) was an unimpressive 87.32%. This indicates that sellers were forced to be more flexible in pricing in order to find real buyers. December saw improvement; 7 homes sold with a OL/SP of 90.49%, but the DOM figure increased to 104 days.

OL/SP for the past few months is over 90% and DOM has been a fresh 73 days...yeah, that's nice. Over the past week or two new listings have started to hit the market. Many of the markets in Austin have been waiting for new homes to hit the market as much of the sluggish inventory has been on the market for some time. The "new blood" in the market signifies that sellers are more comfortable with marketing their homes and buyers will certainly welcome the new options. Additionally, 21 pending homes is an excellent sign for sellers in the SoCo area, especially as we get closer to summer. The sharp increase in number of homes in escrow shows that Austin's South Congress area is waking up for the summer buying season. I anticipate the inventory will start to decrease over the next months as more buyers pull the trigger. As more homes sell, sellers will be more inclined to list their homes so this churn should keep numbers closer to equilibrium rather than a sharp drop in supply.

So, things look good for South Congress as we move closer to the summer. No doubt people will start to spend more time outdoors, at First Thursdays and enjoying Austin, for the popular SoCo we know what that means...more activity across the board.

Thanks for reading...now it's time for dinner, cocktails and the sunset!

Marcus Cox

More about me:
www.marcuspeacecox.com
More about my company:
www.avalaraustin.com

Stop Paying attention to month over month comparisons...

Hi Guys,

I hope all is well with you. Today we are going to bust open a commonly misunderstood statistical favorite. That would be the monthly performance comparisons based on the year, month over month comparisons. (ie. Sales June 2010 are up 32% compared to June 2009.)

I'll spoil the ending for you...they are meaningless.

You will often see these numbers reported in the newspaper or in real estate updates written by title companies or agents. These figures are interesting and they do fill up space, but at the end of the day the actual value of these figures is quite low. Real estate is all about trends and the pushing or pulling of interest rates, consumer confidence, the economy on the whole, local economic indicators, neighborhood, price range etc. So, because of these factors what happened last June really has no bearing at all on what happens this June and thus the numbers are cotton-candy (feel good, but no nutrition) rather than a secret weapon for the consumer.

How many people like looking at real estate in the rain? No one. Nobody likes looking for homes in the rain. Something as innocent as two weeks of rain during a busy buying season can throw numbers off. It is very important to look past the stats and try to discover the real meaning.

"Sales are up" or "sales are down" make for great headlines, but they are only meaningful if compared to applicable market data. Thus, if sales this month are up over last month this could be an indicator that the market is changing. (POP QUIZ: What are the three indicators that a market is changing? Answer...days on market, months inventory and list to sale price ratio) But, sales differences from a year ago fail to show any trends of a heating or cooling market. The figures do not show what has happened between now and then.

So...when your looking at real estate statistics be sure to look past the month over month comparisons and focus your attention on what the market did last month and the month before. Also, remember in the Austin market, that real estate has been so local that one street can be hot and another just around the corner is not. With this type of environment trends even in a particular zip-code can be deceiving.

Talk to you all soon!

Marcus

What is real estate like in your neck of the woods?

Hi All,

We have a lot of readers from all over the Texas real estate spectrum. Are you curious about what's happening in your neighborhood in central Texas or on the coast? Email me and I will be happy to post an update on your specific area.

Looking forward to helping!

Best,

Marcus