In January of this year the Austin American Statesman said that home sales for the month of January were down, when actually the pending sales were up 30%. This indicated that the market was booming, and it was a great time to sell or buy. So, just how do you decipher all the info out there?
A client, Stan, came to us 2 1/2 years ago wanting to buy a home in a neighbhorhood where all his friends lived. It at first appeared to be an investment with a bright future, in a re-gentrifying area with lots of interesting projects going on. Well, after analyzing the market, using our almost 15 years experience with Austin real estate trends, we recommended that they buy in another neighborhood.
*******Yellow postcard readers start here!*********
Now, 2 1/2 years later the neighborhood that all of Stan's friends were diving into has appreciated from an average cost of $165k to an average cost of $190k. That's great, right? Well, the neighborhood that we recommended, that Stan ended up buying in, appreciated from $195k then, to $283k now! Needless to say, Stan is very happy with his investment.
While we don't have a crystal ball, we certainly use trend analysis to help our clients determine which neighborhoods to invest in. So, if you're wondering what's hot and what's not, you may want to sit down with us before you take the plunge. There is a lot of info out there, but it all needs context!
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