Austin’s Real Estate Market

, Dec 10, 2007

I typed this to an investor client today, and thought it would be good to go ahead & post it here as a “quick & dirty market update.”

The market here has somewhat stagnated. Properties are still moving, but they’re taking longer than previously. Prices aren’t going down, but we’re not seeing the rapid appreciation we saw last year. This spring will be telling to see what kind of appreciation we’ll see until 2009. The California market has affected us because not as many Californians can sell their homes, so we’ve seen a slight decrease in migration. The mortgage market has had the biggest effect on our market – it took ~25% of the buyers out of the market. Everything I’ve read indicates that the mortgage market will have worked itself out by the first of 2009, so I expect our market to be gunning full bore ahead at that time.

I honestly believe that this is the best time to buy real estate in Austin for the foreseeable future. We’re able to come in ~5-10% below asking and be taken seriously. I’m seeing my clients successfully negotiate the prices to ~95% of asking price.

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Last updated: 10/19/2021

2300+ Client reviews!

Ann Nye was invaluable in my search for my home. She was very knowledgable about construction and was able to notice lots of important details about listings that I would have missed and helped me make a much more informed decision. She was also excellent at understanding my needs and helped find listings that matched it. I really appreciated that she was patient and balanced in her assessment of each house we toured and didn’t push anything, instead gave me her experienced assessment of the pros and cons of each which in the end helped me make the right decision for me. I enjoyed working with Ann and would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a house in Austin!

Sally was exceptional, patiently taking us through many homes until we found the perfect one. Her extensive knowledge of Austin and the surrounding neighborhoods was invaluable. We were looking for our first home that we could later turn into an investment property, and she perfectly balanced these needs. Sally’s dedication and expertise made the entire process smooth and enjoyable. Additionally, she has a great network of home inspectors, property managers, contractors, and other helpful contacts anyone would need when moving to Austin. We highly recommend her to anyone in search of a top-notch real estate agent.

As first time home buyers, we had a fantastic experience with Sally. She was incredibly knowledgeable and reliable, meeting with us multiple times to ensure we found the right property. Her expertise and friendly approach made the process smooth and enjoyable. We highly recommend her to anyone looking for a great real estate agent.

I can’t say enough nice things about Crystal Hirst, our agent from Bramlett Real Estate. She worked hard and tirelessly (does she ever sleep?) to make our selling experience as painless as possible. She was always available to negotiate on our behalf or answer our multitude of questions. She kept us in the loop constantly; her communication skills are phenomenal. If I could give her 10 stars I would!

I am grateful for Shara’s help in selling an inherited family piece of property in the panhandle. There were lots of stall times in the transactions, and there were four co-owners that owned part of the property. Shara consistently stayed on top of all the issues, and we recently were able to sell the property. There were several times when I wondered if the transaction would ever happen. Shara helped make that happen.

Shara was unbelievable through the entire process. I am a first-time homebuyer, and she has been more of a mentor to my girlfriend and me than anything else. She constantly looked out for our best interests which made the process longer, but you could tell she truly cared about us. I know of a few friends planning on buying in Austin late this year/early next year, and I will definitely be recommending them to her.

Shara was so helpful, a fantastic realtor, and a friend to us during this whole process. Buying in this market was a complete learning experience for my husband and me and Shara helped us throughout from connecting us immediately with a mortgage broker to get our nances in order, showing us homes in various locations with various price points to even helping us with closing details and beyond by recommending contractors to work on our new

home.

ANYTIME we wanted to look at a home Shara made herself available. Even coordinated someone else to show a home while she was out of town on vacation. She never made us feel uncomfortable for asking so many questions or for changing our minds along the way as we figured things out. We were very impressed by her knowledge of all the areas we looked at; pointing out the shopping, dining, and locations for our other interests. She quickly picked up on what we needed (wanted) probably before we did! lol

I would highly recommend Shara to anyone looking for a realtor. We were so impressed that we quickly decided that we would want her to sell our home as well. We appreciate her for making the buying process a success and we’re hoping the sale of our home is just as triumphant!

We had such an amazing experience with Shara, it is our second time buying a house with Shara, very smart, knowledgeable, responsive, and thoughtful. This time we had to buy it remotely while we are in a different state, and Shara did her best in showing us the property and answering all our questions. It was our pleasure to have her as our agent and we are looking forward to having more work with her!

Purchasing a new home in the current real estate market for the North Austin metro area can be a very long and stressful process. Recently Shara Hicks, just helped us successfully complete that process. From helping us obtain a mortgage advisor so that we could pre- qualify to understanding our requirements and helping us locate appropriate properties to supporting us through the nal closing process, Shara was always responsive and very important to us nally ending up with a new home that we are extremely happy with. On top of that, she is just a very nice and pleasant person to work with when you are dealing with competitive bidding against other buyers for many properties. While I don’t expect to be in the market to purchase another house here any time soon, I would highly recommend Shara as an agent to anybody who is.

Shara was professional and a pleasure to work with.

We did it! With Meaghan’s help we were able to sell my home in this crazy market. When it came time to list my home I didn’t hesitate to reach out to her as she was the one who helped me purchase it. Working with Meaghan is easy, despite the market throwing many challenges she stayed the course and adjusted as the housing market rapidly changed landscapes. If you are looking for a Realtor who will take the time to listen to what is needed when it comes to buying OR selling… She’s it. I’m grateful for her patience, the way in which she works with others and the time she takes to care for the well being of her clients. A gem in a crowded Realtor arena. Thank you Meaghan Marks for always looking out!!!

We worked with Elizabeth Michael for over a year to prepare our home for sale. She was kind and patient, but most of all she was very knowledgeable and thorough. It’s a long and at times arduous process preparing a home to list, but with her help we were able to optimize the space with staging and address the minor concerns that came up in our pre-listing inspection. I highly recommend her for your next sale or home purchase!

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